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Carnivorous Plants/Nepenthes Hamata growing conditions
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Question
Hello Jeff and Jacob!
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I'm writing because I am in need of assistance in diagnosing whether or not I should acclimatize my Nepenthes Hamata plants to lower humidity conditions (essentially I need help diagnosing whether or not it is time to do so.)
I have three Hamatas. The first plant I got from Sarracenia Northwest in late June of 2009. I believe the plant to be roughly three years old as I am speculating that it was roughly 6-12 months when I received it. The second and third plants I received in august of 2009 and they were out of tissue culture from Wistuba. My guess is all plants are between 2.5 to three years old.
I recently repotted two of the plants into larger pots. One went from a three-inch pot to a six-inch pot. The second went from a 5-inch pot to a 6 inch hanging basket. As I repotted the plants I noticed that they did have roots, but they were not as far along as I would've hoped. The largest of these plants, the one that I received from your nursery in 2009 had a long root that was 4 to 5 inches long and seemed rather healthy. The leaf-span of the plant has a 3-inch radius. The other two plants are closer to a 2-inch radius, and they have less developed root systems.
I have grown the plants under T 5 shop lights with a set timer or 16 hours spring through fall 12 hours in the winter. They are currently in an open terrarium that fluctuates between 60 and 85% humidity in the winter, and lower in the summer (anywhere between 20% and 60 % depending on whether it is day or night and the heat levels outside. The plants are grown in a combo of sphagnum and various volcanic rocks with a bit of charcoal. Generally speaking I water once a week; sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less depending on how hot it is and the severity of which I am noticing the soil drying out.
What I am wondering is if the plants are large enough/old enough to remove from the terrarium and begin acclimatizing to the growing conditions of my home? I have grown many other nepenthes without any trouble sans terrarium and I would prefer to never use a terrarium unless absolutely necessary (Heliamphora.) On average the terrarium has roughly 10 to 15% higher humidity than the house, but when humidity is low there is generally not a difference. If they are large enough, because the terrarium is open, will I need to harden them off via the method described in the grow carnivorous plants volume DVD series volume three (Shout out!), or are they already used to the types of fluctuations to a degree that will not leave them susceptible to shock?
Thank you for your time and I hope to see you at the Saturday market this summer.
Greg Blakemore
Given that you live in the Portland area, I'd advise to keep your plants in the open terrarium. I know of a grower who grows his hamata in a windowsill. However, he lives on the East Coast where summer humidity is a lot higher than here in the Portland area. Summer humidity throughout the East Coast often averages 60%. Summer humidity at our nursery averages 20%.
We experimented in growing one of our adult hamata in a windowsill. While it flowered for us, it has yet to produce a single pitcher during the past 12 months. This is one plant that I'd say needs higher humidity to produce pitchers. The nighttime temperature drop doesn't seem to be as necessary as higher humidity for pitcher development.
Good growing!
Jacob Farin
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Answers by Expert:
Sarracenia Northwest
Expertise
If your plant is showing poor growth, discoloration, abnormal leaves or possible infestation, the growers at Sarracenia Northwest can help! Carnivorous plant experts Jeff Dallas and Jacob Farin will help you diagnose the problem and get your plants on the right track. Their no nonsense approach has helped thousands of growers all over the world. They can help you too!
Experience
With over 40 years of combined experience, Jeff and Jacob has definitely taken a straight forward approach to growing carnivorous plants. They have encountered many types of diseases, abnormal growth and infestations related to carnivorous plants, and they know what it takes to get plants looking beautiful and healthy again.
Education/Credentials
Authors of Secrets to Growing Beautiful Carnivorous Plants for Your Home and Garden and producers of the Grow Carnivorous Plants! DVD Series. They also produce a monthly video podcast to illustrate how plants cycle through the seasons.
No terrariums. No myths. No nonsense.
Just the straight facts from guys who grow and propagate
thousands of carnivorous plants each year.
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