Please help... I'd like to know the difference...

[alfdc]

Hi,

Please help me. I'd like to know how I can tell a Nepenthes alata apart from a Nepenthes alata x ventricosa.

My order from Mr. Volker just arrived, it's a Nepenthes alata x ventricosa but it looked almost exactly like my two existing plants that I got from a garden show. The two existing plants are supposed to be pure alatas. I know that Mr. Volker knows what he is talking about so I am sure that his plant is the real thing but are my other two plants also alata x ventricosa? Is it possible that a pure alata can look like the alata x ventricosa hybrid? My avatar is a picture of my existing "alata". Attached is the alata x ventricosa. One thing I noticed is that Mr. Volker's alata x ventricosa has much thicker peristomes and is always reddish. I really need to know because I'm kind of OC about names.

Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

This is Mr. Volker's alata x ventricosa



One of my two existing alatas

[Delphiguy]

its easy... if you combine the features of both parents. the 2nd photo is definitely an alata..
the 1st photo shows ventricosa in the plant and in the peristome....

[siravi]

look at the petioles.

[alfdc]

Thank you kind sirs for clarifying! Believe it or not, sometimes I lose sleep thinking about these kinds of things. So it's the thicker peristome then and there's a "spur" on the petiole of the alataxventricosa... I see...

I hope that someday I can also have your "eye" for seeing this seemingly minute details. ^____^

[Delphiguy]

Not thicker peristome.. ventrata tends to have the pitcher shape of alata with a peristome of
ventricosa... also ventricosa leaves are not petiolated, while alata is...

Once you've gotten enough experience with these beast, you can easily tell the parents involved
in a hybrid... good growing.

[necroslasher]

Piece of advice:

Do not water the plants directly on their leaves during the daylight hours, this promotes wilting (transpiration) to the plant. Just water them at their soil directly. when the night falls, that is the time you can water their leaves also.

[alfdc]

@ delphiguy: ahhh I see... the way the leaves are attached to the stem is different. I totally didnt notice that right away...

@ necroslasher : Thanks for the tip! Those pics were taken at night though.