What happens in the tropics?

[coline]

Interesting title, but in here I wanted to show some of my experiences I've had on growing Nepenthes in tropical conditions.
In this case I'm not focusing on my success on lowland species as I live 650m high and I may grow them correctly, and even plants like D. schizandra live outside in my yard.
This is the case of N. ventricosa as a mentioned Intermediate Nepenthes that lives from 1000-2000m high in its natural habitat, I expected for it to not be so much difference in my place as reffering to normal growing conditions. But in fact there is a very big impact on just 400m altitudinal difference which I may show on these 2 photos. Both are seedlings of the same seed batch, planted the very same date (jaunary 2013), some of them have been 1 year at 900m high living in the same conditions since in addition to substrate, watering, sunlight; they are just 5km away from my house on a mountain house at a friend's house. This is the visible result at 1.5 years of development.


Nepenthes ventricosa at my house, 1-2cm


Nepenthes ventricosa living 1 year at 900m high, showing traps of even 5cm tall

As Andreas said here, they get to starve at night with the higher sugar metabolism they get at my lower altitude. What is interesting is that just 300m difference triggers such a big variation among genetically similar plants.

It is more evident in cloned plants, as this VFT plants may show, just guess which plant lives where, both are 1 year old. (Not to mention all my friend's plants which are a replicate of my whole colection but in smaller number)







I wonder now, could it be possible to compensate this effect by artificial lighting, say 16 hours of light or 20 hours so the plant has a smaller night and maybe not starve from it?
Also, have you guys been able to test this as I have?
All Drosera are twice as big at my friend's house compared to mine also.

[ICPS-bob]

Your observations are interesting. You don't give enough information to make good guesses. For example, do the plants get natural sunlight? Do they get the same length of sunlight at the same times of day? A difference of 400 m in elevation might produce a difference in UV light intensity. Are the plants watered with the same water and at the same degree of "dryness"? And finally, do you both love the plants equally and talk/sing to them?

Here is an old thread of a similar subject.
icps.proboards.com/thread/1906

[coline]

Yes we use sunlight since it is readily available, and do the same watering since I tought my friend about the water which in these small ones is in the tray system mixed among Drosera and VFTs, which is rainwater that falls 5km away. They get the same amount of sun in hours of sunlight but his plants get it in the afternoon and mine in the morning filtered by greenhouse plastic to cover the rain. Maybe the talking may be, I cannot know that other than he is at home every day and I go on weekends.
When I was first writing this I was thinking about the temperature change as the main reason, since a flat area has a higher temperature than mountains and even more mountains with forests which should mean a 2-3ºC temperature drop, and linking this both to the Ventricosa natural habitat and to my observations at 1400m but with different plants. (african violets require 70% less sun, tulips try to grow and not just rot, Texas bluebonnet makes flowers at 1400m and suddenly rots at 630m, roses bloom spectacularly at 1400m, I may grow typical vegetables at 1400m..). But UV difference is something I had not observed, and it is very noticeable, at 600 were I was born, the sun does not burn me unless I go out several hours, at 900m in an hour I may feel I'm getting burnt, and at 1400m in just 15 minutes you may notice that if sun gets on your face.
It is very easy to test this things here as I may go to a mountain 3400m high in a 2 hour drive from home.
Also I have tested taking the best of my ventricosa to live among my others (below a tree on hanging pots which I do not need to water) and they still do not make any big growth in 3 months they've had in that place.

[Dave Evans]

Jun 25, 2014 2:31:58 GMT coline said:

Interesting title, but in here I wanted to show some of my experiences I've had on growing Nepenthes in tropical conditions.
In this case I'm not focusing on my success on lowland species as I live 650m high and I may grow them correctly, and even plants like D. schizandra live outside in my yard.
This is the case of N. ventricosa as a mentioned Intermediate Nepenthes that lives from 1000-2000m high in its natural habitat.

Yeah, your experience and the fact this species occurs between 1000 and 2000 meters tells me it is a highlander, not an intermediate. It will grow fine in intermediate conditions, but not to its full potential.

[coline]

Exactly, 1000m and specifically at that elevations mark a real transition on forest and plant types which I may see at my mountains around 800-1000m. At this time I have not gotten information still from where did those N. ventricosa seeds came, but as it seems to be, it does not like much my conditions (in the greenhouse at least)and the plant may be of 1500+m high when it originally was collected, I hope, several generations before the seed went into the seedbank. Such a difference is something I have seen when I try to grow tropical plants of that elevation from my friends higher in the mountains here on the valley.
Do you think same could happen with a N. rajah, but grown at 900m? well, at least for it to grow and make some medium pitchers and some day flower?