Nepenthes sp.

 Nepenthes sp., or Monkey Cup, is an epiphytic carnivorous plant. Most Nepenthes are native to the Philippines to the Malay Peninsula.

Plant climbing vine to 3.5 meters high. Passive pitfall traps produced at the tips of the leaves trap and digest small insects. Color of the pitchers light-green, often with light or dark-red or violet spots. Depending on where you live many of the needs of Nepenthes can be met by adapting them to your growing environment. Nepenthes are extremely versatile and adaptable to many different growing conditions.

The pitchers contain a pepsin-containing liquid that drowns insects and digests them. They are very easy to grow in the greenhouse and they are always considered interesting oddities in the plant world.

Blooming: The plants bloom in terminal panicles. The very small flowers are greenish in color. They are not particularly showy.

Culture: Nepenthes need full shade to very high interior lighting. In the greenhouse, we use a mix of milled sphagnum and long fibred sphagnum with coarse sand as the potting mix. Plants are grown in hanging baskets under 70% shade all year long. The potting medium is kept moist and the plants are misted daily to keep humidity levels around the plant high. Humidity is one of the most important factors in growing the plants. We try to keep the humidity levels around 60%. We have not used commercial fertilizers on the plants, but we do use fish emulsion on them twice a year. Be careful not to fertilize too much or they will not produce traps. During the winter months, the temperature should never fall below 70F (22C).