Monday, August 19, 2019

Nepenthes reward

I bought my first Nepenthes alata at the Portland Nursery houseplant sale, January 2018. Since it's a tropical plant it had to spend the next few months under lights, in the basement. That poor plant never again saw the light of day, dying before it could get outside in the spring.

I tried again, buying a gorgeous plant at Pomarius last June. That one looked great all summer and even after the fist month or so it spent in the basement, last fall. Then we had a guest stay over Thanksgiving and the basement heat vent was opened. I didn't realize how much hot, dry, air it was blowing and since there was someone staying in the space I didn't venture down to water and mist the plants. The Nepenthes lived, but the pitchers started drying up, not a great look.

However...they're back!

I am thrilled. I've kept this plant alive and happy over a year's time and it's grown new pitchers. If I were British I might say I'm chuffed!

So what does one do upon experiencing plant success? They challenge themselves to do it again. I spotted this gorgeous Nepenthes 'Miranda' at the August Portland Nursery houseplant sale. It was expensive, and I walked away. But it kept popping back into my head, 30% off and I hadn't yet spent some money I got for my birthday. What the heck, let's see if I can have repeat success with this bad boy, named 'Miranda' I guess it's a girl...

Look at those fabulous leaves, and the beautiful (huge) pitchers...

So much drama!

The hanging pot came from Garden Fever. Plant + container, so much for that birthday money...

Weather Diary, Aug 18: Hi 77, Low 58/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

22 comments:

  1. Congrats on your success! You deserve to try and repeat it. Your new one is very pretty, with all those lovely spots. I find them enchanting to look at, and I have to admit, I have been very tempted to give all the bug-catching plants a try, but I don't know if I can commit to trying to figure out the ins and outs of their care. I love the fact that so many succulents seem to be idiotproof, so that's what I'm sticking with for now, given my more or less idiot-like state.

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    1. I'm not buying that "my more or less idiot-like state" business! Also sarracenia could not be easier, really. Just keep them a little boggsy.

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  2. She looks great, Loree! If it helps any, my local botanic garden has a terrible time keeping their pitcher plants looking good - and they're grown in a greenhouse! As that's one of my usual stops when I guide tours of kids, I routinely check in on them. It's very disappointing when the garden's only carnivorous plants look half dead.

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    1. Well that's too bad, although according to Even (below) maybe it can't be helped?

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  3. I’d say so well done with that birthday money! Plant and pot are beautifully suited to each other. Nice work!

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  4. Nothing feels as good as success with a challenging plant. Although I'm not as brave as you are, I know the feeling! Your collection of metal pots is growing and looking great!

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    1. So many containers, metal or otherwise...where will they all go come winter!?

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  5. Congrats on the success! I just got my first Nepenthes this year and am waiting for a few in particular to be restocked on Sarracenia Northwest's website so I can get more! From what I've read on that site, it's pretty normal for the pitchers to shrivel up in winter and for the plant to wait to produce more until spring. Some start producing pitchers again earlier than others, and some hang on to their pitchers better in winter.

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    1. Good to know it's not just my bad plant parenting skills. I hope you'll share photos of what you end up with.

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  6. A pretty one - it looks like it has a zipper next to that fringe!

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  7. Outrageous ! I,m just struggling with keeping a Venus Fly Trap alive on the bathroom windowsill. These "creatures" are new to me .....but fascinating !

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  8. Very very cool! I'm in shock that I managed to keep the Sarracineas that I bought at Plantfest last Sept alive -though I would not say they are thriving. I wish you success with this one -it is well staged in the pavilion.

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  9. Perfect pot ,so now you can hope it turns out to be the perfect plant as well. I only know the name Nepenthe as the famous Big Sur restaurant.

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    1. Have you been there? (the restaurant) I just looked it up, quite the view!

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    2. I was there with my roommate in summer 1972 when we lived in Rochester, NY and spent the summer doing a cross country tour.

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  10. Best way to celebrate birthdays is to buy yourself more plants. Miranda is a beauty. I had a Nepenthes hanging in the bright light of our bathroom for a couple of years before it departed but it was well worth it. They are really cool plants.

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    1. I wish our bathroom was larger, so many plants would love the humidity it provides.

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  11. Ironically, my Nepenthes x Miranda bloomed a few years ago and revealed himself to be male. This was very exciting until I read that all Mirandas are male, making this flowering episode unnecessary.

    If you have any leggy shoots at the end of the season and want plant insurance, I've successfully rooted Miranda cuttings in water and ignored them for many years before finally potting up. In my experience, the pitchers burn when the humidity drops below about 40 percent.

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