Nepenthes Growing Information From: Chris Creel (Ctcreel@top.cis.syr.edu) Date: April 1995 PREFACE This is by no means a complete work. It is something which I have been working on for a year or two to aid those people who want to start growing Nepenthes. I have lost many a plant and spent many a dollar trying to save those plants. I finally realized that the most important rule to Nepenthes is to ignore them. Hear these words for they will save your precious plants! INTRODUCTION This is a manual I give out to people who are interested in growing Nepenthes but aren't quite sure how. Nepenthes are my favorite plant of all. I find them to be exceedingly beautiful and even more interesting. Unfortunately, I have never had the money or the space to build my own greenhouse. Fortunately, the idea that you can only grow Nepenthes in a greenhouse is a myth. Below I share with you many time tested techniques that I have gathered over the years by trial and error and from other growers. The provided information should work with all but the most exotic species. Not to worry though. If you have one of these species, you are a professional with a lot of money invested and won't need this manual. There are 5 basic variables that you need to control in order to have happy Nepenthes. they are: 1) Temperature 2) Humidity 2) Light 3) Water 4) Growing medium 5) Feeding If you are able to provide your you plants with perfect conditions for the above variables, you will have extremely happy Nepenthes. Unfortunately, the expense for providing these values can be overwhelming. Fortunately, your Nepenthes will negotiate. By this I mean that if you can provide 3 great values and 2 poor, then they will give you good growth. So, if you do not have the required lighting, then up their humidity or improve their growing medium. But there is one factor that is extremely important. you must not ignore this rule. Above all else, you must ignore your plants! Leave them alone for months without fiddling with them. Give them nothing but water and the occasional insect. As you'll learn below, Nepenthes can stand most anything but radical shifts in their environment. It will take your plants at least six months before they are used to their environment (whatever that may be). After this adjustment period, they should be just fine. The moral of this story is that you should create a nice place for your plants to live before they arrive. After that, come hell or high water, leave them alone. TEMPERATURE Nepenthes, I have found, are tolerant to a wide range of temperatures. Highland species can withstand temperatures as low as 41F in the wild while lowland species can take 59F. Generally, however, you should use the same rule of thumb as one does with orchids: "the plants are comfortable if you are comfortable." This means keeping the plants at around 75F to 85F. This does not, however, mean that you should panic if the temperature rises to 100F. The only time you should panic is if the temperature goes above 110F or below 45F. I have found that, unlike many other plants, Nepenthes do not live in their roots. Thus, if their leaves freeze or fry, the plant will likely die. This observation is also mentioned below in the "pruning section." Another point to remember is that Nepenthes need time to adjust to any new climate. Keeping a steady temperature is not as important as keeping the humidity steady (mentioned below), but radical temperature shifts can cause shock. For instance, if you live in a cold climate and need to transport a plant from a terrarium to the car to another terrarium, make sure you first warm up the car and take the necessary steps to prevent the plant from getting hit with cold air. Shock is discussed below in a special section. HUMIDITY Humidity is a hotly debated topic among Nepenthes growers. I was always under the impression that all Nepenthes needed to be in humidity levels of 70 percent or more to do well. This could not be further from the truth for quite a few Nepenthes (discussed below). Admittedly, many Nepenthes do need extremely high humidity, but so do some "houseplants," i.e. Anthurium. The rule of thumb should be: if the plant is cheap or someone told you it grows well in low humidity, go for it. What you should keep in mind, however, is that Nepenthes will die very quickly if taken from a high humidity environment to a low humidity environment. Like temperature, radical changes in humidity will cause problems. The predicament is exacerbated when the plant is placed in direct sunlight. If you bought a plant from a greenhouse and would like to introduce it into the home, try the following technique: 1) if it is bare root, carefully plant it in the growing medium described below, being sure to disturb the roots as little as possible. 2) make sure you plant it in a plastic pot (discussed below 3) treat it with Superthrive to reduce stress (described below). 4) place it in a window which receives indirect light only. 5) if your house is heated with forced heat, make sure the plant is not near a vent. 6) Spray it once daily for the first three weeks. Stop after the third week. 7) After four weeks, move it to a window which receives direct light. 8) Make sure that the plant never dries out. I would highly suggest that you purchase an AMI water meter. This meter takes the guess work out of watering and is available at most plant stores. If you have such a device, water when the needle hits 6. For those Nepenthes that require it, keeping a humidity level of 50 percent or greater should suffice. One complaint that people have when growing Nepenthes in low humidity environments is that they won't pitcher. I feel that this problem can often be overcome with other means (mentioned in feeding below). But if your plant simply won't pitcher, then it is probably time to move it to a greenhouse/terrarium. LIGHT Light is the one area in which Nepenthes are not very forgiving. If they do not get enough light, their leaves will be spindly and their pitchers, if they have them, will not have the proper coloring. Longwood Gardens has a very impressive Nepenthes collection. I have visited the growing room at Longwood on various occasions to determine what light levels they were using. The growing room is about 18 feet square and is densely packed with plants (exotic and common alike). They mist the plants incessantly and keep the light levels around 4000 lumens for a photo-period of around 12 hours. My own experience, however, has shown that Longwood's conditions may be a bit extreme. I grow the majority of my plants in a large growing tank called a phototron (discussed below) which floods the plants from all sides with 1800 lumens for 18 hours a day. I have found that the plants which I grow in my windowsills receive about the same strength light as the plants in the tank (when the sun is out). The plants in the tank however, are healthier. This does not seem to be because of the strength of the light they receive, but the length of the photo-period. Nepenthes need about 12 to 14 hours of strong light a day. If the plants cannot get enough sunlight, then you my supplement their daily dose with artificial light. For instance, if it gets light at around 8 and dark around 5 (say it is winter), then set up two grow lights (no full spectrum, please) to turn on at 6, off at 8, on at 5 and off at 6 or 7. If you want to grow you plants under lights, then I would suggest simple grow lights. Nepenthes seem to like the purple variety (Gro-Lux, for instance). When I was a kid, I grew a beautiful N.rafflesiana in a small fish tank under two 12" Gro-Lux flourescents with a photoperiod of 18 hours a day. They had great color and pitchered profusely. WATER Water is the next in line for importance. Nepenthes need plenty of extremely clean water. They do not take well to city treated tap water. The fluorine in the water has a bad effect on all plants, but Nepenthes especially hate it. In addition to the chemicals, the minerals in the water can quickly build up in the medium and kill the plant. The best water to use is, in order of preference, tested bottled water, distilled water, rain water, filtered water. When using any of these, watch the medium carefully. If you notice a build up of minerals, it is time to look for another source of water. A tip which I mentioned above, is to use an AMI water meter. Check the plant every 3 to 5 days. When the needle hits 6, water the plant until the medium is thoroughly soaked. I have only found one Nepenthes which can take drying out, and that is an N.fusca. This plant is used to living in rocks where it dries out often. It is better to be safe, however, and keep all your Nepenthes perpetually moist. This is not, however, to say they should be kept soggy. Treat them like you would treat a Boston Fern. Another little tip for watering Nepenthes is one that I picked up from orchid growers. If possible, water your plants with warm water (around 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit ). They seem to like it and it removes any possibility of inducing shock (remember, Nepenthes hate drastic changes). AIR FLOW This is a rather vague issue with Nepenthes. Most of the Nepenthes I have seen thrive in stagnant air. The air in the growing rooms at Longwood Gardens is so still and humid, it is difficult to breath. Most terrariums have no air vents at all and the plants seem to love it. The irony is that fungus loves the same environment. Fungus can wipe out an entire collection within a few days. Fungus grows quickly in the medium without you even noticing. Then, one day, you'll notice some "fuzzy" substance on your growing medium. If you do not act quickly and decisively, you will lose a major battle and risk losing the war. First and foremost, allow a little air to move through the growing environment. Next, treat the growing medium of all the plants with a fungicide. Finally, watch them carefully for a while. GROWING MEDIUM This is another area of great controversy among Nepenthes growers. Nepenthes seem to do well in a variety of mediums. The two common denominators among all these mediums seem to be: low to no nutrients, acidic to neutral in pH. Another important attribute is frequency of repotting. As you may have guessed, Nepenthes hate to be subjected to sudden changes in growing medium and repotting. When repotting, try to disturb the roots as little as possible. Below I have listed all the mediums I have heard about and their qualities. Longwood mix (old): 1/2 peat moss, 1/2 course perlite. The good thing about this mix is that it is simple and provides good drainage. In spite of the good drainage quality, this medium will hold a lot of water and will prolong the period in between watering. There are also wide spread reports that Nepenthes grow faster in peat moss. The first bad thing is that it is not as diverse as the medium that Nepenthes enjoy in the wild. The second is that peat moss tends to break down after a year or two, making it imperative that the plant be repotted. Longwood mix (new): 1/2 osmunda fiber, 1/2 long fiber sphagnum Again, drainage is the best thing about this mix. However, this mix will hold more water than the old mix because of the osmunda fiber. This mix is also better as it has more "stuff" in it. Instead of just one organic component, it has two (the osmunda). A bad thing about this mix is that I still do not believe it to be diversified enough. I feel that one or two more components might make this mix much better. For instance, the addition of pine bark, charcoal or silica sand. Also, this mix suffers from the same "breakdown" that the old one suffered from. In fact, the osmunda will break down faster than the long fiber sphagnum. Silica Sand Mix Purists seem to like to try this one. There are several good things about planting Nepenthes in only Silica Sand. First is that the sand provides decent drainage. Second, silica sand is slightly acidic. Finally, it will never break down. However, I have never heard of a Nepenthes growing like a weed in silica sand. In fact, I have heard just the opposite. Coconut fiber This is a new development. I have just recently heard of people using coconut fiber for planting Nepenthes. I have heard very good things so far, although I haven't yet tried it myself. This might be a good replacement for osmunda fiber in the new Longwood mix above as is does not break down as quickly as osmunda. Chris's Favorite: 2 parts long fiber sphagnum 1 part peat moss 1 part charcoal 1 part orchid bark (medium grade) 1 part osmunda or coconut bark 1 part silica sand The good thing about this mix is that it is an excellent medium for many different Nepenthes. It also provides the plant with a feast of low nutrient mediums that provide excellent trace elements. All but the charcoal and coconut bark are slightly to very acidic. My plants love it and have thrived for many years. The bad thing, of course, is that you need to acquire all these ingredients. The second bad thing about this medium is that the peat will break down before anything else, requiring you to repot. Of course, you can omit the peat and get a year or two longer without much difference in the speed of growth. As an aside, when repotting, always use plastic pots. The reason for this is three fold. First and foremost, clay pots have a tenancy to draw moisture away from the plants roots, requiring you to water much more frequently. Second, minerals tend to build up in clay pots, instead of washing away as they do in plastic. Finally, clay pots have a tenancy to harbor bacteria and other beasties. So, while clay may look nicer, plastic is simply the only way to go with Nepenthes. PRUNING Pruning can be a heart wrenching, but necessary task. There is a positive side to pruning, however: as you whack away at your plants, you are producing cuttings which can be turned in to new plants. The thing to remember when pruning Nepenthes is that they are, in fact, a vine. The same rules that apply to a wisteria, roughly, apply to Nepenthes. The first thing that you must decide is how you want your plant to grow and whether or not it can fulfill such a look. If you would like your Nepenthes to climb an arbor then you need to make sure that the plant will grab hold. Not all Nepenthes will do this. For instance, N.mirabilis will grab, but not as ferociously as other species. N.ventricosa will strangle anything near by with amazing strength. Once you have a plant that will climb, then simply let it go. It will seek out suitable places to grab hold and the tendrils (the long narrow shaft that appears at the end of the leaf and before the pitcher) will twine around the arbor and take hold. If you have a plant that doesn't seem inclined to climb, then you may still grow it as a vine by simply tying it to a support. Please use an appropriate pole, however. Don't start thrusting square pieces of wood into the growing medium, possibly destroying roots. The other option here is to grow the plant in a hanging basket and let is cascade over the side. Nepenthes are perfectly happy to do this. This is how most conservatories grow their Nepenthes. This method is also relatively easy to do. All that is required is that you cut back the growth to within 4 to 6 inches of the medium., depending on the size of the plant. By doing this, the plant will put out numerous leaders around the cut and further down the stalk. These leaders will cascade over the side of the growing container. For examples of this, either visit Longwood gardens or, if this is not an option, get a copy of the Carnivorous Plant Newsletter, volume 21, number 4 of December 1992. The address is listed below in the "Further Reading" section. FEEDING This is an extremely important section. Nepenthes are undoubtedly carnivorous. The roots of Nepenthes are very delicate and serve, primarily, to deliver water and not nutrients to the plant. When faced with chemical fertilizers (i.e., Miracle-Gro, Peter's Special), the roots will quickly burn and the plant will die. There is absolutely no doubt about this. There are three ways in which to get nutrients to your plant. They are listed below in order of preference. 1) Insects This is, by far, the best way to feed your plants. The liquid in the pitcher before the introduction of an insect, is either neutral or acidic. When an insect in introduced, however, the water becomes quite acidic. In fact, it has been shown that this effect can be obtained by simply shaking the pitcher (which will become important later). Thus, the plant has a measurable reaction to the introduction of an insect or organic material. Most beginners feel that your ordinary housefly is the best fair for Nepenthes. This could not be further from the truth. The general housefly is truly a disgusting little insect that carries with it, loads of bacteria and fungus spores. If you feed a fly to your plant, do not be surprised to find mold, fungus or larvae in the pitcher within a few days. If you really feel the need to feed your plant insects which you catch, stick to insects that enjoy strictly sugars. For instance, honey bees are a good choice, yellow jackets, and carpenter ants are others. For a bit of irony, you can use spiders. The downside to the first two is, of course, they sting. But they can be slowed down to a safe handling state by refrigerating them (discussed below). A better choice is pet store bugs. The easiest to handle are mealy worms. You can usually get a container of 50 or so and you keep them in the refrigerator. Keeping them cold puts them in a stasis which can keeps them from dying for quite some time. This also slows them down so that they are easy to handle. It may be my imagination, but from my experience, it seems as though Nepenthes like pet store crickets better than mealy worms. They seem to break down faster and the plants show a growth spurt sooner after feeding than with mealy worms. The downside to crickets is that they move much faster than mealy worms. This problem can be alleviated by putting the crickets in the refrigerator for a little while to slow them down. You'll need to work fast, however, since the crickets will start to wake up and realize that you are trying to feed them to a plant. Most insects respond to cold (below 32 degrees Fahrenheit) by slowing down and "going to sleep." One must be careful, however, so that sleep does not become death. The best way to knock out a bug is by either putting them in a plastic bag or a glass jar with a vented lid and putting them in the freezer. Check the bug every 60 seconds to see if they are out yet. If you are handling stinging insects, then use a pair of long nosed tweezers to handle them as they can still sting. One tip from someone who knows: Carpenter Bees (Bumble Bees) can produce their own heat and take forever to go to sleep. It is best not to use the behemoths. If all of this talk of chilling insects just so you can feed them to a plant seems quite inhumane, have heart. The insects simply "go to sleep" with no ill effects after they have warmed up. Even better, the liquid in Nepenthes has several agents which will put a quick, painless end to their meal. First, there is an anesthesia which slows down the prey and may even put them to sleep. Second, their are wetting agents which quickly drown it. I have rarely seen a pet store cricket last more than a minute or two. Of course this is facilitated by the fact that they were partially asleep when I put them in the trap. You have to remember that the plant wants to minimize its chances of getting injured and maximize its chance of getting a meal. Feeding becomes a moot point if the plants are living outside and able to get their own food. Nepenthes are extremely capable of doing this. Friends of mine in Florida have told me that they sometime have to plug up the opening of large pitchers to stop the influx of roaches. Check the pitchers every month or so to make sure the plants are getting a good supply of food. In the absence of captured prey, I would suggest supplementing their diet with pet store bugs. Finally, the question remains of "how much do I feed these things?" Well, there is no rule in the known literature on this. My rule is to feed the trap until the bugs are 1/3 up the water line. You can check this by feeding the plant and then holding a flashlight behind the trap. This will clearly show how much water there is in the trap and how many bugs. Occasionally, if the plant has been overfed or some nasty bug got in the trap, a fungus will form on the water. This is a very bad thing for the trap. If not treated quickly, the trap will die (the plant will not suffer any damage, however). The only way that I know of to safely handle this situation is to shake the trap daily. This will maximize the pH in the trap. Hopefully, the pH level attained will be sufficient to kill the fungus. Never spray fungicides in to the trap. 2) Feeding the trap things other than insects As a general rule, do not do this. This is a quick way to kill a trap (the plant will not be affected). Things like pet food, meat or dried egg whites should be avoided. 3) Fertilizing This should be pursued only by the intermediate or expert grower who can withstand losing a plant. If this is your first time with Nepenthes, skip this section and pretend like you never saw it. Different Nepenthes react differently to fertilizers. I know that the more exotic highland species and epiphytic Nepenthes simply do not take well to fertilizing. The less exotic species and lowland Nepenthes seem to enjoy the occasional root feeding. However, one should keep in mind that studies show that Nepenthes tend to be less carnivorous (i.e. fewer traps) when over fertilized. But if you plan on fertilizing, follow these general rules: 1) Never fertilize more than once a month. 2) When fertilizing, use 1/8 the recommended dosage. This may seem like an inconsequential amount, but when compared to the very low levels of nutrients in the soil, this is quite a bit. 3) Try and use "non-burning" fertilizers. The best one to use is MirAcid. Signs that your plant is not a happy Nepenthes are: 1) Retarded growth (misshapen leaves or gnarled pitchers). 2) Burning at the edges of the leaves. If your plant is showing signs of over fertilization, i.e., retarded growth or burning at the edges of the leaves, then the best course of action is to flush it out with distilled water and a dose of Superthrive (discussed below) at full strength. There is a safer route root feeding your plants. Instead of using chemical fertilizers, use organic one. These break down slowly over time and allow the plant to adjust to the new nutrient levels. There is also little chance of "overfeeding" the plant. Finally, it is something that the plant is familiar with. The following is a list of good organic fertilizers: 1) Fish emulsion at full strength - This is a great all around fertilizer. Unfortunately, it has two major drawbacks. The first is that it smells to high heaven. The second it that it may give fungus a chance to sprout. But, if you can take the smell and your plants have good air circulation, then this is the stuff to use. 2) Seaweed emulsion at full strength - This is also a wonderful fertilizer. It doesn't smell to high heaven as fish emulsion does and it apparently has several naturally occurring hormones in it which benefit root growth. Furthermore, fungus don't seem to like it as much as fish emulsion. The only truly bad thing about seaweed emulsion is that it doesn't seem to produce the same levels of growth as fish emulsion. 3) Dried Blood at 1/4 strength - This is a rather controversial fertilizer. It has relatively high levels of nitrogen, something which Nepenthes enjoy. There are several trace elements in it which seem to be of benefit. Finally, if your plants are within reach of animals which may be interested in eating your them, dried blood will keep them away (this is also useful for gardens). Unfortunately, dried blood will also keep you away and create a smell most fowl. Do not use this stuff in the home as your family and visitors will think you have killed someone or something and left it in the basement. 4) Bone meal at full strength - Bone meal provides something which most people do not consider a needed mineral: calcium. Plants in general love calcium. There is basically no calcium in the growing medium for Nepenthes, so they resort to catching insects. I know of no ill effects of using bone meal. 5) Egg shells - This is something an old woman told me once. She said that the secret to her beautiful plants was a biweekly shot of egg shell water. Making egg shell water is a simple enough task. First, take the egg shells of six eggs. Put them in an oven at 300 degrees for about 15 minutes. Take them out and stuff them in to a 1 gallon water jug which may be capped. Fill the jug with hot water and let it sit in the sun for about a week. After that time, shake the jug vigorously and water your plants liberally. As you may have guessed, the calcium from the shells probably leeches out during the time in the water, thus producing growth spurts. I have tried this myself except that I did this once a month during my normal feeding/fertilizing time. I did notice a spike in growth and I have been doing it ever since. 5) Finally, I come to something which is not classified as a fertilizer, but is imperative for Nepenthes growers: Superthrive. It looks like snake oil but has been around for 50 years and is used by Orchid, Bonsai and Nepenthes culture with almost religious fervor. Basically, Superthrive is nothing more than B1 with a few other growth hormones. However, Nepenthes love it! Plants that have never pitchered pitcher like crazy. Slow growth is radically quickened. Coloration is improved. No, I don't own stock in the company, but I wish I did. This is truly great stuff that lives up to its fantastic claims. The most convincing argument I have ever heard for Superthrive is the report of an Internet Nepenthes grower who had been growing an N.rajah for several years without any pitchering. This is not unusual as the N.rajah species is, in general, extremely difficult to grow. However, after the grower had given the plant a shot of Superthrive, it began to pitcher. Most orchid nurseries in Florida carry this stuff. If you don't live in Florida and can't find it in the nurseries, I have provided a source for it below in the "resources section." Use Superthrive in strict accordance with the directions. Higher doses can kill a plant. DISTRESS Nepenthes can die very quickly from distress. The truly unfortunate thing is that once the plants have been subjected, there is little hope of recovery. Therefore, your primary course of action should be prevention. Nepenthes display stress generally by wilting. If you fear that the plant may be in trouble, carefully watch the growing tip. This part of the plant can be viewed as a monitor for stress. If it starts to wilt, act quickly and decisively, otherwise you will have several days of a slow painful Nepenthes death. If the leaves start to wilt, then it may be too late. Below you will find a list of various things to avoid that may induce stress and/or unhappy Nepenthes. After this list of Nepenthes horrors, I will give a few ways you may be able to treat your plants. 1) Any drastic change in environmental variables can throw your Nepenthes for a loop. For instance, radical shifts in temperature of more than 15 (Fahrenheit). Thus, keep your plants away from potential drafts. Negative changes in humidity can also make for an unhappy plant. The effects of radical shifts in humidity can be even more devastating than temperature shifts. Therefore, if you have greenhouse plants, work on them in the greenhouse. Do not bring them into the house to work on them. Households are notoriously dry. 2) Repotting can cause long lasting damage to your plant. Nepenthes roots are extremely delicate. When repotting, try and disturb the roots as little as possible. If you truly need to remove the growing medium from the roots, then let the plant soak in a container of warm, distilled water for a half an hour or so. If you still aren't satisfied, then run the roots under the tap. Anything more than this, however, and you risk shock. 3) Recently, on the Internet, a grower gave an account of how his plants were wilting and the edges of their leaves were turning brown after he had re-caulk his growing chamber. At first I thought the problem was that he had removed the plants from the growing chamber and then re-caulk (causing shifts in temperature and humidity). Someone else mentioned that it may very well be the fumes from the caulk. It turns out that it was the fumes from the caulk that was causing the problem (although the changes in humidity and temperature probably didn't help). The recommendation was to allow the caulk to fully cure before returning the plants to area. 4) Over fertilizing is a very common mistake among beginners. It is hard to believe that these plants would not enjoy a shot of Miracle Grow. The cold hard truth, however, is that these plants have spent several million years adapting to nutrient poor soil. The introduction of chemical fertilizers can cause massive root burn and result in a quick death. Remember, Nepenthes are not beginners plants. Always remember, they are carnivorous for a reason. Don't fight mother nature. All right, so you've made one of the previous blunders. Your new & expensive plant is in the throes of death and you feel completely helpless. Well, here are a few emergency room tactics that you can try. Follow them one at a time in order of need. 1) Flush your plants with a solution of Superthrive and warm, distilled water (80 degrees Fahrenheit). Reduce the amount of light by half, but not the photoperiod. If your plant cannot be moved from underneath the lights, then put several sheets of fine screen between the plant and the light. 2) If after one day the plant doesn't show signs of rejuvenation, carefully place a clear plastic bag over the plant and gently secure the bag at the bottom. 3) Finally, and this is truly a last resort, if the plant is not showing _any_ signs of improvement after several days, cut it back by a third and clip all of its leaves in half. You must now treat the plant like a cutting and hope for the best. SPECIAL SECTION - The Phototron The Phototron (PT) is a growing chamber for scientifically growing plants. It was designed by Pyraponic Industries Incorporated. This system has been around for many years and has proven to be a great success at growing many different sorts of plants. I have seen it advertised in every horticultural magazine from Horticulture to High Times. I have found that for people who do not have alot of space, the PT is the only way to go. I have one myself and have been having wonderful results for about two years. The system is basically three 40 watt light fixtures crammed into a growing chamber which has one way mirrors facing inwards to increase the lumens. It produces about 1800 lumens, which is plenty for Nepenthes. The other nice thing about the PT is that you can install an automatic watering system which draws water from a resevoir. I would highly suggest this device as it is a great time saver and the plants will enjoy regulating their own intake of water. A word of warning, however. Pyaponic Industries boasts of a wonderful system for growing plants using custom designed nutrients. Ignore these claims. They may work for other plants, but Nepenthes will die within days after being subjected to these nutrients. This may actually be a blessing as you do not have to pay their lab fees for soil analysis. If you decide to purchase a PT, this is how you would prepare it for growing Nepenthes: Once you have received it and have assembled it, place the wet sphagnum in the bottom of the chamber. Do not use the milled sphagnum as it tends to break down quickly. Next, fill your watering resevoir with a mixture of Superthrive (10 drops per gallon) and Miracid (1/8 teaspoon per gallon). Set your photoperiod for 16 hours to start and increase it to 18 after a month or so. That is all there is to it! You may have one concern about your new PT as I did. It would seem as though the humidity would be quite low due to the ventilation. Not to worry, the plants will get used to the new system quickly. They will enjoy being able to draw what water they need and will build a strong root system. Do not expend _any_ energy spraying the plants. It wastes your time and annoys the plants. One parting note concerning the PT. Do not loose your mind when buying plants for it. The PT can, at most, support 4 moderately sized Nepenthes. Any more and you will be approaching your PT with a machete weekly. If you are interested, the price is around $250.00 the last time I looked. This may seem steep, but it is well worth the price to do it right the first time. The address of Pyraponic Industries is: Pyraponic Industries, Inc. II On the Avenue of Science P.O. Box 27809 San Diego, CA 92198-1809 RESOURCES 1) Superthrive You can buy Superthrive from : Tropical Plant Products, INC 1715 Silver Star Road P.O. Box 547754 Orlando, FL 32854 2) Plants I will only list buyers whom I have bought from and have had a good experience with. None of them are very swift when it comes to shipping, but they get the job done and do it correctly. Rob Sacilotto Botanique Nursery Rt. 1 Box 183 Stanardsville, VA 22973 Lee's Botanical Garden's P.O. Box 669 LaBELLE FLA, 33935 Marie's Orchids and Carnivorous Plants 6400 Cedarbrook Drive Pinellas Park, FLA 34666 California Carnivores 7020 TrentonHealdsburg Road Forestville, CA 95436 This last address may be a bit dated. Tom recently moved and I am not sure if this is his correct address. If it is not and someone knows his current address, please tell me. Tom has great plants at wonderful prices. I bought a beautiful N.rafflesiana seedling from him and it is by far my most favorite plant. Tom Kahl 1351 Lake Washington Blvd. S Seattle, WA 98144 MORE INFORMATION For more information on Carnivorous plants in general, I would suggest you subscribe to the Carnivorous Plant Newsletter. You can do this by writing to: ICPS c/o Fullerton Arboretum CSUF Fullerton, CA 92634 BOOKS There are a great many books on carnivorous plants. A good portion of them are worth missing. The better ones, in my opinion are: "A Guide to Carnivorous Plants of the World" by Gordon Cheers. ISBN: 0 207 16186 0 "The Carnivorous Plants" by Francis Ernest Lloyd ISBN: 0 486 23321 9 "Carnivorous Plants of the World" by James and Patricia Pietropaolo ISBN: 0 88182 066 5 From: Tom Hayes (klmott@planetx.bloomu.edu) Date: Wed, 25 Jan 1995 20:00:39 -0800 Propagation (Tom Hayes) I take a cutting that is cut right below the third leaf. I peel off the lowest leaf, and then cut the tips off the remaining two leaves to reduce transpiration. I dip the cuttings in the following solution for one minute: 1 Quart of water 10 drops superthrive 5 drops Wood's rooting hormone 10 drops Vitamin B1 (yes, I know B1 is already in superthrive, I add more.) I obtain clear film canisters from a one hour photo lab (they would just throw them out anyway- someboby may as well get more use from them), and poke several small drainage holes in each. I have equal success using either fine vermiculite, or live/dead sphagnum. After pushing the cutting into the container, I place as many as seven such cuttings per gallon ziploc bag. I place these bags side by side under a 40 watt fluorescent shop light that is on 24 hours a day. The cuttings usually root within three weeks - some take a bit longer..... Granted I have not tried this on any of the more difficult species, but hopefully it will work for them as well. (Actually, I have rooted N. tobaica with this method, and people say that it is difficult to root.) The clear film containers enable you to see the roots as they develop, rather than having to disturb the cutting to check. I have a 95% success rate thus far.