Wow nice pics. Welcome to the forum!

You say really cold. What sort of temperatures does the climate average at and is the plant growing in direct sunlight?

Cheers

Kyle

Hi Kyle,

Though, I live in tropical zone of the world, when I say "Cold" it would mean mild for most of you. But on 2,000 m. of Kinabalu mountain, the days temperature are in below the 70 f (21c) and night in the 45 f (7c) or much lower.

The Rajah grows in the open scrub forest, along with some Rhododendron spp. Most of bigger plants are exposed to direct sunlight, but the heat is alway decreased by cloud and dazzling rain, only smaller plants or young seedlings are found under covering vegetations.

In my country Thailand, there are 9-10 species of Nepenthes. Almost are low land species, except N. smilesii that found on high mountain of NE Thailand.

This is Nepethes smilesii on 1,300 m. in pine forest of Phukradueng National Park, NE Thailand.

{{gwi:550034}}

Arrr your so lucky. The only way I get to see neps is by actually buying them off the internet.

Hmmm, from the info you give me on Raja climate, I'm considering getting one and growing it in my garden.

We get temps up to about 65F during the day and night time drops to around 5F although these temps will rise as Summer approaches. I could hang it in a tree to provide some filtered sunlight all day. Humidity seems to drop low on sunny days (like 40%) but goes up to about 80% in the evenings.

Only problem is Winter. I'd have to put it in a greenhouse which would be around 30-40F for a few months although I could put a heater in to keep it just above freezing on cold nights.

Do you rekon this would work or is my climate missing something vital?

Cheers

Kyle

Dear Kyle,

Due to my region is truly tropical, so I have no idea about the cultivation in greenhouse. But I can tell you about the ecological habitat of Nepenthes rajah.

Although Nepenthes rajah is a highland species, found from 1,500 to 2,000m. of altitudinal distribution on Mount Kinabalu and Mount Tambuyukon, but actually, it does not grow in dense montane forest. The legend told that this species grows only in the spray zones around waterfalls, on ultramafic soils.

It is only true that N.rajah grows on ultramafic soils, but it is certainly not found in the spray zones of waterfalls, in fact it grow in open, grassy slope areas on the mountain with very high rainfall.

Although the habitats are exposes to the sun, the presence of cloud and rainfall always decreases the heat and light levels, while humidity levels are high. The temperature at that high altitude often drops to 5c to 10c sometime nearly freezing at night but may climb to 17c-20c during the day.

I should say that while I have to grow most of the highland species in cooling-house (air condition plus evaporated chamber), you, in UK, should grow them in greenhouse with sub-tropical condition.

This picture shows 'Laban Rata', the base camp at 3,200 m. on Mount Kinabalu, this is nearly alpine zone the only Nepenthes we could find here is Nepenthes villosa
{{gwi:550035}}

As Charles Clarke, the author of 'Nepenthes of Borneo' wrote,
"...The sight of N.villosa alone makes the trip up Mount Kinabalu worthwhile..."
{{gwi:550036}}

{{gwi:550037}}

Good growing!

I'm about to receive a packet of Nepenthes seeds and am not confident as to how to germinate them. My 3 attempts with N. mirabilis seeds all failed. How does one go about germinating Nep seeds?

Hi Petiolaris,
(your name remind me of a nice caudex : Ficus petiolaris!!)
I thing the problem is viability of seed, in some species the viability is quite short, sowing as quick as is the best.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to saw seed of CP

Thank you for the link, which I added to favourites. Maybe I wasn't patient enough. These will be N. maxima 'gentle'. Petiolaris refers to a complex of sundews I like very much. Heres D. paradoxa from my collection:

{{gwi:547132}}

Cheers for that. I've definately decided that when the weather warms up in a month or two, I'll get a Rajah and grow it in my garden on a table. I can then bring it under artificial lighting in my house in Winter and put it on the windowsill overnight where temps will drop into the 50s and humidity will be very high.

Petolaris youre so proud of youre D. paradoxa! Ive seent that thing about 20-30 times on 2 difrent forums! lol! I Want to visit Borneo some day... I know I will.

Cheers

Could be worse... I could be calling myself 'Pigmy Boy' and show pictures a few nitidulas!

Stefania,

I will be traveling to Thailand this year. I will mainly be in the Chaing Rai area but may take a trip to Phuket.

Can you recommend some CP sites worth visiting?

Thanks
Glenn

Your Rajah is fabulous, as are your other photos. Your use of terms sounds as if you are a botanist. Good luck to you in your travels. I didn't even know there was an alpine nepenthes.

Lainey