Lowland or Highland? Can I grow this Nepenthes?

[nepsaroundthehouse]

Like Rainforest's thread, a common question always arises, "I really want to grow this Nepenthes, but will it grow in my environment?" This is the place to discuss your experiences as to what species and hybrids should stay strictly lowland or highland or can some be crossover Nepenthes to a wide range of climates.

[nepsaroundthehouse]

I grow primarily highlanders outdoors with temperatures ranging from the upper 40's to mid 70's. Intermediates and highlanders do great for me in this range. The problem is wintertime in December and January. My nights will hover in the low 40's to upper 30's. It's the upper 30's that my plants don't appreciate. Especially the intermediates. Here's a few Nepenthes sold as highlanders that I feel do best in intermediate temperatures for some of you warmer growing folks.

N. fusca
N. platychila
N. boschiana
N. burbidgeae
N. alata (not the lowland forms)
N. veitchii (not the lowland forms)
N. tentaculata
N. ventricosa
N. truncata highland
N. faizaliana
N. reinwardtiana (not the lowland forms)

These are just a few Nepenthes species that I've noticed don't tolerate the cold as well as some of my other highlanders. All of them have taken temperatures in the 90's on occasion with no problem. I can say that I have no experience growing these as lowlanders. But growers in slightly warmer climates, like Hawaii, may experiment growing some of these outdoors or indoors where the temperature drop at night is less severe.

As for lowlanders. Most of the crossover lowlanders that I've grown in highland conditions are generally hybrids. A good rule of thumb is to grow according to what the female parent is. So if the female parent is a lowlander and the male is a highlander, grow it warmer. If the female is reversed, it probably can take cooler temperatures than recommended.