What do I need to prepare for the arrival of the plants?
Prepare the media and do it a few days ahead to soak it very well with rain water and exchange it every now and then, as for coco fibers it takes sometime to saturate with water. The plants will have anyway a tendency to have a mild dry stress after arrival until the roots connect properly with the soil. If (!) the plants look dehydrated (usually they are not) you can help them by drowning the plants after arrival for 30 mins in a bucket with rainwater, prior to planting. For VFT, Pings and Sundews use 90mm pots, for Nepenthes 135mm pots unless they are rated size large or bigger. Don’t put small plants in huge pots, because the moisture will be too permanent and promote diseases – that’s one of the top beginner mistakes. Make sure to fill the pots up to the rim with media, as otherwise the rim can shade small plants and prevent airflow.
Are there special measures after arrival of the plants?
Yes, water the plants well after planting and keep the plants away from direct sunlight (but still place them in the brightest place you can find!), until you can see happy new leafs and growth. Sometimes (if it looks wilting!) Nepenthes enjoy a high humidity environment, like a closed clear plastic bag for 2-3 weeks, which you then can open gradually, every 3 days a little more until removal. If you have lots of rain around and a sturdy plant you should be able to do without. Just monitor if the plant looks dry stressed (leaves curling inwards).
I see many people putting non-Nepenthes (VFT, Sarracenia, Drosera) in closed containers – like plastic boxes with a lid. This is not good. It creates stagnant conditions, which will benefit rot. Further a closed container just needs to be hit by the sun for 10 minutes and you will have deadly 40+ degree Celsius in there… We are in the Philippines, we LIVE in a greenhouse, so don’t create one. This misconception that a greenhouse setting is needed is caused by Youtube videos created in temperate countries like in Europe or the US, where some people are exposed to only 30% humidity and need to increase it for the plants.
Can I grow the plants indoors?
Plants naturally grow outdoors Which means inside a house or condo light levels are extremely low, even if a room or window looks very bright to the human eye. The are some plants that can cope with darkness, like those large leaved Spathiphyllum or other aroids coming from dark rainforests. Carnivorous plants usually don’t grow in dark rainforests, but in areas where there is something “wrong” with the soil and in which other plants can not thrive. Without competition they usually have excellent light levels, which they also need to synthesize the nice colors, nectar, enzymes and so on.
Of course if you have a condo with no further option you still want to grow these plants. One option is to use artificial lights like fluorescent tubes or high power LED. You will have to put the lights really close (think 20cm) to the plants, so the light levels will be right. Many growers combine this with an aquarium as a growing container – I would still recommend to use pots to handle the waste waters and hygiene more efficiently, also think about air movement. You might find good instructions online – we ourselves don’t do any artificial light, as we are very energy concerned. We are also selling solar systems, so you might want to combine a solar system with the grow lights.
If you don’t want to do artificial lights, you can try some of the lowland Nepenthes, maybe Pinguicula and put them as close as possible to the brightest windows. We don’t have any experience we can share here, as we try to put our plants in places where they are as happy as can be.
Where are the seeds in the package?
If we have a free seed promo, we will add small white paper packs with seeds to the package. These are stapled to the JRS pouch together with OR and permits. If you have seeds that you bought for money they be found inside the container in bubble wrap or similar. For custom boxes they are loosely in the box or we squeeze the seeds from the outside into the folds of the box. In case you are wondering, we try to keep them a bit away from the plants, as they are often wet during the packing process. Seeds can be sown without soil cover on some coco peat. Best container is a clear tupperware with clear lid. Never let the sun shine on it, so it doesn’t overheat. For Nepenthes it can take several weeks if not months to germinate. Germination is not guaranteed though
I can’t find the DENR permit in my package.
The DENR permit is stapled outside on the JRS pouch/box. Sadly in some cases the permit is removed during the shipping process.
Even if the permit is only a local transport permit (LTP/WTP) and valid for a few days, it is an important document that you have bought the plants from a registered DENR nursery, so you do need to keep it for the lifetime of the plant! Since these are endangered plants, which you can’t own without these papers, you might have to prove the legal ownership, especially if you register your plants with DENR (CWR). Then you will need the LTP and shopping cart e-mail/receipt.
Prior to shipping we take photos of all permits, so if you don’t have your permit, just drop us a message (with order number or shipping date) and most likely we can send you a copy.
Can I display the plants immediately after arrival (for resale for example)?
Don’t expect a perfect appearance of the plants directly after unboxing. For packing we do have to fold the plants ‘umbrella-style’ and put them in groups in bottles or card board boxes. During this procedure, the shipping or unpacking, it can happen that some pitchers get flattened or even break off. This doesn’t bother the plant and even if your pitchers survive, they usually don’t last long after arrival. The really nice and lasting pitchers will be those grown at your place (adapted to your exact light and humidity levels) and therefore we would recommend to grow the plants at least for 4 months prior to public display, etc. Same for VFT, that like to close its traps and bend leaves downwards during transport. The part crucial for survival is the bulb (just like garlic). Sundew will loose the dew or fill it with dust, so they most likely don’t look pretty at all, but will replace their dirty leaves quickly with new ones full of shiny dew.