lowlandterrarium

[caseyhoo]

Personnally, I think MetalHalide is too strong for nepenthes. May I know you on it for how many hours?

[NepNut]

Actually, it depends on species. Most L/L species got no problem taking direct sunlight.

I'm also assumming Boris's terrarium was setup in the basement. With metal halide, the extra heat will be beneficial to the L/L species especially during cold winter months. Using meal halide will also enable him to setup a taller terrarium in height. That's only my view...

[Boris]

Originally Posted by NepNut

Actually, it depends on species. Most L/L species got no problem taking direct sunlight.

I'm also assumming Boris's terrarium was setup in the basement. With metal halide, the extra heat will be beneficial to the L/L species especially during cold winter months. Using meal halide will also enable him to setup a taller terrarium in height. That's only my view...

Yes Metal Halide has the advantage to be also effective if the plants are not so near to the lightsource. In my basement nepenthes rooms (intermediate and highland) I've got 400W hps. Plants get here burned leaves if the leaves are nearer than 50cm from the lightsource. With the Metal Halide I didn't got any damage at all. The light is on for about 14 hours. I think the strongest light you can give your neps is the real sun. No artificial light will reach this power. So artificial light won't harm neps if they have the needed security distance from the lightsource.

@kltower: No problem to reach the plants. The terra starts below my hip. So I can bend over that the whole upper body is in the terra. That's a good action if it gets too cold in my basement

[caseyhoo]

I say so, because in my mind, MH always is very hot and thought it is not suitable for nepenthes. Now I know that im wrong...

BTW, I like the N. clipeata as well... And it is 1 of my dream plants... But, it cost me arm and legs...

May I know N. clipeata is a difficult to grow plant?

[Boris]

The MH wasn't able to heat the terra in the winter enough. The cables which are lying around there is a 80W heating cable which I had to install now in the winter to get temperatures at day upto 30°C. In the night it drops to 20 - 22 °C. Also this "decent" looking ventilator brings heavy wind in the terra which provides the same temperatures in the whole terra. I've noticed that all of my neps love it when they get steady good wind.
The clipeata does very well for me. It's a steady grower which always forms a pitcher for each new leave. I've potted it (like northiana) in a meshpot and used as pottingmix pinebark, cocopeat, perlite and living sphagnum as topdressing. The sphagnum is meanwhile dried out. So same like northiana. Keep it more on the dry side because it's also lithophytic growing in nature.

[David]

Thanks Boris for the close up of the clipeata. really a beauty.

[paphioboy]

wow.. you have one very neat terrarium, Boris..