maxxima

Easily my most fave website when it comes to Nepenthes. I don't know how Gert does it but his plants are sooo hardy. They can adapt to low humidity almost immediately with minimal damage. He also sends huge plants, easily a few times the size of what you usually get for the same price.

Argh I'm sorry guys, I've just seen this. I wish you'd sent me a PM and reminded me of this thread. Well I've shopped about ten times from that website by now if not even more. First of all, yes it's the real deal, he really has every species he has listed. Prices for some are amazing (quelchii for 10 euros...etc). I'll be honest and say I'm usually not happy with the nepenthes I've ordered from there, they are not hardy at all. But for those of you who have advanced terrariums or greenhouses, they should pose no problems. Everything else was great for me. Shipping cost is the lowest I've seen so far, they ship fast and they always put in a few extra plants.

oh my, 100! i made the same mistake, sowed about 40 thinking they wouldn't survive. well now i have 20+ seedlings and not a single one has died, they are literally everywhere. i'm pretty sure the remaining seeds will germinate as well come spring. seedlings are very hardy, they can take 0C no problem. i even had a few covered with snow, nothing happened. they won't grow at such temps but they won't die either. by the way, they have no problem germinating in that range so you can keep some of them outside if space is an issue.

What...is...this......Simply amazing. This has to be one of the best threads ever. I am like your old self before you went up to 60 species in a year. I love orchids but that fever hasn't caught me yet. There was this one time when it got very very close when I was in the army in Cypruss and when I discovered bee orchids in the forest. I remember that day very well as I was amazed at their strange beauty, should be one of the exceptional sights of my life. I discovered a few more species during my stay there but sadly I don't know their names. Wild orchids are such a nice surprise. Totally loving your photos, please share more whenever.

My seedlings have germinated/ are growing on top of the central heating where the humidity reads %10-20, perhaps it's a good idea to decrease humidity then as they don't seem to need it.

I keep reading about this damp-off situation killing a great number of seedlings but I have never experienced it myself. I think that situation is a cultivation error. 2-3 months ago 17+ seedlings germinated for me and %100 are still alive today; a few working on the 9th leaf or so. Not a single seedling has died. It's true that a few went black on the tips and keeled over; but a new sprout always formed in the middle. I don't know what caused the situation as I have them in small groups and visibly there's nothing different about them. But the point is they survived. I'd like to note that seedlings are very resistant to cold. A few germinated outside at 5-10C. I have noticed that when it's below 10C, they won't grow but they won't die either. 3 of my seedlings are outside sitting in 0-5C now; they almost haven't moved in 2 months but they are still alive. Another observation: There's no such thing as moving shock. I constantly moved them around from day 1 and they didn't notice. I took a few outside to cold weather (0-10C); they didn't grow, stayed the same for a few weeks but as soon as brought them back in; i mean literally the next day, they started growing again. I am pretty sure they enjoy a little warmth for growing. Biggest factor for me is light; the more the better. But it's also important to note; lack of light doesn't kill them. I have a few growing without any bulbs and they are very healthy. Not as tall and robust as the others, also slower but their leaves remain alive for a longer time and they don't get burnt on the tips. Just a few observations from a first-timer, happy growing to all.

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

Thank you very much for posting that link, Kamil! I have 17 seedlings divided in 5 pots; I was really worried about them growing together. But after seeing Jan raised 9 of them in a pot, I am greatly relieved.

I can't say anything about established plants as this is my first attempt but so far I haven't witnessed any problems with seedlings germinating together. The biggest one here is the oldest one,

I don't remember, I have a really short term memory. It's creepy to read this as today I noticed it grew a new shoot for the first time since flowering. Was that your magic ? If it makes it through the customs - why not.

This is truly amazing... Martin I am wondering, how old is this setup ?

Sublime! I don't remember seeing a more beautiful setup in cultivation... Thanks for sharing.

By the way, this is part of the care sheet that was sent to me by the original owner: In the fall with the risk of frost (eg if you are growing in zone 5) the pots are knocked over so they will not get any rain and the pot will dry. Alternatively, it could be placed in a greenhouse or a patio and allowed to dry. The leaf will die back. Do not cut it off until it completely yellows and collapses as it may be translocating sugars into the corm until it is withered. Once it is dry, it can be stored in the dry growing medium until spring and then dug up so that small corms can be seperated from the mother corm. Winter storage can also be in dry peat or in the open air. Storage temperatures should be somewhere between 42 and 50f. If stored too warm, the corm may grow at a time when you are not prepared to grow it. Corms can be started in pots indoors in cold climates and then transferred outside when night temperatures do not drop below 55f. Remember, the warmer the temperature the faster the growth and the longer the season for the leaf. This species is cold hardy and can survive in ground as far north as Raleigh, North Carolina if soil is well drained. Propagation is generally by offset. When the corm is dug unpotted in its dormant state, you may find small corms attached by stolon-like structures to the main corm. These can be seperated and potted individually.

You can dig them out like tulips and store ziplocked in a dark/cool area or leave them in the pot throughout winter (dry) depending on your temperatures...My climate is close to mediterrenean climate so I tend to leave them in the large pot outside. It's easier and they always come back when the summer heat hits. I dig a few of them up to monitor things. If you do that, make sure iyou do after the stem has died down on the surface and wait a bit for the roots to transfer back to the corm. When you take the corm, it shouldn't have a network of roots, it should be mostly by itself. By the way, do watch out for fungus gnat larvae, they really love the corms...I always do a DDVP wash before digging them out and when I first plant them in spring. If you dig them out, make sure they are clean of larvae or they will eat the corm to oblivion in the bag.

Greetings from Istanbul, I've been also using pine needles but in little amount. Unfortunately I am not an aged VFT grower so I couldn't tell you if it makes a difference or how much of a difference it makes...It hasn't been that long but the plants you will see below were potted into a pine mix at the beginning of summer and this is going to be their first dormancy. They all had 2-3 leaves back then, I wish I had taken a picture but I didn't. In case you are curious; my mix is %50 perlite, %25 peat, %25 pine needles and topped with live sphagnum. The sphagnum is partly very black; I suspect that's due to an insecticide (sp?) I have sprayed lightly. However, I have also sprayed a few home recipes (against mites) so I don't really know which one is the culprit. ps: I don't ever feed any of my plants. They are all on the balcony taking care of it themselves. In case you wondered about that oversized fly trapped... :)

Gorgeous photos! Love the gigantea,erythrorhiza, cepha especially but all are great. Looks like a variety of habitats in terms of ground medium. Thanks for sharing.

Hello! Good idea and congratulations on actually doing it! Most of my plans remain as...just plans Honestly, I am thinking the current spiral design is too distracting and the white color adds to that as well. While cephalotus is a very attractive plant and there are 15 of them there, they didn't grab my attention at all. Maybe hide the design partly by LFS or just pick a different color? I dunno, just some ideas of mine. Thanks for sharing!

Gorgeous! Can't wait to see your updates.

I've just cut three flower stalks from Paradoxa down to 1 inch segments and planted them in half wet LFS and peat, hoping for some good results :)

Agreed, Noah! I'd like to use this opportunity to say, as you can see, sometimes flies are wrong