New Nepenthes

[tom499]

A long with orchids I have a bug for carnivorous plants.
Here are my two new babies

I apologise for the shot, such was the excitement I couldnt keep still

N. sanguinea





N. ventricosa x inermis

[Tobi]

Very nice Tom. They look quite healthy and ready to feed.

[tom499]

These are still too yong to feed. They can catch small flies for themselves, midges and such, which is enough for them.Once they have larger pitchers 20cm+ they can be fed flies. Insects that are too big can rot inside the pitcher before they are digested.

[pikevi]

They are soooo nice. I am glad you got hold of red pitchers. I hope they produce huge pitchers.

In one of the links you gave I saw the plant being fed with a rat ( not a mouse)!!

Did you buy them online?

Thanks.

Should I feed the ones I have with insects too?
( I'd rather not do it if I can help it )

[tom499]

I think I know of the picture you saw, some rodents are quite silly. Sadly the rodent prey is usually too big to be fully digested by the pitcher and other bacteria an fungi will take over. The pitcher will usually die off, but the plant will still get a fair share of the pickings

And even if it could digest it all, imagine the stench

I got the N. sanguinea from a website specialising in carnivorous plants, and the the N. ventricosa x inermis from a grower who I met on a forum. That one is a cutting thats rooted. It means I get some good sized pitchers early on, and a better price

[tom499]

Sorry I missed your final question.

I do not bother to feed my smaller N. as I usually find they make their own catches quite successfully. Have a peer in some of yours, you can probably spot the occasional midge, which is perfect for them.

For my larger N. with 20cm+ pitchers I will sneak in the occasional annoying fly It saves fertilising them which can be more tricky. I guess a rule of thumb would be dont put anything in the pitchers bigger than half the size of the pitcher peristome, as anything too big can cause a faster decline of the pitcher. Same as VTFs etc.

Growing them outside when the weathers good will usually mean they wont need feeding atall as they will catch plenty

[cupcake]

Oooooh! Fascinating Judi