infi85 Posted June 14, 2013 Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 This is my first 'serious' post and I'm already looking for help or advice... Two weeks ago I bought a small seedling of nepenthes bicalcarata brunei orange, one of those I liked the most. It had only 4 leaves, two of which were sunburned on edges, and one little pitcher. At the beginning it stood with my other neps on south windowsill, but it seemed to be too much direct sunlight for this little guy so I moved it to other room after few hours. A week ago I noticed small, brown and depressed spots on both sides of leaves of my new seedling. Every few days I notice new ones, and now there is also a spot or two on the pitcher. The plant didn't grow since I got it, but on the other hand the pitcher didn't even start to dry up. I got it without pot, and now it grows in the same substrate like all my other neps: peat and perlite. I also noticed few similar spots on leaves' bottoms in two other plants, but its general condition and growth don't seem to be affected. Nepenthes truncata pasian which I bought together with this problematic bicalcarata adapted nicely and started to grow after a week at my place. Can anyone help me with identyfying the problem? What could cause this and how can I deal with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_P Posted June 14, 2013 Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 Hi, It could be a temperature and humidity problem. N. Bicalcarata is a lowland species so needs a high daytime temperature with cooler night-time temperatures. They also need high humidity, so ideally should be kept in a terrarium. I'm sure some of the experienced lowland growers on here will be able to offer more advice. I only have a highland type myself, which is happy hanging in my kitchen. Hope this helps a little. Best regards, Ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infi85 Posted June 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 Isn't it the other way round with low- and highland species? I think highland ones need cooler nights, while most of the lowland grow easily at home, with only a small difference between day and night temperature. All of my neps grow at very bright and sunny attic, in spring and summer they get around 25-30C during the day and 18-23C at night. Humidity may be a problem - with totally no logic I put it on my desk with no leca/water setting around it, with which all the other neps grow nicely. Putting it in additional tray with it will be the first thing I do after I get back home. I'm still pretty sure it isn't the only problem... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_P Posted June 14, 2013 Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 Yes, my bad, lowland types need high temp/humidity. Have a look here for a guide on cultivation, http://www.thecps.org.uk/page.php?id=7 I hope this is more helpfull. Best regards, Ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Davies Posted June 14, 2013 Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 Hmmm, there's bound to be some people who will say that bical is an easy species. That's not been my experience at all. I've killed loads. However- trial and error indicates the way forward.... and for the first time, I have one growing as it should (ie at a rate at which a small starter plant will outgrow a terrarium within a few months.) It needs to be roasting hot and extremely humid. Mine's getting 25C minimum at night, and days are now between 30 and 40C, with 100% humidity. In the uk, the greenhouse is so hot and humid that when I open the door and let cold air in from outside, a cloud forms at the door. Maybe when the plants are bigger, they might get more robust. They can put up with temperature drops down to 10C for very short periods, but I think bical is actually quite hard to grow in the uk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infi85 Posted June 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2013 I moved it to a place with higher humidity and more light, sprayed with anti fungus treatment and I think that the spotting stopped to develop, we'll see how it looks in few days... Thanks for your advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoLongFairWell Posted June 16, 2013 Report Share Posted June 16, 2013 Highlanders are fine with most room temperatures. It's the lowlanders that require it much much warmer. My room is usually somewhere around 17-19c so I keep highlanders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Long Posted June 16, 2013 Report Share Posted June 16, 2013 The spots look the same as I had on my some of my highland neps last winter. http://www.cpukforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=47882&hl= I still don't know what caused it but I suspect that it's a fungus, perhaps because the plants were weakened due to the sudden lack of light in the greenhouse. I sprayed the plants and they all seemed to show no ill effects at all. For your plants I agree with the posts above, for me bicals seem to struggle all year except in the middle of summer where it's hotter. In the same conditions my raffs, hirsuta, mirabilis and ampullarias all do much better. Need to change how I grow it really. Good luck with your plants, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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