# Nepenthis sp. 'Miranda'



## l4nsky (Jan 12, 2019)

Hola, 

First post so please be kind. I've always been a fan of predatory animals and last year I decided to try predatory plants. I had venus fly traps when I was little, (you know those little plastic cubes you can pick up at the big box hardware stores with half dead plants?) but understandably I didnt have much luck. I began researching Nepenthes after seeing a picture of N. hamata and just being in awe that it was an actual plant and not a prop out of some movie. Of course, I didnt start with hamata. They are a little pricey and my green thumb doesn't have the best positive history. I finally decided on the tried and true hybrid known as Miranda (N. northiana x N. maxima). They grow large and, seeing as they are of mixed descent and possessing hybrid rigor, are more forgiving of less than ideal conditions. I found a large (12"+ leafspan) for sale on Etsy and pulled thetrigger. Big mistake. One, these things do not ship well at this size. The pitchers naturally hang down past the pot. Even though the shipper managed to get them in the pot, some inevitably fell down and were damaged badly by the pot during shipping. Second mistake was I ordered this in June in the Midwest and was only offered two day shipping. Needless to say, it was quite beat up and I didnt expect it to recover. I was wrong. After being outside in the heat and humidity that is the Midwest summer and receiving a few hours of afternoon sun and plenty of drained waterings, I started to see new growth. Attached below is a picture of the new growth. Notice the dead pitcher and the other leaves missing pitchers from the rough shipping.
	

		
			
		

		
	




Fast forward to now. Little did I know this guy would make a bounding recovery. This guy is inside for the winter and is still thriving and producing pitchers in the low humidity environment that is my furnace heated apartment.
	

		
			
		

		
	







Needless to say, I think I found a new hobby. I'm already starting to source various pure species and man made hybrids for this upcoming spring. Pretty sure I'm going to go the 3" route and grow them up from undamaged seedlings. Looking forward to growing this collection in addition to the T's.

Thanks,
--Matt

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## Arthroverts (Jan 13, 2019)

Wow, that is so cool! I've wanted to get into exotic (especially predatory) plants outside of bromeliads, orchids, and lucky bamboo, but I can't keep a steady, warm temperature that they need to thrive. That is a beautiful plant though! Good luck with it and your future plants!

Thanks for sharing,

Arthroverts

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## l4nsky (Jan 13, 2019)

Arthroverts said:


> ... I can't keep a steady, warm temperature that they need to thrive.


Hola,

While they are tropical and do enjoy the higher temps, humidity is actually the limiting factor most people run into when caring for them. In fact, all but the extreme lowland species can and do appreciate a night time dip into the 60's. My suggestion is do a little bit of research here: https://www.carnivorousplants.co.uk/resources/nepenthes-interactive-guide/ and then dive in head first. This cultivar (Miranda) is recommended for first time growers and does just fine in a south facing window with plenty of moisture in a well draining container. If you can grow orchids, then Nepenthes are well within your wheelhouse.

Thanks,
--Matt

Reactions: Helpful 1


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## schmiggle (Jan 14, 2019)

I've been growing CPs seriously for about 5 years, and I absolutely love them. A very rewarding group of plants, and many are easy to keep in my extremely limited space because they grow slowly and don't get very big (with the exception of many Nepenthes). Plants in general often make remarkable recoveries (my guess is that it's largely because we forget about the roots), and I'm glad to see yours is no exception--it looks very happy. Are you providing supplemental lighting?

Two general pieces of advice that don't really apply to x Miranda--if you're going to get serious about many of the highland species, you'll need a well-lit terrarium or a greenhouse, and a consistent night time drop in temperatures is crucial, probably significantly more important than the peak daytime temperature. 

What species and hybrids have you ordered? It sounds like we'll be starting our first batches of Nepenthes species around the same time.

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## pannaking22 (Jan 14, 2019)

I can't wait until I live in a place with south facing windows. I do have some _Sarracenia _on the sunniest windowsill, but I wish I could get them more light. It seems like they do well though, so maybe I could pull it off with _Nepenthes_. It gets ridiculously dry here during the day, especially in the summer, so I'm not sure how well carnivorous plants would do out on the balcony.


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## schmiggle (Jan 14, 2019)

pannaking22 said:


> I can't wait until I live in a place with south facing windows. I do have some _Sarracenia _on the sunniest windowsill, but I wish I could get them more light. It seems like they do well though, so maybe I could pull it off with _Nepenthes_. It gets ridiculously dry here during the day, especially in the summer, so I'm not sure how well carnivorous plants would do out on the balcony.


Sarracenia shouldn't care how dry it is as long as you leave them in a bowl of water, same goes for temperate sundews. Nepenthes won't like it. However, if you have a window that's bright enough to grow Sarracenia it will be more than bright enough to grow most Nepenthes (the exception being some highland and ultra highland species you weren't going to be able to grow on a windowsill anyway). 

If you grow Sarracenia in a windowsill, how do you provide a winter dormancy? Also, are you growing S. psittacina or something else? I believe psittacina needs less light and barely any dormancy relative to other species, which would explain to me how what you're doing works. The situation you're describing is the one new growers tend to be taught to avoid, but you have enough growing experience that I trust that you would know if your plants were really doing poorly.


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## l4nsky (Jan 14, 2019)

schmiggle said:


> Are you providing supplemental lighting?
> 
> What species and hybrids have you ordered?


Hola, 

No on the supplemental light. It's kept on the edge of a desk next to a window with southern exposure. I placed it on the bookcase temporarily as I needed the space for a project. As far as my future acquisitions, I'm thinking of ordering a super or an ultra grab bag from https://predatoryplants.com/collect...cts/nepenthes-grab-bag?variant=14407282360378 for the excellent variety to value ratio and then slotting in the species that I really want (hamata, lowii, aristolochioides, bicalcarata, truncata, veitchii x platychila,  some of the Titan cultivars, etc) as I feel I have the experience and the environment dialed in.

Thanks,
--Matt


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## pannaking22 (Jan 14, 2019)

schmiggle said:


> Sarracenia shouldn't care how dry it is as long as you leave them in a bowl of water, same goes for temperate sundews. Nepenthes won't like it. However, if you have a window that's bright enough to grow Sarracenia it will be more than bright enough to grow most Nepenthes (the exception being some highland and ultra highland species you weren't going to be able to grow on a windowsill anyway).
> 
> If you grow Sarracenia in a windowsill, how do you provide a winter dormancy? Also, are you growing S. psittacina or something else? I believe psittacina needs less light and barely any dormancy relative to other species, which would explain to me how what you're doing works. The situation you're describing is the one new growers tend to be taught to avoid, but you have enough growing experience that I trust that you would know if your plants were really doing poorly.


I've found that even indoors they drain their bowls of water fast, so I'd be hesitant to put them out on the balcony unless I could definitely fill them at least a couple times a day. I'd likely get one of the hardy hybrid _Nepenthes_, so I wouldn't have to worry about anything too advanced.

I think with how poorly the windows are sealed they can get a winter of sorts, so they'll go semi dormant at least. The handful of _Drosera _in the same pot seem to die back completely, but the _Sarracenia _still hold on. No IDs unfortunately since I bought them from a random guy at a herp/invert show and he'd just been growing them in his yard. One pot definitely looks like _S. psittacina _and I haven't had any issues with that one. The other is one of the taller species, but even then it's not one of the giant species you sometimes see pics of. I had definitely wanted to avoid it, but I wasn't sure how with my current living situation, so I just set them up there and kept my fingers crossed. I monitor them really closely and while any fall/winter pitchers that come up tend to be pale, the plants still seems to be in really good health. I make sure to cut back old pitchers as soon as they start turning brown, so that may help because less nutrients is wasted on the dying parts.


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## Arthroverts (Jan 21, 2019)

I am thinking I'll try my hand at some Drosera capensis, as they grow year round and stay small. I have been having an outbreak of scuttle flies and fungus gnats, so hopefully it will help with that! I'd love to get some Nepenthes sp. some day when I have enough space, they are so cool looking!

Thanks again,

Arthroverts


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## Arthroverts (Jan 29, 2019)

I just ordered a Drosera capensis 'Albino' and a Nepenthes Secret Victory (_Nepenthes_ _sanguinea _"red" ×_ventricosa _"red") from Predatory Plants, and am working on building a sufficient terrarium to house them. Many thanks all of you for sharing your experiences and plants!

Thanks,

Arthroverts

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## MikeyD (Jan 29, 2019)

You know what Drosera is really nice and not difficult.  It’s easy from seed if you are patient and have lots of light.   D burmannii.   It makes very round little plants that grow pressed against the potting mix.   Also D binata is easy from seed and it grows into a very impressive stag horn shaped plant.   Those are my two favorites as far as ease of growth.

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## schmiggle (Jan 29, 2019)

Arthroverts said:


> I just ordered a Drosera capensis 'Albino' and a Nepenthes Secret Victory (_Nepenthes_ _sanguinea _"red" ×_ventricosa _"red") from Predatory Plants, and am working on building a sufficient terrarium to house them. Many thanks all of you for sharing your experiences and plants!
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Arthroverts


You shouldn't need a terrarium for those two, just grow lights. They'll be ok at ambient humidity.


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## Arthroverts (Jan 31, 2019)

The terrarium is more to keep heat inside during the day (for the pitcher plant), as the room I will be keeping these in gets into the low sixties at night (perfect for a nighttime temperature drop for the pitcher plant).

Thanks,

Arthroverts


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