Hero

Thanks Paul! Do you think 3 months is appropriate? Or should the dormancy be closer to 4 or 5 months? I have a small dorm fridge that should work if I bare root the plants. Any advise on keeping them healthy during dormancy? Like I said, I'm more interested in keeping the plants alive and well long term rather than having a one time display. Thanks for the quick reply. Chance

Hey all! I was thinking today about how amazing the flowers of Dicentra were. I used to grow them, but our family has moved and I've not picked it back up since. However, I was thinking about the short blooming time of these plants and thought about how nice it would be to have blooms year round. My thoughts: there are dwarf varieties that only grow to be about 9-12" wide, so I could grow these in tall 15" pots. Let them grow and bloom, and then move them to much lower light, watering schedule, and temp (40-50 F) for a month or so to trigger the dormancy. Then bare root and fridge them for 2-3 months. Then bring out the ones that have been sitting in the fridge while the other plants have been in bloom and plant them in fertilized soil with excellent drainage. Wash-Rinse-Repeat. :) I'm not sure how much experience people have with caring for perennials like this, but do you all think that this would work? I figure there is no surefire way to know until you try, but I figured I'd run it by some more experienced growers before I gave it a shot. Also, I could give them a longer dormancy by having three or even four groups in the cycle. How long do you think they need to be dormant to be healthy? I have read about forcing bleeding hearts, but I couldn't find anything about out-of-season growing on a long term scale. Also, having different varieties cycling in and out of dormancy would always keep it interesting! :) Let me know what you think! Chance

Thanks Welshy. I'm a bit of a rookie still, but a few things are really starting to come together

Figured I'd put up a couple pics from my HL terrarium. They're not professional quality; I just used my phone camera. The plants themselves are all still juvenile, but definitely starting to pick up the pace. I've had them and the setup for about a year and a half now. I've never been an avid poster on the forum, so I figured I'd finally put something up. Enjoy! N. hamata N. jamban Heli. cross... probably het x minor. Came to me unmarked.

Both of these plants are closely related, so if one thrives, the other is likely to do the same! I don't think one is substantially easier to grow than the other. Generally speaking (and I don't have a ton of experience, just lots of reading), highland nepenthes need bright light and mild temperatures. If you can get the temperature to about 15º C or lower at night, they will greatly appreciate this. If possible, don't let the day temperature climb above 28º C. They can tolerate this for a brief period, but will need the temperature drop. Keep the soil moist at all times, but don't let the soil become waterlogged. If you're able and willing to provide these conditions, then great! Keep in mind that there are many other species that will adapt much easier to your environment. Much more gratifying in my opinion!

Great! Looks like you will have some fun with them! Mine haven't arrived yet, but it'll probably take mine a little while longer to arrive (considering where I live!). But hey, congrats! Many thanks, Chance

Wow! Stunning plants you have there. :) Congrats on the achievement!

That's what I heard from them as well. We're probably in the same shipment! Let me know how it goes when it does arrive :) Chance

Hey everyone! I hate to be a bother, but I am placing an order with AW soon. It will be only heli's (I may however decide to purchase N. inermis along with it). I know that many have been very successful with his plants, and he has a much greater variety available than here in the U.S. Here's the list! H. chimantensis (Chimanta Tepui) H. folliculata (Kamakawarai Tepui) H. hispida (Cerro Neblina) H. elongata (Ilu Tepui) H. pulchella (Amuri Tepui) H. heterodoxa (Gran Sabana) H. minor (Auyan Tepui) Couple questions though, of course! I'm starting to get a handle on things, but I still have a lot to learn (doing so mainly by watching the posts of the CP royalty on this forum! ). If I order soon, when should I expect the plants to arrive? (I'm thinking May...?) I am going with overnight shipping. Are there any tips you could give me that may help these plants settle in (other than the typical acclimation procedures)? I'm expecting small juveniles as far as size... is this true? I could not find any size information on Mr. Wistuba's website. My undying thanks to all of you who made it to the bottom of this post! Chance (Edit; Updated the list... this is what I actually ordered.)

We learn something new every day, right? Thanks for the reply, and I'll definitely look into it! Chance

Hello everyone! I've got a small drink fridge that I've converted to a terrarium. I've got jamban, dubia, talangensis, platychila, and an aristo in it currently, a hamata on the way. They are all pitchering really well (the aristo pitchers off and on for me, but it seems to be doing alright), and I haven't really seen many problems. My question is, would spraying fungicide and insecticide, for purely preventative purposes , have any ill effects on the plants? I have imidacloprid insecticide (Bayer), and a sulfur based fungicide (Safer). I know hamata is particularly susceptible to pests and infection, so if I could keep it from becoming infected at all, it would help quite a bit. Losing it would be just dreadful! I'd like to keep my plants healthy, but if spraying once every couple of months or so would hurt them, I'd rather not! Maybe I could do a diluted spray? Or not spray very frequently? Maybe all of you Nep experts here can give me some good tips! I still have a lot to learn still about the wonderful hobby. Anything helps! Thanks guys! Chance

Yeah... I have given up on them. They aren't going to send me anything healthy. They have offered to replace, finally, but I have to pay for shipping the plants back and to ship new one's out. They also won't agree to make sure they are healthy. I don't think it's worth the trouble. I'll try to bring the plant back to health. Chance.

Congrats on the Cephs! Sadly, Cephalotus has always been incredibly finicky in my conditions. I can grow Heli's and highland neps, no problem, but both of my Cephalotus died within 4 or 5 months under my care.

Lucky!