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WHEN YOU GET HOME
Remove the sticker label from the top of the Dome and slowly pour in water (60ml or 2 fl. oz. or 4 Tbs) or until the reservoir is showing to the 'full 'mark as shown in the diagram. Rainwater is best if available but otherwise tap water will do.
Place your plant in dappled sunlight on a windowsill or balcony if possible. If it receives direct sunlight, then no more than 1-2 hours in the early morning or evening is enough. If you do not have access to natural light, then your plant can be grown very successfully placed about 20cm (8”) under an LED desk light of about 4-5 Watts, or a small fluorescent tube. Day/night cycle should be 12 hours but if you have no time-switch available, you can grow under 24 hours light.
The ideal temperature for your plant is room temperature (about 18 deg C to 26 deg C) but it will tolerate temperatures outside this range.
Avoid placing your plant in a position where it may receive drafts of dry air, such as under an air-conditioning vent.
Please do not remove the dome unless you live in a very humid tropical environment. The dome protects the plant whilst it is young and tender and later it will grow out of the hole by itself (see later section).
MAINTAINING YOUR PLANT
For best results fertilizer can be used to speed up the growth of your plant. About once per month you can spray fertilizer onto the leaves through the hole in the dome as shown here. Almost any household or orchid fertilizer applied at standard strength will work well.
Like most plants, the older leaves will eventually die and new leaves will form. For best appearance, please carefully use scissors and tweezers to cut off the dead leaves and pitchers as shown below.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM YOUR PLANT
Once settled in, your plant will grow about one new leaf and trap each month. This trap is called a “pitcher” and is a highly modified leaf-tip that is able to capture and digest all types of insects. The formation of a pitcher is illustrated here.
Amazingly, your plant knows there is a hole in the dome. You will see new leaves clearly reach for the hole. Eventually the new growth will emerge from the dome and start to grow outside the dome. Unless conditions outside are very harsh, it will adapt to the outside environment, whether it is your home, office or garden.
Bio-Dome
A Bio-Dome is a new innovative and very simple growing system that enables anyone to grow Nepenthes plants at home, in the office, greenhouse or garden, with minimal care and maintenance. The system waters the plant using capillary action to wick water up from a reservoir below the plant. The dome maintains the high humidity around the plant which it needs to grow when it is still young and tender. It is carefully designed so that as the plant grows, new leaves will seek out the hole in the dome and eventually develop outside the dome, provided the external environment is not too hostile.
Once you have got your first Bio-Dome plant, here are some tips and hints to get you started...
Simple Care & Maintenance
Keep your Bio-Dome unit in a bright place and away from central heating outlets, strong drafts, wind, or direct breeze from air conditioner units. Occasionally top up the reservoir (ideally with rainwater) as needed, attempting to maintain around the mid-way mark. If you are going away, you can top up to the 'full' level on the reservoir and then water will not be needed again for many weeks. Eventually, after about few months, the plant will outgrow the Bio-Dome unit and then there are then several options as to what you can do next. See later sections of this page for more information. You can be kept informed of updates to this website by subscribing to our Facebook page from our homepage.
FAQs:
Here are the most common questions we are asked:
How should I water my plant?
Where should I keep my plant?
My plant has not yet grown out of the hole in the dome and is growing lovely new green leaves, but pitchers do not develop. What is wrong?
My plant is growing out through the hole in the dome, but it doesn't form pitchers any more. What can I do?
The existing pitchers and some older leaves are turning black, what should I do?
Can I open the lid of the Bio-Dome unit?
Unsightly algae is forming in the water reservoir, what can I do?
Does this product represent a potential mosquito breeding ground?
My plant produces new leaves but pitchers do not form. What's wrong?
What happens when my plant starts to outgrow the Bio-Dome unit?
How should I water my plant?
Keep an eye on the water in the reservoir. When it falls to near the low level mark, the water will need to be topped up simply by pouring gently through the hole in the dome. Please do not use tap water but rain water if you can. Tap water can be used in an emergency but should be replaced with rainwater as soon as possible, otherwise your plant may slowly decline depending upon the hardness of your tap water. The reservoir pot easily unclips from the dome for cleaning as required.
Where should I keep my plant?
Nepenthes need more light than many people suppose. Try to find a spot where there is a little sun for a few hours per day, or better still, dappled sunlight but be careful not to cause overheating in hot weather. If sunlight is not available, they can be grown very successfully under a normal fluorescent light placed about 30cm (12") from the plant or under LED lights. If the light can be put on a timeswitch to keep it on for 12-14 hours per day, so much the better.
My plant has not yet grown out of the hole in the dome and is growing lovely new green leaves, but pitchers do not develop. What is wrong?
Leaves with no pitchers usually means the plant needs more light or is receiving too much fertilizer.
My plant is growing out through the hole in the dome, but it doesn't form pitchers any more. What can I do?
Light levels may be too low but it is most likely that the outside environment is too dry. Therefore move your plant to an area where you have higher humidity. Possible places can be. a.) Kitchen or bathroom where water vapour naturally occurs when water is heated and can be seen as a mist rising above a bath or boiling water in the kitchen. These areas will have a higher humidity than many other dry areas inside your home, b.) Place your plant close to other plants which should raise the humidity, as being part of a micro-climate where other plants are transpiring, again the humidity should be higher within the proximity of other plants. Do remember to provide sufficient light, or dappled light.
The existing pitchers and some older leaves are turning black, what should I do?
Firstly, do not panic! This happens in nature , as the plant grows new leaves and pitchers (traps) the old leaves and pitchers will slowly deteriate and die. Understand that our plant has been through a great deal of stress before you gave it it's new home. The natural fluid from the old pitchers may have been lost in transit and the plant naturally responds to stress by abandoning older leaves and pitchers; this is completely normal and nothing to worry about. Cut them off and wait. The plant can grow well with a minimum of 3 leaves and growing point. Each new leaf formed should produce a new pitcher that will last for a very long time, many months at least. If this does not happen, then probably there is not enough light.
Can I open the lid of the Bio-Dome unit?
We do not recommend opening the unit, as it is designed so that your plant adapts and becomes established within your environment. Once your plant has grown out of the hole and covers the dome, then it’s ready for potting on into another more suitable growing container according to your requirements. The Bio-Dome unit provides the high humidity that the plant needs when it is still young. You may certainly open the lid for a few minutes at a time - it clips off with a gentle squeeze of the base unit, while pulling the dome upwards - but please do not remove it entirely or leave it open for long periods unless in a very humid place such as a bathroom or moist greenhouse. Even then, it's best to slowly acclimatize the plant by leaving 8.)the lid open for longer and longer periods each day. Regular misting with rainwater is useful when the dome lid is left open or removed entirely.
Unsightly algae is forming in the water reservoir, what can I do?
This is inevitable and will happen after a few months but will not harm the plant directly. If you wish to clean it, you can change the water by unclipping the lid by combining a gentle squeeze of the base reservoir, with a gentle pull upwards to unclip and release the dome. Please remember to replace the water with rainwater and not tap water, unless there is no choice. When replacing the dome, place your hand over the top and use your fingers to press down until the dome clips back into position onto the reservoir unit, this is essential to ensure that the humidity builds up and is maintained inside the dome.
Does this product represent a potential mosquito breeding ground?
This is a matter of great interest to growers in tropical countries and the answer is a definite "No!". Mosquitoes are unable to reach the water reservoir to lay their eggs and the natural digestive fluid in the pitchers is regulated by the plant to be highly acidic, which makes it impossible for the dangerous dengue and malarial carrying species of mosquito to breed in them. This has been scientifically proven.
My plant produces new leaves but pitchers do not form. What's wrong?
Either the humidity is too low or there is insufficient light. If the dome lid is kept closed, the humidity will be fine, so insufficient light is the problem. You should find pitchers form with good colouration, similar to the ones on the plant when you first purchased it but hopefully becoming larger with each new leaf!
What happens when my plant starts to outgrow the Bio-Dome unit?
Now it's time to consider rehousing your plant. There are several options available, depending upon whether you live in a temperate or tropical country and whether you wish to grow the plant indoors, in a greenhouse or conservatory, or in a garden. Some truly remarkable mature plants have been raised indoors under fluorescent lights/LED lights on a desktop or windowsill. It's all a matter of technique. We shall be offering various alternatives and examples in future updates. You can be kept informed of updates to this website by subscribing to our Facebook page from our homepage.
....
Coming soon
Temperate growing
As you are reading this, you will probably have a plant already in a Bio-Dome and will be considering what to do next. All the Nepenthes varieties offered for sale in Bio-Domes in temperate countries have one thing in common: They are artificial hybrids bred for their vigour and temperature tolerance. You are probably already a plant lover and may have your own ideas for potting your plant on.
Firstly, we will give you an idea of the overall range of conditions we are trying to maintain year-round for your plant. Then we will give one example we have tried successfully but there are many other ways. Future updates to this page will contain suggestions for growing-on indoors, as well as in greenhouses. We welcome feedback and photographs which we might use in future updates to illustrate different setups.
If you do not wish to read all the details below, you can go straight to one example of how you can pot your plant using our step-by-step guide.These instructions will come soon under ‘Instruction Videos’.
Temperature
Your plant is a cross between a highland and a lowland variety of Nepenthes and is the first of a new breed of temperature tolerant Nepenthes. It will be happy anywhere in the range of between about 12 deg C and 35 deg C, although it is better to avoid the extreme ends of this scale for prolonged periods. This means that it is possible for your plant to be grown outdoors for some of the year but no Nepenthes is tolerant of a frost.
Light
Nepenthes need more light than many people suppose. They do not naturally occur in dense dark jungle but most forms are fond of open sunny areas. If both humidity and light are correct, the pitchers on your plant should be colourful. If they are pale, small, or do not form at all, the light levels may be insufficient. Too much light may result in burning of older leaves or overheating of the Bio-Dome. New leaves as they develop, will often have a reddish tinge, turning to green as the leaf matures. This is a good indication that there is enough light available.
As a rule of thumb, if using natural light, there should be between about 2 and 4 hours of direct sunlight in the early morning or late afternoon. Dappled sunlight for longer periods is better.
Nepenthes can be grown very well under artificial lights indoors. A fluorescent tube/LED lights or CFL bulb about 30cm away from the plant on a 12 hour time-switch works very well and is used by many experienced growers. There are also a range of new LED grow-lights becoming available, any of which can be tried according to the manufacturer's recommendations.
Humidity
One of the primary functions of the Bio-Dome is to provide the high humidity which young Nepenthes all need. However, Nepenthes plants can adapt to lower humidity over time and this is one of the keys to success. Has your plant grown leaves outside the dome? If so, have pitchers formed on the ends of the new leaves? If the answer to both questions is 'Yes' then you are fortunate in that your plant is already in a place where the ambient humidity is high enough.
If indoors, this is often in a room with water such as a bathroom or kitchen windowsill. Beware though of annual fluctuations such as might happen in winter when the central heating is turned on! Misting by hand several times a day always helps if you have the time and dedication.
Potting Media
Most Nepenthes can be grown in a wide variety of different inert potting media. Every grower has his or her favourite but they all have the following properties in common:
Well drained, containing plenty of air.
Must have no built-in fertilizers (e.g. most proprietary garden-type potting mixes are not suitable).
Must be neutral or slightly acidic.
Must not contain toxic salts (e.g. unwashed coir products).
The list of possibilities is nearly endless but many will contain one or a blend of the following:
Orchid bark
Perlite
Peat
Vermiculite
Chopped coconut husk (coir chips)
Various types of foam
Sphagnum moss are live or dried
In order for the mix to be acidic, if neutral materials are used, many people like to use a little peat in the mix. Coir chips are naturally acidic. One favourite is sphagnum moss which is usually supplied dried in packs. It can be used by itself for all Nepenthes we supply in Bio-Domes. Please do not use a propriety potting mix from a garden centre. It will probably contain fertilizers that will be toxic to Nepenthes.
It is a little-known fact that Nepenthes can be grown very well in nothing but foam. You can include part or all of the foam pad from your Bio-Dome when you pot-on.
Fertilizing
Spray Orchid fertilizer once a month. Your plant has fertiliser built in and will catch it's own prey as it grows.
Size and Type of Pot
Nepenthes do not need large pots until they become very large. A pot diameter of 8cm would be ideal to start with. Since the media must be well drained, a mesh-type pot works well. Sphagnum moss as a growing medium in a mesh or coir hanging basket is a popular choice in greenhouse or conservatory environments.
Watering
The roots of Nepenthes should never be allowed to dry out. Once the automatic wicking system is abandoned, the plant must be watered daily or as often as necessary to keep the potting media wet. However, watering using the wick is still a viable option after potting on. Rainwater is always best for Nepenthes although tap-water may be used unless it is very hard.
Containers
You might not even need a container if your plant is happily producing leaves and pitchers through the hole in the top of the Bio-Dome, or you already have a heated greenhouse with high humidity but in the majority of cases the plant will need some protection from dry air. The container you house your plant should have the following basic properties:
Be attractive
Allow light to reach the plant
Allow air circulation sufficient to prevent over-heating or condensation
Fit into the space available
We have found that most garden centers offer an attractive range of glass containers. Alternatively, glass or plastic fish tanks may be converted into terrariums and used to house collections of Nepenthes.
Some Examples Using Glass Containers
The photos below show some plants that have been successfully moved from their Bio-Domes into such containers and are being kept outdoors. This happens to be in a tropical environment but the same system works well in temperate countries so long as the containers are moved indoors under artificial lighting for the winter.
Internet Resources
If you wish to know more about Nepenthes cultivation in general, we recommend you go to the following forums. Not all information on forums is accurate but you may get some good ideas. Here are some prominent forums listed in no particular order:
International Carnivorous Plant Society
Carnivorous Plants in the Tropics
....
Tropical growing
As you are reading this, you will probably have a plant already in a Bio-Dome and will be considering what to do next. All the Nepenthes varieties offered for sale in Bio-Domes in tropical countries have one thing in common: They are artificial hybrids bred for their vigour and temperature tolerance so they will grow well outdoors or in the lower temperatures of air-conditioning. You are probably already a plant lover and may have your own ideas for potting your plant on.
Firstly, we will give you an idea of the overall range of conditions we are trying to maintain year-round for your plant. Then we will give one example we have tried successfully but there are many other ways. Future updates to this page will contain suggestions for growing-on indoors, as well as in greenhouses. We welcome feedback and photographs which we might use in future updates to illustrate different setups.
If you do not wish to read all the details below, you can go straight to one example of how you can pot your plant using our step-by-step guide.These instructions will come soon under ‘Instruction Videos’.
Temperature
Your plant is either a cross between two lowland varieties, or an intermediate growing variety crossed with a lowland one. It is newly developed and is amongst the first of a new breed of temperature tolerant Nepenthes. It will be happy anywhere in the range of between about 18 deg C and 35 deg C, although it is better to avoid the extreme ends of this scale for prolonged periods. This means that it is possible for your plant to be grown outdoors or in air-conditioning so long as it is protected from low humidities.
Light
Nepenthes need more light than many people suppose. They do not naturally occur in dense dark jungle but most forms are fond of open sunny areas. If both humidity and light are correct, the pitchers on your plant should be colourful. If they are pale, small, or do not form at all, the light levels may be insufficient. Too much light may result in burning of older leaves or overheating of the Bio-Dome. New leaves as they develop, will often have a reddish tinge, turning to green as the leaf matures. This is a good indication that there is enough light available.
As a rule of thumb, if using natural light, there should be about 1 hour of direct sunlight in the early morning or late afternoon but as you are in the tropics, please be careful not to overheat the Bio-Dome. Dappled sunlight for longer periods is best.
Nepenthes can be grown very well under artificial lights indoors. A fluorescent tube/LED lights or CFL bulb about 30cm away from the plant on a 12 hour time-switch works very well and is used by many experienced growers. There are also a range of new LED grow-lights becoming available, any of which can be tried according to the manufacturer's recommendations.
Humidity
One of the primary functions of the Bio-Dome is to provide the high humidity which young Nepenthes all need. However, Nepenthes plants can adapt to lower humidity over time and this is one of the keys to success. Has your plant grown leaves outside the dome? If so, have pitchers formed on the ends of the new leaves? If the answer to both questions is 'Yes' then you are fortunate in that your plant is already in a place where the ambient humidity is high enough.
If you are in a humid tropical country which naturally has high humidity, then you may probably find you can grow the plant easily outdoors without the protective dome. Cities, even in tropical countries often have low humidity at certain times of the day due to the drying effect of hot concrete. However, these plants can often adapt to this. Misting by hand several times a day always helps if you have the time and dedication.
Growing in air-conditioned environments can also be achieved for many varieties without the protective dome but the plant often has to be given time to adapt. Allowing it to grow new leaves and pitchers through the hole in the top of the dome is one way to achieve this. If pitchers are forming, the humidity must be sufficient.
Potting Media
Most Nepenthes can be grown in a wide variety of different inert potting media. Every grower has his or her favourite but they all have the following properties in common:
Well drained, containing plenty of air
Must have no built-in fertilizers (e.g. most proprietary garden-type potting mixes are not suitable)
Must be neutral or slightly acidic
Must not contain toxic salts (e.g. unwashed coir products)
The list of possibilities is nearly endless but many will contain one or a blend of the following:
Orchid bark
Perlite
Peat
Vermiculite
Chopped coconut husk (coir chips)
Various types of foam
Sphagnum moss are live or dried
In order for the mix to be acidic, if neutral materials are used, many people like to use a little peat in the mix. Coir chips are naturally acidic. One favourite is sphagnum moss which is usually supplied dried in packs. It can be used by itself for all Nepenthes we supply in Bio-Domes. Please do not use a propriety potting mix from a garden centre. It will probably contain fertilizers that will be toxic to Nepenthes.
It is a little-known fact that Nepenthes can be grown very well in nothing but foam. You can include part or all of the foam pad from your Bio-Dome when you pot-on.
Fertilizing
Spray Orchid fertilizer once a month. Your plant has fertiliser built in and will catch it's own prey as it grows.
Size and Type of Pot
Nepenthes do not need large pots until they become very large. A pot diameter of 8cm would be ideal to start with. Since the media must be well drained, a mesh-type pot works well. Sphagnum moss as a growing medium in a mesh or coir hanging basket is a popular choice in greenhouse or conservatory environments.
Watering
The roots of Nepenthes should never be allowed to dry out. Once the automatic wicking system is abandoned, the plant must be watered daily or as often as necessary to keep the potting media wet. However, watering using the wick is still a viable option after potting on as our step-by-step guide shows. Rainwater is always best for Nepenthes although tap-water may be used unless it is very hard.
Containers
You might not even need a container if your plant is happily producing leaves and pitchers through the hole in the top of the Bio-Dome, or you already have a heated greenhouse with high humidity but in the majority of cases the plant will need some protection from dry air. The container you house your plant should have the following basic properties:
Be attractive
Allow light to reach the plant
Allow air circulation sufficient to prevent over-heating or condensation
Fit into the space available
We have found that most garden centers offer an attractive range of glass containers. Alternatively, glass or plastic fish tanks may be converted into terrariums and used to house collections of Nepenthes.
Some Examples Using Glass Containers
The photos below show some plants that have been successfully moved from their Bio-Domes into such containers and are being kept outdoors. This happens to be in a tropical environment but the same system works well in temperate countries so long as the containers are moved indoors under artificial lighting for the winter.
Internet Resources
If you wish to know more about Nepenthes cultivation in general, we recommend you go to the following forums. Not all information on forums is accurate but you may get some good ideas. Here are some prominent forums listed in no particular order:
International Carnivorous Plant Society
Carnivorous Plants in the Tropics
....