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Growing Nepenthes Maxima x Talangensis


Question
What is the temperature range and the humidity range to grow successfully Nepenthes maxima x talangensis ? I have heard that is from 85 - 55F. The problem is that temperatures here in Puerto Rico are 96F - 70F but I am growing my Carnivorous Plants on my bedroom. I use 2, Double 4foot fluorescent light fixtures, with 40watts each bulb, to grow my Carnivorous Plants and Orchids. At day my room stays 94F at day, but at night it goes down to 64F. With a Humidity of 70% at day and at night goes to 80%. I just want to grow them without having problems, like having black spots on the leafs, and my big fear is that it wont produce big pitchers.

Answer
One thing to keep in mind about growing plants is that it is an art.  Guidelines and care instructions only help point you in the right direction.  Beyond that, it is up to you, the grower, to make adjustments according to the plants' response to its specific environment.  I can't tell you that anything that will absolutely prevent black spots or ensure pitcher development.  There are many factors in your specific environment that I simply cannot account for, like a draft coming from a cooling vent, or the pooling of warm air in one section of your room, or the declining intensity of old bulbs.  

Technically your question is a how-to questions, something we no longer answer in this format because there are many forums where new growers can get advice from other growers who grow plants in similar fashion as you do.  We grow plants on a large scale in greenhouses, so I can't really speak to your specific setup.  The only thing I can tell you is what we've seen in our nursery.

This hybrid produces pitchers quite profusely during the summer months and declines in winter.  At our nursery, it sometimes stops producing pitchers in winter altogether because of the lower light levels.  In summer, it grows in very bright filtered light throughout the day with highs in 90s and lows in the 50s.  We also water our plants daily during the summer months.  (Relative humidity often drops to 35% during the day in the greenhouse.)

If anything, your plant may need slightly cooler nights.  The cool nights is important to help it conserve energy.  If the nights are too warm, it may not pitchers.  I don't know if lows of 64癋 is sufficient.  If you see lack of pitcher development, then that might be the case.

Other than that, I don't see any red flags in your set up.  As long as you have very good air circulation and you're watering your plants regularly, your plant will grow fine.  

One thing I recommend is growing plants that are best suited for your growing conditions.  Your conditions are great for a wide variety of Nepenthes coming from intermediate and lowland conditions.  Many of these plants have pitchers that are just as spectacular as a talangensis hybrid.  For us, we carry only highland and intermediate Nepenthes because they grow best for us.  We avoid lowland Nepenthes because we simply can't keep our greenhouse warm enough for them.  So if you get unsatisfactory results with your hybrid, consider a different type of Nepenthes that would readily flourish in your conditions.  Given your location, you can also grow Nepenthes outdoors!

Good growing!
Jacob Farin

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