Tropical Pitcher plants!

So, it was my 27 year old son Will who first suggested we get a pitcher plant.  From the moment I received our first Tropical Pitcher (Nepenthes), I was hooked.  They are beautiful,  odd, intriguing, and when they're full sized they will be intricately gorgeous bug killers.  

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Tropical Pitcher

🌱Nepenthes Ventricosa (highland) endemic to the Philippines at 3,200-6,500 ft elevation on islands of Luzan, Panay and Sibuyan.  The pitchers grow up to 8" and ranged from ivory white to red. They're a hardy Tropical Pitcher and great for newbies...like me.  Purchased from PredatoryPlants.com 

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Tropical Pitcher

🌱 Hybrid: Nepenthes Rafflesiana x Sibuyanensis (Lowland). Rafflesiana is commonly found in Borneo and also found in Sumatra, Penisular Malaysian and Singapore - found at 0-3,900 ft. Sibuyanensis is endemic to Mount Guiting-Guiting, Sibuyan Island in The Philippines. Found appox 3,900-5'000 ft. This beauty should have large Pitchers when fully mature.  Purchased from CaliforniaCarnivores.com 

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Tropical Pitcher

🌱 Nepenthes Hybrid: Nepenthes Truncata x Talangensis aka 'Titanic Triumph' which is custom hybrid thanks to Predatory Plants at PredatoryPlants.com.  (Highland). Truncata is native to the Philippines at 0-3,600 ft elevation on islands of Dinagat, Leyte, and Mindanao. Talangensis is endemic to Sumatra at 5,900- 8,200 ft, endemic to Mt. Talang.  Purchased from Predatoryplants.com 

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Tropical Pitcher

🌱 Nepenthes hybrid- Talangensis x Glandulifera (Highland).  Talangensis is endemic to Sumatra at 5,900- 8,200 ft, endemic to Mt. Talang. Glandulifera is endemic to the Hose Mountains of central Sarawak, Malaysia.  Purchased from CaliforniaCarnivores.com 

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Tropical Pitcher

🌱 Nepenthes Sanguinea "Orange" (Highland)  native to Peninsular Malaysia and southernmost Thailand, where it grows at 1,000-6,000 ft.  The pitchers full grown range from 4-12" long.  Purchased from CaliforniaCarnivores.com 

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Tropical Pitcher 

🌱Nepenthes Burkei (Highland) native to island of Mindoro in the Philippines found at 3,600-6,500 ft. Purchased from CaliforniaCarnivores.com 

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Tropical Pitcher 

🌱 Nepenthes northiana x bicalcarata (Lowland) native to limestone cliffs of Borneo. Northiana, or Miss North's pitcher-plant, is endemic to Borneo at 0 to 1,640 ft. Bicalcarata aka fanged pitcher plant is endemic to NW Borneo at 0-984 feet.  Purchased at CaliforniaCarnivores.com

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Tropical Pitcher 

🌱 Nepenthes hybrid created by Predatory Plants  Secret Doom sanguinea "red" × (densiflora × robcantleyi). (Highland) Sanguinea native to Peninsular Malaysia and southernmost Thailand, where it grows at 1,000-6,000 ft. Densiflora is endemic to Sumatra at 5,577-10,500 ft. Robcantleyi aka Robert Cantley is endemic to island of Mindanao, Philippines found at approx 5,900 ft.  Purchased from Predatoryplants.com 

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Tropical Pitcher 

🌱 Nepenthes hybrid created by Predatory Plants: Titanic Victory, (truncata x ventricosa), (Highland) Truncata native to The Philippines at 0-3,600 ft elevation on islands of Dinagat, Leyte, and Mindanao. Ventricosa is endemic to The Philippines 3,200-6,500 ft elevation on islands of Luzan, Panay and Sibuyan.  Purchased from Predatoryplants.com 

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Tropical Pitcher 

🌱 Nepenthes hybrid Titanic Triumph created by Predatory Plants (truncata × talangensis) (Highland), Truncata native to the Philippines at 0-3,600 ft elevation on islands of Dinagat, Leyte, and Mindanao. Talangensis is endemic to Sumatra at 5,900- 8,200 ft, endemic to Mt. Talang.  Purchased from Predatoryplants.com 

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🌱 Nepenthes hybrid: Robcantleyi x Veitchii (Highland). Robcantleyi aka Robert Cantley is endemic to island of Mindanao, Philippines at approx 5,900 ft. Veitchii  or Veitch's pitcher-plant, is a Nepenthes species from the island of Borneo.  Purchased from Californiacarnivores.com 

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🌱 Nepenthes Reinwardtiana (Lowland) - native to Borneo and Sumatra at 0 - 7,200 ft.  Purchased from Californiacarnivores.com 

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Caring for my Venus Fly Traps and Serracenia Minor plants

🌱My VFT's (Dionaea Muscipula) and American Hooded Pitcher (Sarracenia Minor) love wet feet.   They are thriving when kept in 1-2" of water (distilled, rainwater or reverse osmosis only).  No tap water....it'll kill your plants.  My individual pots have holes in the bottom.  Mine are plastic but have read that glazed pots, wood pots also work well.  Avoid unglazed, terracotta cotta and metal containers. 

My makeshift container for bog garden.  I simply used a plastic drip tray. 

🌱Soil:  My VFT's and American Hooded Pitcher are thriving in nutrient poor soil (combo of peat moss, sand, perlite, sphagnum moss).   I would suggest purchasing bags premix soil specific to your plant available at  https://www.californiacarnivores.com/ or at https://predatoryplants.com/

🌱Light:  My VFT's and American Hooded Pitcher like full sun.  Since I live in an arid environment with an unusually hot summer this year and the only outside space I have is west facing, I'm keeping mine indoors for now in a bog garden in a terrarium with LED grow lights.

🦗Feeding:  Okay, I'll admit it's fun to feed my plants.  If your plants are outside,  they'll fend for themselves just fine.  Actually my American Hooded Pitcher caught their own food indoors (sugar ants).  These tiny ants are too small for my VFT's so I'm feeding them with Betta fish pellets and added some live pinhead crickets to the atrium.  Noticed more closed traps the next day so assume they enjoyed the crickets.  

➡️Fun Fact:  each individual trap on a VFT are good for 3 to 4 catches after which it'll turn black and die.  So it's not a good idea to trigger the traps unnecessarily as it stresses the plant

Starting my first carnivorous bog garden

🌱I am starting my first carnivorous bog garden which will include Venus Fly Traps (VFT's), Sarracenia and a Sundew or two. These plants love to sit in water (rainwater, reverse osmosis or distilled water only). No tap water! It'll kill your carnivorous plants.  

🌱This is just the start of my bog garden. Right now I'm using a plastic drip tray (until my deeper big dish arrives) which holds 1-2" distilled water. The drip tray sits in a small terrarium I found in a reptile store with a screen lid to keep the insects from escaping.  Once the insects are gone I open the lid to allow for more. Above I have a Full Spectrum LED grow light I'm using for 11 hours daily now and will cut back to 10 hours daily in mid October and then to 9 hours daily by late November as they prepare to go dormant for the Winter.

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American Hooded Pitcher plant (Sarracenia Minor) have hoods over the openings to their pitchers. The back of the pitchers are almost translucent. So when insects enter they are tricked by light entering the back of the pitcher so simply cannot find their way out and end up on the menu. 

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Venus Fly Trap (Dionaea Muscipula) traps their food. The insect is attracted by sweet nectar. When the unfortunate insect triggers sensitive hairs inside the trap, it snaps shut. The more the insect struggles, the tighter it seals shut. The insect is dissolved and digested. 

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September 25th, 2018

🌱Woo hoo! My American Pitcher hybrid arrived today and it's beautiful....and tall! Thank you California Carnivores! Go to: https://www.californiacarnivores.com/

Beautiful killer plants. I've caught the bug!

🌱It's quite ironic that carnivorous plants (CP's) are also strangely beautiful and some are quite ornate.  This is actually my second round with keeping these plants.  Many years ago I picked up a few Venus Fly Traps at a novelty store and of course the poor things eventually died..maybe due to the fact that I planted it in potting soil and watered it with tap water.  That was in the early 90's and there wasn't alot of info out there about proper maintenance of CP's.

🌱Truth be told I am definitely not a master gardener so was apprehensive about trying again.  But encouraged by modest success with my Plumeria and other various plants, I figured to give it another try.  This time I read up first (highly recommended) and educated myself regarding the specific needs of CP's.  I purchased my first Venus Fly Trap and was hooked.  My 27 y/o son Will suggested a pitcher plant.  As they are more costly, I hesitated but took the leap and purchased a young Tropical Pitcher (Nepenthes Ventricosa) and yes, I love it!  Thank you Predatory Plants.  Go to: https://predatoryplants.com/

Nepenthes Ventricosa (highland) from the Philippines 

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I'm keeping this blog to log my successes (and failures) and pass along what has worked and what hasn't. I'll post new pics as my bog garden takes shape.  

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Here are some resources I've found helpful:

For books, Kindle, etc

📖:  The Savage Garden by Peter D'Amato available on Amazon or at California Carnivores website at https://www.californiacarnivores.com

For plants, supplies and expert advice:

https://www.californiacarnivores.com/

https://predatoryplants.com/

https://bergenwatergardens.com

https://nativeexoticsonline.com

For informative websites, blogs, etc:

https://carnivorousplantresource.com/2018/09/beginners-carnivorous-plant-grow-guide/