Question
Hello. I am growing a Nepenthes that is either a highland N.Alata or a highland N.Ventrata. It is a baby plant, without any upper pitchers, but with some intermediate pitchers, and seems to be growing quite well. (It is producing 1 pitcher a month or there about)
My question is this: could my Nepenthes survive winter outside, even though the species doesn't go dormant?
Where I live we have very wet, cool winters, during which the temperature hovers between 5 degrees and 10 degrees celcius for most of the day, but may drop during the night/early morning hours. It rains a lot, but I could possibly find a place for it that doesn't get flooded, and there is very little sunlight. This only continues for a maximum three months, usually less, before we start to see more sun and the temperatures raise. So, is there any way I could grow my plant outside?
You see, at the moment it's a small plant, so I can move it around, but I have nowhere permanent to put it when it grows big, and unless it can tolerate winter here, or frosts (it's probably warmer outside my nana's, but there's frost most mornings) I'm not sure what to do with it when it gets big!
Any advice would be a great help!
I'm in a bit of a pickle!
Katherine

Answer
Hello Kath,

A month per pitcher is good. Highland Nepenthes typically prefer lower temperatures at night, down to about 65 Fahrenheit, or 18 Celsius, however, can resist temperatures down to about 40 Fahrenheit, or 5 Celsius, for short periods of time. It would be preferable to keep the plant warmer, but it should survive your winters if you need to keep it outside so long as the temperatures do not drop too low for days at a time. I grow mine indoors under florescent shop lights with some window light to supplement its light supply. In any case, your Nepenthes can survive long term temperature ranges from 18 Celsius to 32 Celsius with no problem. You indicated that it can drop even lower than 5 Celsius, so that could damage your plant. Nepenthes make great window plants indoors if possible. If it gets too big, you can always trim it back and make more from the cuttings.

I hope you can find a good place to grow your Nepenthes this winter,

Christopher