Plants from the Collection

Nepenthes maxima "Tentena"

It's been a little while since I showed some photos from my collection. I looked around at some the neat pitchers that plants were putting out and decided to snap a few to share. The plant that really inspired the photo shoot was this Nepenthes maxima "Tentena" which produced its first pitcher for me this week. The photo doesn't capture the true awesomeness of this little plant, but the stripped peristome, flared lid, and speckled interior really work very well with this small pitcher.

Nepenthes spathulata x (talangensis x spectabilis)

This is an oldie-but-goodie, my Nepenthes spathulata x (talangensis x spectabilis). Despite looking quite ugly a few pitchers ago, it's turned out to be a very interesting plant. I can't wait to see what the next pitcher looks like. It should be grand!

Nepenthes vogelii

Speaking of next pitchers, this Nepenthes vogelii looks spectacular, but it's pretty clear that it has some kind of infection which is killing the leaves from the base of the stem outward. Unfortunately, that almost certainly means that this will be the last pitcher I'll see from this plant before it dies.

Nepenthes singalana "Belirang" x maxima "Gunung Tinombola"

One of the plants that's doing extremely well is this Nepenthes singalana x maxima. It was one of the very few trades I made last year. I hadn't really expected to like this plant, but I figured I'd wait to form an opinion once it pitchered for me. As it turns out, the dark purple pitcher is quite charming. I'm very excited to see how it grows up.

Nepenthes thorelii x aristolochioides

The most prolific plant in my highland/intermediate grow chamber is, by far, this Nepenthes thorelii x aristolochioides. This cross between an ultra lowlander and ultra highlander was suggested as the replacement for Nepenthes ventrata when it was originally produced. I can see why. After settling in for less than a month, this plant has grown an average of a foot a month and is now producing a new pitcher every few days. At present, I believe it has something like four growth points and nearly two dozen pitchers. I'm either going to have to make cuttings soon or cede a large section of the grow tent to this cross.

Brocchinia hechtioides

Both Brocchinia I own are sending up flower spikes. I'm surprised by this as they seem a little small to flower, but we'll see what happens. (I'm not entirely convinced, after further review, that what people are growing and selling as various species of carnivorous bromeliads are actually the correct species given how easy it is to misidentify them).

Nepenthes argentii x armin

Speaking of small plants, I have to mention this Nepenthes argentii x armin. It is tiny! The pitcher is barely a centimeter tall! I honestly almost missed it as I was looking over my plants. I thought these tiny pitchers were still inflating. It's really quite interesting.

Nepenthes talangensis x robcantelyi

The last highlander I want to share is this lovely Nepenthes talangensis x robcantelyi. It's wonderful heart-shaped pitchers are tucked away among some other plants, but it is doing quite well. It's always a joy to uncover one of its pitchers while doing plant maintenance. 

Nepenthes madagascarensis

Perhaps the most stunning plant in my lowland grow tent is my Nepenthes madagascarensis. It is doing fantastically! As you can see, it's even eating well. :) The pitchers themselves are absolutely stunning. The intensity of their reds is like no other plant that I own. It is incredible, and I am very glad that it is doing so well in my conditions.

Nepenthes bicalcarata x (maxima x mira)

This Nepenthes bicalcarata x (maxima x mira) is a great plant that really bounced back after arriving at my place. It's still too young to tell whether it has fangs worth mentioning, but I'm fairly certain that it does have short ones. I wonder how those will compare to my Nepenthes ampullaria x bicalcarata when that grow up?

Nepenthes tomoriana

Lastly, I wanted to share the newest pitcher on my Nepenthes tomoriana. This is not a species I had thought much about prior to seeing it available for sale. I'm glad I bought it. It is a very neat little plant with very subtle pitchers.