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Post by peterhewitt on Nov 11, 2009 15:39:52 GMT
Hey Manders....., my plants get natural sun through a 40%photo-selective(white) shade cloth. so Photo period changes with the seasons. my plants speed up growth in spring when the days are longer then 10 hrs or so, but i think the optimal photo-period is about 14-16 hours in temperate climates.this is when my plants grow best.Mid summer. there is no substitute for natural sunlight.
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Post by manders on Nov 11, 2009 22:24:52 GMT
Peter, what kind of compost do you use with the talangensis?
Cheers
Mark
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zhilin
Full Member
touch the sky, reach the star
Posts: 294
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Post by zhilin on Nov 12, 2009 0:38:34 GMT
I just have another question:
For such young plant, is it necessary to fertilize it?
Thanks.
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Post by peterhewitt on Nov 12, 2009 8:13:02 GMT
Hi Manders, i use a very open mix of 50% Sphagnum moss and the rest equal parts of Orchid bark,Hydroton clay pellets,and Perlite.
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Post by peterhewitt on Nov 12, 2009 8:15:44 GMT
I just have another question: For such young plant, is it necessary to fertilize it? Thanks. in my opinion,yes. a light quarter strength Nitrogen fertilizer is good for them. twice a month as a foliar feed.
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taz6122
Full Member
Yesterday is History.Tomorrow is a Mystery and Today is a Gift.Thats why we call it the Present.
Posts: 289
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Post by taz6122 on Nov 12, 2009 16:46:11 GMT
zhilin and everyone, this is the reply I got from Jacob at Sarracenia NW.
"What I've seen about this plant in cultivation is that it pitchers mostly during the cool months, October through May. During the summer, I've kept a btch under misters (10 minutes every 2 hours), and they didn't pitcher for me at all. They only pitchered when the nighttime temperature dropped to the lower 50s and the daytime temperature dropped to the low 70s and upper 60s. I have only 1 plant in my collection right now, and it's finally producing pitchers again. I've also dropped the misting to 15 minutes every 8 hours."
Hope this helps!
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Post by justjack on Nov 12, 2009 23:20:45 GMT
Taz, with lowlanders (unlike talangensis) dropping the misting down may not be for the best. It seems Jacobs point is that talangensis, being close to a true highlander, needed cooler temps, much cooler than the average house. Lowlanders (what kind do you grow?) love warm, very humid conditions.
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taz6122
Full Member
Yesterday is History.Tomorrow is a Mystery and Today is a Gift.Thats why we call it the Present.
Posts: 289
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Post by taz6122 on Nov 12, 2009 23:32:37 GMT
Taz, with lowlanders (unlike talangensis) dropping the misting down may not be for the best. It seems Jacobs point is that talangensis, being close to a true highlander, needed cooler temps, much cooler than the average house. Lowlanders (what kind do you grow?) love warm, very humid conditions. I know that the misting issue may not be the best but that was a quote, not anything I've done. I'm sure it's to cut down on water usage. He'll turn them back up if the plants start to decline. I'm growing two raffs, ventrata and several different hybrid seedlings. I'd like to be able to grow some highlanders but it gets too hot in the summer here. I'd have to build a cooled enclosure.
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Post by manders on Nov 13, 2009 9:19:25 GMT
Reducing humidity on face vale would seem on odd way to go, most highlanders get more humidity than most lowlanders, especially at night. Typically night time humidity in the highalnds is 98% (monthly average) and 75-80% daytime. 4 hrs a day of sunshine is average and it rains more often than it doesn't.
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Post by unstuckintime on Nov 13, 2009 13:06:08 GMT
The other thing that you may want to try with talangensis, and this is speculative because i'm not 100% sure with this species, is that the pitchers may form more often if they are in contact with the ground. This is something that works with many Nepenthes, and some of my species simply wont pitcher unless the tendril is touching damp compost. I'll second this. I grow talangensis in my terrarium, and it always sends the forming pitcher all the way down to the ground (only a few inches because it is still tiny) before they start to swell up. It is a tricky plant, I've only gotten one pitcher out of it and that was many months ago. One factor is, however, that talangensis is very slow growing, slower than my heliamphora even, so it is hard to say whether something is really working or not because it would take so long for the plant to react positively. I have never taken any special measures to provide a significant temperature drop at night for mine, and it seems to be sending out a successful pitcher now, but maybe I should start? Thank you for this discussion, its been very helpful! CJ
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Post by peterhewitt on Nov 13, 2009 14:34:29 GMT
N.Talangensis is one of the plants for which a nightly temperature drop is mandatory. (if you wish to keep your plant)
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Post by manders on Nov 13, 2009 15:39:43 GMT
I also have never given mine a deliberate temperature drop at night over what it gets naturally. Most years i've overwintered it on a windowsill with a very moderate temperature drop at night provided by the draft, and that's the fastest it's ever grown, although the day temps would not have been hot either.
For what's essentially and ultra-highlander I actually find it to be a relatively easy and fast grower.
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Post by peterhewitt on Nov 13, 2009 15:49:53 GMT
I think its preferable to acclimate ones plants to your growing conditions,if feasible. I have found Nepenthes to be much more forgiving than i once thought. i think its plants like N.Villosa or N.Rhaja that are most unforgiving.
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Post by manders on Nov 13, 2009 16:18:59 GMT
Peter, there's more than one way to skin a cat (or grow a nep) that's what makes it at times, interesting, frustrating and challenging. Many times i've put a species into what I thought were ideal conditions and the thing has just died, or other times i've put them in completely unnatural conditions and they've thrived
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Post by peterhewitt on Nov 13, 2009 16:55:55 GMT
Yes i agree. I have lowlanders growing quite happily next to my N.Diatas, N.Densiflora, N.Hamata. they just just grow better at different times of the year. That is indeed what makes it interesting... and sometimes expensive!!
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