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Why not come along and discover the wide variety of herbaceous plants we have at Growing Matters Garden Centre All are of the best quality and sold
at very affordable prices. |
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| Pot
Size Large Medium Small |
Price £2.50 £1.50 60p |
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House Plants Our houseplants are sold at very competitive prices. We have a selection of good quality
houseplants on sale in the greenhouse. |
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| Pot Size Large Medium Small |
Price £2.50 £1.50 60p |
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| Exotic & Unusual Plants |
| Carnivores | Succulents | |
| Pitcher Plants Sarracenia Purpurea SSP Venosa Monkey Cups |
Misc Pinguicula x Wesser Butterwort
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Cacti Cactus
Collection
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| Nepenthes Rajah |
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| N.Rajah's Origins It is native to Mount Kinabalu and nearby Mount Tambuyukon in Malaysia. Originally, it was restricted to this area but because of progress in ‘Plant Tissue Culture’ it is now possible to grow these plants away from their native lands. Plant Tissue Culture (micropropagation) is a process of separating living tissue or cells from the parent and growing them on their own. This can be done by placing them in a liquid or on a solid culture form. More information on this technique can be found here. About Nepenthes Rajah Nepenthes Rajah is a very much sought after species due to its rarity, the shape of its pitchers and the size of which they grow; the pitchers are said to grow up to 18 by 35 cm although this usually takes many years. It is one of the more slow growing pitcher plants and was once very difficult to propagate. |
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Nepenthes Rajah is also a climber and will do so if it finds something suitable which can hold it. It is also worth noting that they have been known to grow up to twenty feet high though it is very rare. Because of this Nepenthes Rajah produces two types of pitchers; these being upper and lower pitchers. The lower pitchers are more common and will lie on the ground. Their diet in N.Rajah’s natural environment is made up of insects, mostly ants, and certain species of arthropods. The pitchers have also been known to trap lizards, birds and even small mammals. The upper pitchers will be produced by older plants and are a lot smaller than their lower counterparts. They will attract airborne types of prey including similar things to the lower pitchers. Environment Nepenthes Rajah grows best in moist
compost but does not like to sit in water as the roots of the plant
will rot. The specimen at Growing Matters Garden Centre is in a
hanging basket. It is actually a lot bigger than the plant itself,
however, this will avoid having to re-pot it later and will avoid
hazards such as ‘Transplant Shock.’ |
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| Watering This plant needs regular watering and as such we have set up a watering system which will allow us to do that without having to be there all the time. It is a system similar to what we have been using on our tomato plants. What we have done is placed a bucket higher than the basket and then laid a thin strip of carpet liner from the bucket; the liner being held down with a brick. The other end has been hung over the plant using a length of wire. The water level checked every few days with a dibber to see if it needs refilling as it is too high to reach without climbing onto the staging. The bucket has been secured in place to prevent any accidental spilling. As with all our other carnivores, rainwater has to be used and this system ensures that the plant is constantly wet. There is also a spray bottle nearby to give the plant an overall shower every now and again. |
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Growing
Matters bought its specimen of Nepenthes Rajah in June 2007 and,
so far, it is doing well. |
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