Question
QUESTION: Hello, I am wanting to get a nice Nepenthes for my home, and I wanted to ask
a few questions, specifically about the Sanguinea and Miranda hybrid species.
I have a sunny window picked out where we can hang it when it gets big, but
I was wondering: how well exactly do they attract insects? Is there much of a
difference between them? Do they tend to attract certain kinds of insects, or
different types? Tell me about that.

Another question I had was about the size; I'm aware that both species can
grow to become exceptionally large, but is there any way to inhibit that
without directly "damaging" the plant when it gets too large? (like cutting off
parts or whatever) And then I also wanted to know if i really need to worry
about it. I live in northern Michigan, and it can get pretty overcast (it has
been lately), so, because the plant out of it's "optimal" climate, would it grow
smaller anyway? And also, would it be too cold next to the window in the
winter, like at night or w/e?

And one more concern I had was the appearance of each plant. the N.
Miranda can get to be quite a monster, and though it might be rather
spectacular, my mother and i both agree we dont want something like that
hanging in the middle of our living room. We want something that is
pleasantly colored, but nothing too obnoxious. (based on pictures ive seen,
both species seem to be rather dark/dull-looking)

Thank you so much for your help :) with sincerity,
Jasen

PS. Oh yeah, and I was wondering what kind of growth results I might if I got
a young plant and started growing soon, in the middle of summer. would it
make not much progress before winter? Or will it be hindered much by
winter? thanks :)

ANSWER: Hello Jasen,

I have not specifically grown the N. miranda species nor its hybids, however; I do have a N. sanguinea. There are some differences between Nepenthes in regards to what they attract and capture though the bulk of the attracted insects would be flies, roaches, fruit flies, gnats, ants, wasps, and bees for most species of Nepenthes. The species you indicated would likely attract insects to the same degree, however; I know of no study specifically geared towards determining which plant attracts more insects and of what types.

The problem with growing the plant in a window with overcast light would not so much be an inhibition of its size, but an inhibition of its coloration, health, ability to generate pitchers, and ability to attract and digest insects. Nepenthes need fairly strong sunlight, like what they would get under a large, but openly branched tree. Partial sunlight. Without that they are likely to stop pitchering even in the middle of summer in an overcast window. The rest of the plant would continue growing normally except it would slow down greatly in leaf production. I give my N. sanguinea direct south window sunlight for several hours of morning up till noon and supplement that light with 12000 lumens of florescent light  about 8 inches above its uppermost leaves for 16 hours a day. It is over two feet tall now and has 9 inch pitchers. I started growing the plant about 20 months ago when it was a tiny 3 inch youngster. It grew to about 6 inches tall with 5-6 inch pitchers in one year. At this rate, it will be taller than I am in another year or two.

N. miranda is spectacularly colored when in good bright light. N. sanguinea is more of an orange to rust red coloration when it is given sufficient light and has mottled yellows mixed in with the orange. It is a pretty plant that pitchers frequently and grows quickly as compared to many other species of Nepenthes. It is more of a compact plant in comparison with other Nepenthes, but I have found no definite maximum size listed anywhere on that species. From what I have observed, it has the capacity to grow at least 6-9 feet in length if not more. Some Nepenthes grow considerably larger, vining across the ground and up trees to 25 feet with even larger specimens reported in the wild. In other words, look forward to having to prune the plant every so often to get it under control after a couple of years. This is not a bad thing since Nepenthes will vine out in all directions and sprout more growth points after being pruned. Another good thing about pruning the plant is that you can sprout the cuttings like you would an ivy, though with slower and less consistent results.

Winter light would be unlikely to keep the plant happy for long. Supplement that window light with 40 watt florescent shop lights for best results.

Christopher

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: okay great, thanks for the advice. A couple other things though: first, would
you have any recommendation on a more suitable pitcher plant, that isn't too
small or too dull? (Oh and by the way Im pretty sure the window i had in
mind will be fine... the overcast-ness is just a come-and-go weather thing,
Im really not sure why i mentioned it...)

Oh wow but hey I just remembered, i have a completely random question.
Okay, so you know you see those sundews that have like dragonflies and
"big" things caught in them? are they actually able to digest such prey? cuz it
seems like it might be something of a challenge for a cape sundew. Just
curious.

...Andddddd, I forgot the rest of what i was going to ask. Oh well. thanks so
much for your help anyway :)

Jasen


Answer
Hello Jasen,

Nepenthes ventricosa is a relatively compact plant that you might consider. There are some small Nepenthes but the ones I have seen are more difficult to grow in general.

Window light is also according to width of the window. If you have nice big bay windows you should have enough light, but if you have say a 36 inch wide window, it will only provide a small number of hours of sunlight and you should consider florescent lights as a supplement. Also, the smaller the plant, the easier it will be to provide enough light with a window, but as it gets bigger it might need additional light to florish. My N. sanguinea did well under 12000 lumens of florescent shop lights for a while, but when moved into a south facing window with no florescent lighting it stopped pitchering and grew more slowly. Now I have it in a south facing window with additional florescent light of 12000 lumens over it and it is back to normal in just two weeks.

Many of the pictures you see with dragonflies stuck in sundew patches are of insects that might have died or been sick and fallen among the plants or of large insects that landed among a large number of sundews or large plants with many leaves that collectively were able to ensnare the insect. Each sundew or leaf would digest and absorb a small amount of the dragonfly, but most of such large prey would just rot. I have a D. capensis that is capable of capturing quite large flying insects by itself. I have seen it trap and digest 7 flies at one time and more than once it has trapped and digested enormous crane flies of up to 1 1/2 to 2 inches in length. Once a sundew has ensnared the wings of weak legged flying insects the game is over. A dragonfly has rather weak short legs and large powerful wings. Such large prey would likely be able to escape a cape sundew if it could find a way to drop off the leaf by gravity alone due to its weight. If a dragonfly were to land in the midst of a cape sundews leaves, it would get no such help and might just be lunch if it were unable to fight free. The sundew would have no use for most of the dragonfly, however; would be capable of digesting at least some of it. It would be an even fight I think.

Christopher