A gorgeous dark relative to Nepenthes truncata, this Nepenthes robcantleyi boasts huge, flaring pitchers, a confusing lineage, and a dramatic discovery story!
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"Some time back we bred two of the only nine plants known in cultivation of this, one of the rarest of all Nepenthes. The area where seed that gave rise to the original nine plants was collected was devastated by logging activities in the late 1990s and Nepenthes robcantleyi is believed to be either critically endangered, or possibly even extinct in the wild. The female parent of this release has the cultivar name ‘Queen of Hearts’, and is very probably the most photographed Nepenthes in history, having appeared on many of our gold medal winning Chelsea Flower show exhibits. The male parent named ‘King of Spades’ is darker in overall colouration than the ‘Queen of Hearts’ and has green peristome wings.
For some years we labelled these plants as a form of Nepenthes truncata, although there were clearly striking taxonomical differences between them and the existing published description of Nepenthes truncata. In December 2011 Nepenthes robcantleyi was described in the Nordic Journal of Botany as a distinct species in its own right by Dr. Martin Cheek, a taxonomist with the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. The publication gives the history of this species in cultivation and the reason why the name Nepenthes robcantleyi was chosen. Some differences in pitcher colouration, morphology, plant vigour and size when mature, can be expected to appear between individuals, but so far we are seeing good uniformity amongst these plants which are all raised from a single grex of seeds." |
From Borneo Exotics on BE-3517: "So far as we aware, all of the 550 clones are remarkably true to form and all exhibit the dark colouration, that seems to be an invariable characteristic of the species. We have noticed only small variations in morphology, with some clones producing pitchers that are more squat than others."
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Current Growing Conditions:
Intermediate/Highland Grow Tent Light: Mars Hydro TSL 2000 LED Grow Light Humidity: ~95-100% constant Temperature: ~60F night and 80F day Water: EXTREMELY SENSITIVE to overwatering! Let it dry out to almost bone-dry between waterings! Potting Mix: 50% long fibered sphagnum moss 50% perlite Fertilizer: MaxSea (1/4 tsp/gallon) every other week into pitchers and lightly spray leaves Additional Notes: This individual grows well in warm intermediate/highland conditions, however individual results may vary due to genetic variation. Young plants like to shove tendrils underneath own leaves and press on pots/benches. Older plants tend to grow sideways out of the pot and may need hanging. |