Looking to expand my collection

[Jonathan]

Hey,
Might be extending my collection. I am unexperienced with Neps and would like some help on choosing an appropriate plant.

What I want:

1- Natural forms (No man made hybrids)
2- Plants that can be hung up on a hanger inside the house in a window.
3- plants that don't need an ample amount of light. (Don't know if that's even possible?)
4- Easy to care for.
5- Plants that don't require much humidity.
6- Plants that grow large.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Avery]

Nepenthes truncata is a great windowsill species.

Here is one I grew from some horticulturally made seed given to me in 2015.

It’s in a west facing window, I water it with tap water once the pot is dry. It’s a super easy plant!! I recommend.

Picture taken today:

 

[Lloyd Gordon]

That's a great plant, even more so because of the conditions. Do you know the TDS of your tapwater?

 

[Avery]

Super high, like 355 ppm or something!

 

[stevebradford]

Agree with Nepenthes truncata. Some other forgiving and interesting, with low light requirements are Nepenthes ampullaria and Nepenthes bicalcarata.

Nepenthes bicalcarata is also the largest plant of the Nepenthes, up to 60ft tall!

 

[Ryanconnor11]

Agree with Nepenthes truncata. Some other forgiving and interesting, with low light requirements are Nepenthes ampullaria and Nepenthes bicalcarata.
View attachment 26315

Nepenthes bicalcarata is also the largest plant of the Nepenthes, up to 60ft tall!

What condition (temps) do you keep your bical at?? I recently received one and curious

 

[stevebradford]

Mine grows hanging on the wall in my living room at room temperature and humidity, about 23 degrees steady. The 70% perlite and 30% peat is kept constantly moist and the plant gets fertilized with diluted maxsea, a couple drops from an eye dropper and a few Darkling beetles in each pitcher once a month.

 

[Ryanconnor11]

Awesome good to know! I was a worried about my conditions a little too much lol

 

[Lloyd Gordon]

My bical is just barely puttering along in my bright, humid terrarium.
I've got to just hang it on the wall!

 

[Ryanconnor11]

From all the reading I've done I thought it would be picky about temps and humidity but I glad it'll still grow in a range of different temps & humidity..... Mines in a grow tent that's 28-30c day and 21-23 c nights with humidity always 85+

 

[stevebradford]

Your conditions seem great. It’s a lowland species so it prefers tropical conditions, most lowland species are much easier then the highland.
Here’s a great guide.

Nepenthes bicalcarata grows from the swampy, shady lowland forest floor up into the canopy. Could yours be getting too much light Lloyd? Mine is under a 100 watt led fixture for 12 hours a day. But that fixtures light is diffused and approximately 4ft away from the plant with the light spread out over manny plants. I have a large prickly pear under that same light for the winters (it is not cold tolerant enough to handle a frost) that light is not nearly enough for the cactus, it puts out unhappy etiolated growth while hibernating for the winter.

 

[Lloyd Gordon]

It might be too much light. I also had it in another terrarium where it got diffused sunlight which seemed to be too dim. Maybe one day I'll figure it out.

 

[Godolphin Greenhouses]

Some great options here, I'm looking forward to my Truncata growing a bit more and the bical seeds I got are showing signs of germination.

I got some Nepenthes Smilesii from @Carson Hardy earlier this year and they seem to be pretty tough plants. I have not taken great care of them but they keep trucking along. They've been in full summer sun in a greenhouse, part sun near the house, when they were outside, didn't water them for quite a while (a month or two), granted it was a wet year. And so far I've gotten 2 or 3 basal shoots and have separated them without issues.