x viking

[TS]

I love N. viking very much. Mine have dried out 3 months ago when I was overseas. Luckily they managed to survive and have now come back with cute pitchers.

[shawnintland]

Nice pitchers! I find that my Vikings (and Mirabilis) are quite happy to sit in water (tray method) year round. Both species seem to dry out very quickly and their leaves just turn brown and crumble otherwise. On the plus side...when they start making new leaves and pitchers they look really good again!

[kentosaurs]

Hi TS

Nice Viking!!.....So cute and round...Mine i bought from Fauzi has a bit neck on it...

Ken

[David]

TS, in the first picture, is it an intermediate pitcher? The shape remids me of N. bicalcarata and I love the nice thick curly ladders on the pitchers.

[TS]

Shawn, does it mean viking like more water? I grow mine in peat + perlite + burnt soil, it seems to retain more water, and growing quite well.

Ken, glad that you like them.

David, I think it is starting to produce intermediate pitchers, hopefully it flower soon.

[shawnintland]

Hey guys, check out K. Nong & K. Sak's website regarding Viking info. They have put together the best info I have seen on Vikings, all in one place. If you go to this gallery of Vikings; http://www.neofarmthailand.com/index.php?lay=show&ac=photo_view&event_id=3035 I think you will be amazed at the different 'forms' and at the fact that the Thai people have taken it a step further by naming these forms. The taxonomists will probably tell us how its all not 'official' but so what! These 'names' allow us to discuss different forms and agree that we are talking about the same thing so where's the problem? Notice the "Rod" form shown and how it is similar to TS's first shot. I really like the variability of form in the Vikings and, while I have my favorites, really haven't seen one I didn't like! There's also great article on "Redness" to be read (), and a lot of history.

Please check out the rest of the Neofarm website as you will find a lot of interesting articles, especially on Vikings. I really appreciate the fact that they have made such a big effort to translate their knowledge into English for the rest of us to have access to it as well. I think it deserves to be pointed out to all forums and growers as a lot of the Viking info is not available anywhere else. I had the pleasure of meeting and doing business with K. Nong and his son a few years ago and am very happy to see their exposure growing. They have recently been upgrading the website so things may have changed since you last saw it!

Shawn

TS - I'm not sure, but it seems that they can "handle" it being wet all the time, unlike some others that seem to hate it. It just means I don't have to keep quite as close a check on them as the trays balance things out. It has just shifted into our 'blazing hot - extremely dry' period here in the last days...Knew I should have spent more time on those misting systems!

[Amelie.Poulain]

The 2 trouble-maker in my garden are always the mirabilis & globosa. They collapse with the tiniest moisture reduction. I have been enduring a love+hate relationship with both, at first I thought it was the media problem, being too porous, but when I transplanted with lots of sphagnum moss, the same happen, I realize that this two are just water lover!

If I'm not mistaken, while they do grow in full sunlight in the wild, it's always in a marshland, so I figure a water tray would actually be good for them. For those nervous about root-rot, maybe a saucer under each pot would do.

Shawn, what media do you use? I read in Neofarm, part of the their prefered media for nepenthes is peanut skin! And they actually sell a special media just for viking (the 'recipe' is of course a mystery)! You ever bought them?

[shawnintland]

Originally Posted by Amelie.Poulain

I realize that this two are just water lover!

If I'm not mistaken, while they do grow in full sunlight in the wild, it's always in a marshland, so I figure a water tray would actually be good for them.

Shawn, what media do you use? I read in Neofarm, part of the their prefered media for nepenthes is peanut skin! And they actually sell a special media just for viking (the 'recipe' is of course a mystery)! You ever bought them?

Yep, I agree that they seem to be swamp-lovers! The pictures I've seen of Vikings in the wild never look to be in 'wet' conditions but I have had success growing them hydroponically. I've been using mostly cocofiber cubes and perlite but that's mainly because I have not transplanted any large ones in a while now. Now days everything is getting a mix of; coco cubes, pumice, charcoal, a little sphagnum, and a handfull of earthworm castings () just to liven things up a bit! I missed the part about the peanut shells but suppose it would work well. I never bought any media from them except for what came in the pots! They are both very helpful people and you should plan to visit them if you're ever in BNK. Just e-mail ahead as they are not always at the nursery.

[NepNut]

Nice viking pitchers TS, the wing on the 1st one is very interesting. The 2nd viking pitcher is very "klom", I'm still working on getting a more "klom" shaped pticher, not sure is mainly genetic or it's growing environment that affect the shape of pitcher. What I found out is that, the pitcher will be more "squat" or "stout" if it developed while resting on something.

Here's my lastest N. viking pitcher from Fauzi


I tried to hide this pitcher in between pots while it's developing, here's the result.


This is a shot of N. mirabilis in it's wild habitat (notice the water on the lower part of the pic). N. mirabilis is the most wide spread nep species, this is a "text book" habitat but not restricted to this type of habitat.

[kentosaurs]

WOW nice pics.....My Viking is also from Fauzi but has a small little neck and looks somehow a little like yours....I don't really have a trouble making colours appear though..

Ken