Question
Hi guys, you have always been a great help in the past, and started me on carnivorous plants, so I take your opinions/advice to heart every time.

I have been growing nepenthes for about a year and a half now, all as windowsill plants, with great success.  You guys are some of the biggest promoters of low-humidity growth, so I thought I might pose a question to you.  I have researched the topic in the subject line many times, and have read many contradicting responses.  Some people say it is possible to grow Hamata as a windowsill plant with great success, while others say it is near impossible.  I would really like to grow this plant, but being a college student, do not have the ability to set up a grow rack/chamber, and hence am stuck with windowsills. My questions are...

1. Do you personally believe it is possible to successfully grow Hamata as a windowsill plant?

2. How would you go about acclimating the plant to a low-humidity environment?

3. Am I foolish for wanting to try this?

As I said, I really take your opinions to heart, you have yet to guide me incorrectly.  I just wanted to hear some experienced opinions before I went and dished out some money on one of these guys, only to have it kick the bucket after 2 days of being with me.

thanks a lot,
Trevor

Answer
Hi Trevor,

Thank you for your kind comments.  Nepenthes hamata has a reputation of being a finicky grower mostly because it grows very slowly during its first few years of life.  In general, young plants are more temperamental than mature plants.  So what you do depends on the age of your plant.

I strongly recommend keeping young plants (up to 3 years old) in slightly higher humidity than what's offered on a windowsill.  When humidity is higher, your plant will grow a bit quicker and reach maturity sooner.  Its root system is also a bit small, so it'll have a harder time absorbing water if you attempt to grow it in lower humidity.  

You can also help your plant along by keeping the lighting fairly bright.  This will toughen the leaves a bit more and help your plant adapt to lower humidity.

When pitcher approach 4 inches, your plant has sufficient root growth and is mature enough to acclimate to lower humidity.  The process is fairly straight forward.  Simply increase the opening to your terrarium very gradually over the course of two to three weeks.  After that, you can bring your plant out altogether.

When we first acquired my first N. hamata, we kept it in an open terrarium for the first three years.  We didn't have a lid on the terrarium.  We just had a shop light sitting onto of it.  By the third summer, we then moved the plant to a greenhouse where it acclimated to fluctuating humidity.  That summer, the plant produced a set of beautiful lower pitchers.

(We keep the doors open to the greenhouses to prevent them from overheating, so humidity is much lower than what you might expect. During the summer months, the greenhouse humidity is only about 5-10 points higher than outdoor humidity. This is also true with the humidity in your home.)

So is it possible to grow N. hamata on a windowsill?  Absolutely, provided that the plant is mature enough and healthy enough to tolerate lower humidity.  This is also true with N. inermis, N. dubia, N. jacquelineae and similar highland Nepenthes.  Examples of plants that I think won't acclimate to windowsill growing for most growers, including us, are N. rajah and N. villosa.  

Incidentally, we have some N. hamata in stock.  They are currently acclimating in our greenhouse.  Hopefully they will be ready for shipping by January 1.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin