Nepenthes ventricosa blooming

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Can you get a better/closer shot of the flowers, Bruce? I'm curious as to what sex your plant is. Seeds are not in your future, sorry Bruce. Neps are dioecious -- plants are either male or female.

Here you go. Interested to know what sex this one is then and how you know. (What identifies the sex?)

This is about as close as I can get without moving the plant and using a tri-pod. I can also zoom in on a particular part if you need. The pictures are high resolution.








Cheers,
BD

[pavel]

IT'S A GIRL! (Now aren't you just the proud papa?)

Though I would like a zoom in on a flower or two from the 1st close up pic ... like the one in the middle just above the half way point .... I am reasonably confident in my verdict. What you're looking for is either the presence of stamen/anthers (male) or a stigma (female). I posted a pic of male flowers a couple years ago on a Nep I had at that time. You'll see that the stamen are very obvious:

[Brutal_Dreamer]

IT'S A GIRL! (Now aren't you just the proud papa?)

Though I would like a zoom in on a flower or two from the 1st close up pic ... like the one in the middle just above the half way point .... I am reasonably confident in my verdict. What you're looking for is either the presence of stamen/anthers (male) or a stigma (female). I posted a pic of male flowers a couple years ago on a Nep I had at that time. You'll see that the stamen are very obvious:

Will this help?

Cheers,
BD

[pavel]

Definitely looks like female flowers with their stigmas protruding. Nary a hint of pollen to be seen -- unlike the stamens in the flowers from mine.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Paul, did you keep any pollen from yours? We could try and make a cross if you did.

Cheers,
BD

[pavel]

Alas, no I didn't.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Alas, no I didn't.

Well, I guess there will be no baby Nepenthes in our future, Paul. LOL

Thanks for the information though! BTW - Is there a way to tell if the plant is male or female without seeing the flowers? Could I simply order a male plant to cross with this one? Now that it has bloomed, it would be fun to see what the seed pod and process would be like.

Cheers,
BD

[pavel]

BTW - Is there a way to tell if the plant is male or female without seeing the flowers? Could I simply order a male plant to cross with this one?
Cheers,
BD

Unfortunately, no -- to the best of my knowledge there is no way to tell until a plant actually blooms. However, some cp growers might already have mature plants for sale which have already bloomed and so know the sex. Also, it might be possible to obtain pollen from someone with a male plant. If interested let me know and I'll see if I can dig up the web-ring whereby you might be able to 'get connected' (& doesn't that sound rather mafioso?)