Growing highland nepenthes

[marvin1997]

what I mean 'fan' is the big thingy which you put outside the house

[kentosaurs]

Hi...I was wondering since i do use my AC most of the time before i sleep for about 1-2 hours (on timer) You think about 1-2 hours of cooling can benefit a plant or destroy it cos of low humidity..

[soonsuseong]

i am going to try that soon, normal day temps and AC coolling at night, with a mister, once the renovation is completed. the room will be an 8 x 8 ft room, with some glass panels at one side of the ceiling for some natural sunlight. if that doesnt work, i will convert it to a lowland growing area then. will try to post up a post on it, so if it works, we can all grow highlanders!!! wishful thinking.......

[fishoman]

Originally Posted by soonsuseong

i am going to try that soon, normal day temps and AC coolling at night, with a mister, once the renovation is completed. the room will be an 8 x 8 ft room, with some glass panels at one side of the ceiling for some natural sunlight. if that doesnt work, i will convert it to a lowland growing area then. will try to post up a post on it, so if it works, we can all grow highlanders!!! wishful thinking.......

Hehe, sounds good though .....I was thinking of getting an OSIM humidifier , dont know if this work or not....
Soon, ask your renovation workers to speed up the job, cant wait to see your new nep room.

[NepNut]

I want to see too... If I like it can I move in??

[Ifurita]

Originally Posted by soonsuseong

i am going to try that soon, normal day temps and AC coolling at night, with a mister, once the renovation is completed. the room will be an 8 x 8 ft room, with some glass panels at one side of the ceiling for some natural sunlight. if that doesnt work, i will convert it to a lowland growing area then. will try to post up a post on it, so if it works, we can all grow highlanders!!! wishful thinking.......

Wishful thinking? Not quite. I've been doing exactly that for the past 3 years, normal day temps and AC cooling at night and it does work. The Ultra Highlanders may not be happy depending on species and you'll probably need to put the really humidity cranky species next to the mister, but by and large, you should be able to grow most of the highlanders without issue.

My area gets less light than your's(just morning sun, all plants at a window), the neps have had to take air-con level humidity, plus survive a thrips infestation, a possible mite infestation and my own inexperience(I started it when I was still quite new to Neps) and a fair number that I got when I first started are still alive! If they can live through all that, some pitchering, basaling and even flowering, then I'd say it is possible to do it for sure, especially since you've got what sounds like a better area light-wise.

[soonsuseong]

thanks ifurita, for your input. personally, i think the osim mister will not be able to produce enough mist and they spoil easily. i got one before, not osim though, and it spoiled in 3-4 months. try the ones sold at the swiftlet rearing shops, they are big, you can have piped-in water so no need to refil and they last long. about 400rm, i think. but they take up space. i am thinking of big planter boxes so the plants can all be thrown in, less space consuming.

light-wise, i am not sure if it will be bright enough as i can only tell when it is built (right now, it is non-existent!). the other fear is due to this being an enclosed space, too much sun will fry them up! whatever it is, i will post it up here so we can all learn from it.

if you guys remember the small office terranium i have, right now i have rajah, diatas, spectabilis, eymae and spathulata and some other HL there. they actually are growing new leaves, but no real pitchers yet. the good thing is that the humidity is high inside the terranium. so, they like it, i guess.

robert, you really want to live in a 8 x 8ft room, with all the space you have now??.

[NepNut]

Hi Soon,
Haha.... If I move in there'll be no more room for your plants...

Yes, I think for any enclosed setup, the main concerns will be heat dissipation (if using natural sunlight as the light source or part of the light source) caused by "green house" effect and air movement. The mister used by swiftlet's operators should be perfect for a cool room and cool house, the unit will produce ample humidity and some air flow when it's activated. It's also durable and practically self sustaining once setup properly.

You may need a controller with sensor to control the humidity and temperature. There's such a device where you set a certain range / limit for temperature / humidity and it'll trigger on/off the power to the device you wanted it to be control. Should come in handy...

[Ifurita]

Originally Posted by soonsuseong

thanks ifurita, for your input. personally, i think the osim mister will not be able to produce enough mist and they spoil easily. i got one before, not osim though, and it spoiled in 3-4 months. try the ones sold at the swiftlet rearing shops, they are big, you can have piped-in water so no need to refil and they last long. about 400rm, i think. but they take up space. i am thinking of big planter boxes so the plants can all be thrown in, less space consuming.

No prob, hope it helps in your efforts. Depending on the Neps you grow and your setup, you *may* not need a mister at all. I'm serious. A number of the more hardy highlanders can be adapted to air-con humidity as long as not subjected to a direct blast and others can be adapted if put in a somewhat sheltered area. Note that others can NEVER be adapted to air-con level humidity, so its a trade off for not bothering about a humidifier.

Originally Posted by soonsuseong

light-wise, i am not sure if it will be bright enough as i can only tell when it is built (right now, it is non-existent!). the other fear is due to this being an enclosed space, too much sun will fry them up! whatever it is, i will post it up here so we can all learn from it.

Unless your plants don't even get morning sun and its dim all day, it should be enough for most. If you get too much sun, then shadecloth is a option. It should not be too difficult to overcome, though if you really don't get enough light, I can't think of an easy way to overcome that.

Originally Posted by soonsuseong

if you guys remember the small office terranium i have, right now i have rajah, diatas, spectabilis, eymae and spathulata and some other HL there. they actually are growing new leaves, but no real pitchers yet. the good thing is that the humidity is high inside the terranium. so, they like it, i guess.

Should you decide to move those out to your HL growing area once its complete, here's my 2 cents: Move eymae first or get a khasiana. Those two seem to be able to withstand anything and will pitcher even if humidity is lower than 40%! If you cannot successfully harden them off and grow them in your growing area, then you've got a serious problem. spectabilis should be your next bet as its only slightly temp cranky. It should give you an idea on how stressful the temps are in your area. Its not that cranky about humidity, but more so than eymae and will take longer to harden. Take it step by step and correct any problems as you discover them. It may be slow, but its better than losing plants If rajah can grow, the typical highlander should be an okay. It MUST be blocked from the air-con's blast, but can be hardened to take about 50% humidity. I've managed to get rajah to survive for two years(till I itchy finger go and repot) for 2 years without any signs of heat tress or shrinking growth, so if you use air-con, it should work for you. Hope this helps!! I'm still in the process of experimenting too, now trying to get an aristo and villosa to survive and pitcher.

[soonsuseong]

thanks a lot, ifurita, your advice will come in handy. most of us here itching to grow HL are thinking of hamata, aristo, inermis, rajah etc as the ultimate goal. villosa.... with the height they grow on at kinabalu, its a tall order. the sight of the wild plants with their pitchers are a sight to behold! hope your next attempt will work, all the best! about lighting, yes, i will rather try to have more lighting than less. if it is too hot or bright, can always reduce it, with tinting or shading etc. but if it is too dim, then too bad. there goes the electricity bill and i noted plants growing under sunlight are always superior to those under artificial lights, anyone disagree?

robert, having a timer is a must to avoid all the switching on and off, but what you suggest is even better, humidity control! but i am not sure who can do that and at what cost. i think one cant go too wrong if he sets the humidifier timer to mist at regular intervals.