- Joined
- May 1, 2004
- Messages
- 2,290
Yes, I've joined the Terraforum for Carnivores, but the admins can't seem to get around to confirming my joining, so I still can't post there, and I really need some advice and and an ID on a new Nep I picked up today at a Publix, of all places.
First, the advice. Last spring, I bought a young tissue-cultured N. miranda hybrid at a reptile show. The plant seems to be doing well, albeit growing more slowly than I'd like, but given that it's winter I'm hoping that it will "take off" come warm weather and longer days. Still, however, it has failed to produce any pitchers. The closest it gets is the elongated tendrils at the end of the leaves, but that's it. I've got it planted in Eco-Earth as substrate, which basically is coconut fiber. I have not fertilized it at all, and it is watered with distilled water and misted two-three times daily with the same. It is in a window facing more or less southeast, and gets several hours of pretty strong sunlight(unless it's cloudy) due to the leaves being gone from all the trees outside. The plant will be more or less two years old this spring. Should I be concerned that it has no pitchers at this point, or is that something that's just going to take a long time with this hybrid? If I DO need to be concerned about the lack of pitchers, what can I do to encourage their growth, or is that something that's just going to have to wait until spring to deal with? Should I repot it into a different substrate, and if so, what? Here is the plant-actually TWO plants-in its six-inch hanging pot:
Now, here's the ID part; I went into a Publix in Columbia, SC, today, on a whim, since I was in the city and I'd never been in a Publix supermarket before, and I needed some groceries, so I figured kill two birds with one stone, right? I get inside, and in their houseplant/flower dept, I see THIS bruiser:
They had this and two rather sorry-looking N. alatas. This plant is huge-leaves over two feet long and good-looking pitchers a foot long, with several small/new pitchers that have not even opened their "lids" yet. It's in an eight-inch pot and fills every bit of it. I hope it will be OK, since the substrate was dry when I got it, and I've since watered it good with distilled water, which is why it was hanging up outside(temps in the mid-50's, have since brought the plant inside), but it wasn't showing signs of dehydration, and at least I can be reasonably assured it wasn't watered with store tap water. It looks like pics I've seen of adult N. miranda hybrids, but I want to be sure so I know what temp ranges it can take(lowland or highland).
Here's some close-ups of the pitchers:
BTW, it cost the same as the sorry-looking little alatas, which were probably beyond helping.
pitbulllady
First, the advice. Last spring, I bought a young tissue-cultured N. miranda hybrid at a reptile show. The plant seems to be doing well, albeit growing more slowly than I'd like, but given that it's winter I'm hoping that it will "take off" come warm weather and longer days. Still, however, it has failed to produce any pitchers. The closest it gets is the elongated tendrils at the end of the leaves, but that's it. I've got it planted in Eco-Earth as substrate, which basically is coconut fiber. I have not fertilized it at all, and it is watered with distilled water and misted two-three times daily with the same. It is in a window facing more or less southeast, and gets several hours of pretty strong sunlight(unless it's cloudy) due to the leaves being gone from all the trees outside. The plant will be more or less two years old this spring. Should I be concerned that it has no pitchers at this point, or is that something that's just going to take a long time with this hybrid? If I DO need to be concerned about the lack of pitchers, what can I do to encourage their growth, or is that something that's just going to have to wait until spring to deal with? Should I repot it into a different substrate, and if so, what? Here is the plant-actually TWO plants-in its six-inch hanging pot:
Now, here's the ID part; I went into a Publix in Columbia, SC, today, on a whim, since I was in the city and I'd never been in a Publix supermarket before, and I needed some groceries, so I figured kill two birds with one stone, right? I get inside, and in their houseplant/flower dept, I see THIS bruiser:
They had this and two rather sorry-looking N. alatas. This plant is huge-leaves over two feet long and good-looking pitchers a foot long, with several small/new pitchers that have not even opened their "lids" yet. It's in an eight-inch pot and fills every bit of it. I hope it will be OK, since the substrate was dry when I got it, and I've since watered it good with distilled water, which is why it was hanging up outside(temps in the mid-50's, have since brought the plant inside), but it wasn't showing signs of dehydration, and at least I can be reasonably assured it wasn't watered with store tap water. It looks like pics I've seen of adult N. miranda hybrids, but I want to be sure so I know what temp ranges it can take(lowland or highland).
Here's some close-ups of the pitchers:
BTW, it cost the same as the sorry-looking little alatas, which were probably beyond helping.
pitbulllady