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Nepenthes ventricosa, commonly known as Tropical or Asian
Pitcher Plant, is a highland plant from the Phillippines.
It's a relatively compact climber. There are several
forms, this is the Red form. Ventricosa produces a
beautiful pitchers, and displays well in a hanging basket.
A very easy highland species. One of the easiest to grow
of all nepenthes, great for beginner.
The long leaves cascade over the pot, 8-12 inches long,
growing in a rosette fashion from a central climbing stem
and terminated with a tendril. The tendril is used both
to support the plant as it climbs up through the
undergrowth and the trap itself which forms from it.
The traps start out at first as a small swelling, but
quickly expand to their full size over the course of
several weeks. As these plants mature, they produce long
vines and reddish pitchers of 4-8 inches across. The
plant has two types of traps, lower and upper. This
brightly colored Philippine native has hourglass-shaped,
are red, ringed by a darker red peristome.
The lid opens to reveal digestive fluids in the bottom of
the trap. Prey is attracted by the gaudy colours and
nectar produced by the trap, under the lid, which does
not close and around the rim. The pitchers of Nepenthes
species have a smooth lining. Insects and other small
animals that are attracted to the pitchers cannot
maintain a grip on this slippery surface and fall into
the pitcher. Once they move their way inside, they lose
their footing and slip into the nectar. The nectar is
also quite intoxicating. The lower section inside the
trap is covered in digestive glands and these quickly
dissolve the soft parts of the prey, leaving the remains
to drop down to the bottom into the soup.
While in some species the upper and lower pitchers look
similar, there are others where the two are so distinctly
different that you would swear they are two different
species. The upper pitchers are generally smaller than
lower pitchers, often lacking wings, and attached to the
tendril at the back. These upper pitcher tendrils, before
forming a pitcher, will often curl around an object such
as a branch, to give the climbing stem support. Nepenthes
are dioecious, male and female flowers exist on different
plants. If you have several plants, and a few are
blooming, then you may be able to pollinate them.
Hardiness zone 10, (1°C/35°F) in Winter. This plant is
a highland. It can live in a wide range of temperatures.
Although it is a highland plant, it actually grows as
well as an intermediate.
Species of Nepenthes grow on soils that are poor in
nutrients or on other plants where nutrients are not
readily available. Plants, such as some Nepenthes, that
grow on other plants, but do not take nutrients from the
supporting plants, are referred to as epiphytes. In order
to grow in places that are poor in nutrients, Nepenthes
have adapted a carnivorous lifestyle, which supplements
their intake of nitrogen and other nutrients. The soil
needs to be light and airy. All the plants grew in a very
wet acidic sandy soil. Use pure peat moss. You can also
use a mix of equal parts of peat moss, perlite,
vermiculite and long-fibred sphagnum moss.
The plants should be watered regularly but should not be
left standing in water at any time. Try too keep them
warm and humid but not stagnant and wet. Use rain water
or distillated water, hard city water will kill your
carnivorous plant. Lowlands and Highlands Nepenthes like
high humidity and watering should be done when the soil
starts to look dry on the top.
It seems to prefer bright indirect sunlight to partial
sun. Light will color the traps red. Highland Nepenthes
tend to be slower growing than lowland and require a
lower night temperature than day temperature. Nights
range between 13-17°C and days 23-29°C. Night
temperatures absolutely must drop below 17°C for
seedlings of most species to survive. Highlanders will be
happy with a minimum relative humidity of 60%.
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