FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi everyone!
I just ordered some new varieties of neps, and even though I've thoroughly googled them, I'd also like to ask about any first hand experience with these types and any tips or suggestions you can provide on being successful with them.

Some background info: My first CPs were 3 Lady Luck neps I bought over a year ago that I did EVERYTHING wrong for (using MiracleGro peat/perlite, watering with well water, extreme temp exposure, etc), but all 3 are still surviving and thriving. I recently purchased some Ventratas, just because they were a good price and I'm expanding my collection, and they've done fine.

Today I ordered 5 new plants, which are 2 N. ampullias, 2 N. albomarginata & 1 N. ventricosa x spectabilis x tenus (that he said needs acclimating). While the amps and albos are fairly "common," I literally have no experience with anything more needy than 'Lady Luck' and ventrata, which I've learned through trial and error, and were fortunate enough to make errors on varieties that are tough as nails. I live in Central Texas, so humidity is fairly high all the time. Currently our temps are ranging from mid-40s to high 50s at night, and high 50s to high 70's during the day. My LL neps are all hanging on my screened in back porch (which I converted to a growing/germinating area after losing my greenhouse in a storm last December), and my baby ventratas are on the sill of the screened area. They are still small enough that I keep them in the disposable, plastic cups with damp gravel on the bottom and set their pots on the gravel to keep humidity up. Also, my screened areas are covered with plastic right now to hold heat & humidity since it was my "temporary fix" after the destruction of my greenhouse.

So, anyway, sorry for the long post, but can anyone provide me with some basic tips or strategies to follow with these new guys? I know to slowly acclimate them to my climate (since they're coming from Illinois to Texas), but besides that, my nep-knowledge is pretty weak since I've been more focused on adding sarracenia, drosera, byblis and VFTs to my CP collection over the past year, and have done more research on them, since the neps I have have been doing well (even with my screw-ups, lol).

Thanks in advance!
-chase

I think the temperature is too low for amp and albo. Optimum temperature for amp is 85/75F day/night. Albo at 5F lower. They should be able to take 10F cooler. That would be 70/60F at the extreme.

N. ampullaria and albomarginata both vary from lowland to intermediate plants, depending on the particular genetics of the plants. The temperatures you indicated are definitely too cold for lowland (high 70's should be ok) and seem to be more suited for highland plants, but I'm sure summer will be a different matter for you. I would definitely be cautious about exposing the plants to low temperatures as low as you've indicated, though. The plants will certainly let you know if they're unhappy about the temperature with leaves curling or newer leaves continually becoming smaller than the previous ones. If the temperatures are too far out of the proper range you'll see more severe and more sudden problems.

For the ampullarias and albomarginatas, I would grow them under lights indoors until the minimum temperature outside is 60F. Any colder and they may go downhill quickly; I've seen cold damage on lowland Nepenthes species at 59F for one night, though each clone and species will vary in their tolerance. Aim for 80F/60F day/night temperatures at minimum, with 90F/70F day/night being more favorable for the amps.