Nepenthes klossii (Wissel Lakes, Irian Jaya)
Nepenthes klossii
Fascinating species!
Nepenthes klossii pitchers for a "hood" that lures flying insects right into the pitchers when having fed from the nectar presented by the peristome. The back of the pitcher is semi-transparent (comparable to Nepenthes aristolochioides, Darlingtonia or Sarracenia minor).
Insects fly right against the (closed) window and then fall into the pitcher.
Cultivation
A highland plant that needs cool nights, a lot of light and humidity. It’s a real tropical ‚alpine’ plant and is recommended to growers with a good experience in growing Nepenthes. Besides cool nights it needs an open mossy substrate and a high humidity. In recent times dead Sphagnum of very high quality from Chile and New-Zealand became widely available. A mix of such moss with horticultural-grade Perlite, a bit of good quality peat-moss and pinebark-choppings makes an excellent mix. However, when using Sphagnum, it’s important to allow for a good drainage as otherwise, Sphagnum has the tendency to rot quickly. The proportion of Sphagnum in the mix ideally is quite high.
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