Does the appearance of a white stripe on a red rose indicate a china in its background? My small "Nigrette" early HT has started to bloom (it was new from Vintage last Spring), and it's showing a fine white stripe on a few of the petals. It's a dark red rose, not very double - last year its blooms were completely red (actually a dark magenta with the dark red kind of blending over it), but no white. Its parents are listed on HMF as "Chateau de Clos Vougeot" and "Lord Castlereagh". I hope I am not doing what I believe you all call "hijacking a thread". I was just struck by the fact that Riku's "Sanguinea" was doing the same thing, although it never had before. Laura

Dan, Our T&M shot upwards of 10 feet and the leaves just didn't look right at all. Save your packages if you buy from them as they seem be white not a Sang., they need the information so they can scrap that seed lot. But it sure is strange if only Sangs. are grown in that area for them to come out white? We now ask where their seeds come from before we buy, it seems a lot get them from whole sale seed suppliers. Then the next questions is have you grown any out? If so what are the shape of the leaves? If they can't answer these questions I won't buy. Of if I buy it's just a hand full to see what they will do before buying a boat load. Threas sent you a great link for information from CC. I would of just sent you to my site, do that time and read either, lots of information out there.

That is a very reputable seller. The growth tip being damaged is most likely a result of the carrier and this can happen even when a plant is VERY well packed. Either way growth tips snap a lot and this is something the plant copes with. It will activate a node (a dormant growth point) between leaves. The plant will then grow from this spot on. For the price and size of that Sanguinea, you will find no better deal. I bought two from him and both of mine came just fine. I have one in a tank under lights, and one outside. Your mix sounds like an ideal mix, provided you don't let it dry out completely. Mulch and orchid mix don't really retain water, only the LFS will. You can repot at any time, however times of longer photo-periods might be best when growing under the sun (now would be just fine). Also a 6 inch pot sounds like it will be big enough for the plant for more than a year (maybe even 2). Nepenthes don't always grow huge root structures, and so can be under-potted. Oh yeah typically new nodes take a while to activate in highlander species (like sanguinea). A lowlander species (typically faster growing) can activate a node much faster. You could just wait until the new node pops up to repot the plant, or you could do it now. Nepenthes are fairly hardy, provided most conditions are good. My Sanguinea that is outside is still in the same pot that I received it in, and it isn't complaining. If you would like to see pics of my plant, and other Sanguineas from that same vendor, simply google: Andy's Sanguinea The first link that pops up is a thread I started on that forum. Andy (the vendor) also owns that forum and will happily respond to any question or complaint you have. It is also a very good forum for getting your questions answered quickly and extensively.

Good going don555, Beautiful example of an N. ventricosa. Actually, a lot of factors go into good pitcher production with Nepenthes. Some really need high humidity, but many, like N. ventricosa and N. sanguinea, really can do with lower humidity. I grow my N. sanguinea open pot in South Texas indoors with central air blowing and it continues making larger pitchers every month or so. Light, humidity, soil moisture, chemical pollutants, and temperature changes can all affect pitcher production dramatically. Also, insect prey affects pitcher production as the plant needs some insects to provide the fertilizer it needs for leaf production. Too little of any of those factors, including humidity, or too much pollution (copper mostly) or too many environmental fluctuations too quickly can cause pitchers to die back and the plant to refuse to grow more. As an example, I just repotted mine recently and it simply made its newest pitcher a bit smaller and had some dieback in its oldest pitchers, but resumed growth after that and kept its newest pitchers. I had this plant for about 8-9 months and it has grown from a tiny 3 inch plant to a foot across. its pitchers still have another 4-5 inches of growth before they are full size. By the way, with all the questions about repotting without fluid loss, the trick to keeping the fluid in the pitchers during repotting is to carefully dig around the edge of the pot until most of the plant's central mass of soil loosens and just lift it out upright and set it in a container of distilled water to wash its roots off before repotting in new medium. Make sure that the pot is above the water level, Nepenthes can experience root rot in standing water. It sounds like your conditions are just right for them though. Keep up the good work.