Nepenthes bicalcarata

[werds]

So i was wondering if i can grow Nepenthes bicalcarata, i have an unheated greenhouse outdoors where i have all my Nepenthes that are Nepenthes ventrata, rebecca soper, Miranda, glabrata, truncata"Lowland form" and one Nepenthes "Suki", temps in summer can reach 40ºC and in winter the lower temperatures this year are 5ºC.

 

So... could i grow bicalcarta Spring-Sumer on the unheated greenhose and in winter take it back to my kitchen where there is plenty high humidity and temperatures 16-20ºC range?

[werds]

Here a video of the greenhouse in December, the plant could be there close to the left down corner where is the fogger.

 

 

[Scuipici]

I got a bicalcarata not knowing much about it this summer ( young plant ). It seems it really likes warm temperatures, is not doing well in cold, and is not enjoying fluctuations either from my observation. My plant is not doing great, no traps so far but it's putting leaves slowly. I might get traps in 2 months, maybe. I saw some people growing it in a windowsill with heatpads underneat the plant.

[cpbobby]

I am doing this by request but It has been a while since I have grown bical but I will input what I can. 

first basic plant information: 

with some exceptions like arid or temperate which are still on a cycle of sorts......plants in general HATE unscheduled changes. Anytime you make a change the plant has to re-acclimatize to those changes and like people, the older the plant is; the less flexible it will be.  aka for a small plant to start over is easy bc it doesn't take much energy to do so whereas it can be an undertaking for a large plant. 

so moving it around will agitate it if not kill it.

 

Next some bical information from my experiences:

bical gets BIG so if you cannot grow it outside all year then you will need a BIG greenhouse otherwise you will be in a never-ending cycle of making cuttings as it will regularly outgrow whatever environment you have setup for it. 

smaller bical can tolerate more changes in lighting and some changes in humidity although it will stop pitcher production; however the plant has a set temp range and if that range is exceeded then the plant will suffer. temps, absolute lowest it will deal with is around 17c. In the winter I used to have it 22-23 in the day and 17-18 at night. The upper limits of the plant are not so black and white. You can push temps up if you have a higher humidity. If your humidity is high then the plant will tolerate 44 but if your humidity is not high then the leaves will wilt at the same temp. These are not ideals but the limits in which to keep it alive. 

Ideals would be to keep the temp variation within like 6 degrees from day to night. I would say it did best with 33d and 27n temps. 

remember to dial your humidity control back 17-25% at night time or you will have things too wet at night. aka the absence of sunlight means that less moisture is aspirated.

bical will tolerate more wet media but it is a risk. just because it is a lowland plant doesn't mean it is a swamp plant. do not pot it like a sarracenia or dionae. it likes a more aerated mix. I can't remember the exact breakdown but I used to use perlite, orchid bark mix(which had like charcoal and pumice stones etc etc in it) and peat but I do remember it was very little peat. If I recall I used either 65% perlite, 20% orchid mix and 15% peat or 65% perlite, 25% orchid mix and 10% peat. 

watering - top water. tray watering is a no-no! It doesn't need to be saturated. If i remember on average I watered it like once every 3 days; less in winter more in summer. All common sense really......if I am outside and consuming more water then chances are the plant will be more thirsty as well and vice versa. 

light - since it is a lowland plant it isn't very picky but obviously if you are turning the plant red then that is the same as sunburning yourself. I would start off with about 10,000 lumens and adjust from there but there is no replacement for sunlight. If I recall I think mine did best with 6-8h of full sun and 6-8h of partial sun. 

feeding - I fed it once every 2 weeks

pro tip - pot it BIG. When the plant is happy it will first lay down a ridiculous root system which if potted too small you will find yourself regularly repotting as well as regularly styme the plant. If the plant is allowed to build it's roots without being disturbed then it will be only a matter of weeks before it will begin demonstrate it's gratitude by equally ridiculous foliage growth as it prepares to ascend like a madman. 

pro tip - leave it alone/don't mess with it and stay consistent as possible. 

 

hope this helps!

 

[werds]

Many thanks for your answer!

 

 

[werds]

So you think its better don´t try it?

[cpbobby]

The plant is easy to grow but unless you have alot of space; it will outgrow it. I do not know the exact specs are but I have heard an adult bical leaf can reach half a meter. At some point you will either have to root bind it and hope it doesn't perish or just keep making cuttings but in my opinion it doesn't do the plant any justice. 

[manders]

5 hours ago, cpbobby said:

The plant is easy to grow but unless you have alot of space; it will outgrow it. I do not know the exact specs are but I have heard an adult bical leaf can reach half a meter. At some point you will either have to root bind it and hope it doesn't perish or just keep making cuttings but in my opinion it doesn't do the plant any justice. 

Exactly, unless you have a hot greenhouse it will just end in dissapointment.

[werds]

And any differences of some clones, more robust ones? (Nepenthes bicalcarata ´Brunei, red flush´,Nepenthes bicalcarata ´Sarawak Giant Red´, Nepenthes bicalcarata ´Brunei, orange´)

 

 

[cpbobby]

most of the different clones offer different colors minus the Sarawak Giant which I believe is larger than normal Bicals.

If you have your heart set on a lowland nepenthes and not a ton of space; I would recommend a N. Bellii. I have heard they can be grown and be content within a square meter of space or even a large terrarium. 

p.s. 5c will definitely kill a N.Bical

Edited January 9, 2017 by cpbobby

[werds]

But i have space :) , i dont care with the cuttings, many people would like one.

 

Actually i think i will try it, if it doesnt go well after 2 years i will give it to another person with better conditions.

[Picavorus]

I keep my Bicalcarata in a large heated terrarium that's near the window (so gets natural light as well as the grow lights) all year round.  It seems happy with the humidity and temperatures in there.  I wouldn't like to put it outside here unless I had a heated greenhouse, which is my plan eventually.

[fltropical]

Your sustained winter temperatures will kill this plant. Mine live outdoors, and suffer with an overnight average around 18C. If it goes below 10 for even an hour I take them inside. As is, I see almost no new growth from January until it warms up, averaging about 25 at night and 35 during the day.


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[cpbobby]

I hope you are successful with your endeavors and if you intend to clone and distribute the bical I am sure many will appreciate that as well. Best of Luck to you. 

[bux]

N. bicalcarata is a real tropical plant (ultra lowland Nepenthes)

Whatever the clone, you need - as already said by fltropical -  ALWAYS between 25 - 35°c.

From 18° to 22°c the plants will stop to grow and below, will die...

Fabrice