Tom's Carnivores

Nepenthes veitchii

Description & Care

Nepenthes veitchii is one of those species with which I could happily fill a greenhouse and not get bored, such is the variety of plants in cultivation.

The species is native to Borneo and is named after James Veitch, the famous Victorian nursery owner. N. veitchii has a very wide altitudinal distribution, as you can see in the chart below. There are lowland varieties right through to highland forms, and this makes N. veitchii a particularly adaptable grower as well as an excellent hybrid parent.

One of the great things about growing N. veitchii is the genetic diversity that’s made its way into collections around the world. While some Nepenthes species are yet to be bred in cultivation, and so all individuals come from either wild seed or tissue-cultured clones, horticultural N. veitchii seed has been created dozens of times by many different nurseries. As you’ll see from the photos, I grow mainly the striped highland forms and have collected plants from Borneo Exotics, Exotica Plants, Christian Klein, and others. These typically have wide, flared, striped peristomes, while the stem, leaves, and pitchers are all covered with coarse brown hair. Thankfully I have both males and females in my collection, so can produce pure species seed!

I find the key to successfully growing N. veitchii in highland conditions is to avoid the cold and damp. If you grow in a greenhouse and want your plants to last through winter, I suggest letting the potting mixture start to dry between waterings. They seem to appreciate good air circulation too, so a position near a fan or in a hanging basket may work well.

If you want to learn more, check out my detailed species showcase of Nepenthes veitchii.

How I Grow It

Media A coarse mix, with lots of aggregate - I use long fibre sphagnum moss, perlite, kanuma, and orchid bark (2:1:1:1)
Water Keep damp but not wet. During colder weather, I let the top moss start to dry out between waterings.
Light Very bright, diffused light
Fertilizer Maxsea or liquid orchid feed in the pitchers, every two weeks
Temperature 12°C (54°F) minimum year-round, with summer highs of ~ 30°C (86°F). Definitely prefers warmer time of year.
Humidity 70% during the day, rising to over 90% at night

Learn more about cultivation with my guide to growing Nepenthes.

Day & Night Temperatures

Nepenthes veitchii is a widely distributed species, found at elevations of between 0 and 1600 meters. This range is highlighted in orange above, and equates to temperatures of approximately 24 - 35°C (75 - 95°F) during the day, and 14 - 25°C (57 - 77°F) at night.

See Also

I've written profiles of the following hybrids involving Nepenthes veitchii:

Habitat

Native to Borneo
IUCN Red List status Least Concern
Natural hybrids N. albomarginata, N. chaniana, N. faizaliana, N. fusca, N. lowii, N. mollis, N. stenophylla

Where to Buy

Availability Widely available, but always in demand. The squat striped varieties also command a high premium.
Borneo Exotics codes
  • BE-3205 (LL - 1 clone)
  • BE-3207 (intermediate, golden peristome - 1 clone)
  • BE-3482 (HL - 'Phil Mann' clone)
  • BE-3646 (HL Bario - SG)
  • BE-3734 (HL Bario - TC, many clones)
  • BE-4021 (HL Bario gold - SG)
  • BE-4033 (HL Bario - TC, many clones)
  • BE-4068 (LL × HL - SG)
  • BE-4087 (LL × HL - TC, many clones)
California Carnivores discount code

Visit www.californiacarnivores.com and get 10% off by using code tomscarnivores.


Sphagnum Shop discount code

Visit sphagnum.co.uk and get 10% off by using code TOMS10%.