Lowland Nepenthes

Nepenthes bicalcarata

One of my favorite lowland Nepenthes species has to be Nepenthes bicalcarata. One of the marvelous things about that species is how easily you can tell whether it likes your conditions. Bad conditions mean poor growth, blackening leaves, and few pitchers. Hot, humid, muggy conditions mean explosive growth and fantastic, richly colored pitchers. Now that I have a proper lowland setup, I'm getting really remarkable growth.

Nepenthes madagascarensis

One of my other lowland favorites is Nepenthes madagascarensis. I love the brightly colored lower pitchers and the elegant shape of the less-dazzling upper pitchers. To be quite honest, the lower pitchers of N. madagascarensis are the brightest reds in my collection. They're truly phenomenal.

Nepenthes albomarginata "Green"

I'm also quite fond of Nepenthes albomarginata. I love the pure green and pure grey plants best of all. There's something so charming about their coloration and the way it contrasts the white ring below the pitcher rim. Unfortunately, this species is most widely available in the garish blotched coloration of the popular BE clone. I truly believe that the coloration of that clone puts quite a few people off this species. 

Nepenthes ampullaria 'Lime Twist'

In terms of lowlanders, perhaps the species most fun to grow from a tiny plant is Nepenthes ampullaria. It's such a fast grower and does so well in a variety of conditions (although it also prefers hot and muggy conditions) that it's a very easy lowland species. And there are so many brilliant color patterns that it's hard not to find a plant that is cute.