March showers bring April pitchers

[leilani]

We have had just the right amount of rain over the last couple of months. Combine that with the longer days and slightly cooler temperatures and you have a formula for increased pitcher production.

Having grown a bunch a plants here in Hawaii I have watched many species for multiple seasons. At our location, N. ventricosa and its hybrids are indicators that spring has arrived and last month they all began throwing out new pitchers. The next seasonal indicator is N. truncata and its hybrids. These start working just about a month after the ventricosa kick in. The majority of the plants will take off from now until about mid-summer when they will flower. From mid-summer to early fall the more highland plants will slow and the big lowlanders will start producing. As summer closes the lowlanders will go to flower. The raffs seem to go last. Generally, there is a lot of seed gestating into the fall. The early bloomers will discard their seed and start growing again while the lowlanders will hold their seed into the winter. Most plants will slow down over the winter for a few weeks although some of the highlanders enjoy the cooler temperatures and can bulk up a bit while everybody else is resting.

N. Mauna Loa



N. rafflesiana



N. Ali'i



N. St. Brice



N. Caesar



N. thorelii x merrilliana (EP)



N. Loihi .... or .... the biggest ventrata you will ever see.



N. 'Ruby Alice'

[osmosis]

Beautiful, Sam. I love the Ruby Alice
Hope that some day the export nonsense becomes commercially viable


Dave

[nodine]

Spectacular! And thanks for sharing the growth and flowering patterns you've noticed over the years.

[cosmo]

Woo.. I will be like in heaven when you start to ship internationally! All your plants are gloriuous!
Congrats leilani

[lamwn]

Hi Sam,
amazing plants...doesnt any thing stay small at your place???

On a separate note, I was quite curious to read this:
"As summer closes the lowlanders will go to flower."
just to clarify, the light/temps peak in mid-summer right? (ignorant tropical grower here )
We dont really see very significant seasonal variations here in at the equator, but from what little I can tell, the peak flowering periods of various lowlanders seem to differ quite strongly between the species. For some it is just before monsoon (cooler, wetter), others, as the dry and sunny months come (the other half of the year). Would love to hear more about your observations!

thanks
Lam

[vraev]

wow Sam. I agree....N. ruby alice is fantastic.