Description

Nepenthes villosa x veitchii is a relatively new hybrid from BE. BE used its BE-3225 female and a particularly red, squat, and striped veitchii from its 3734 grex. In general, it seems to be a perfect amalgamation of its parents, with some individuals leaning towards the veitchii side, with faint spotting and a cream-white peristome. These individuals also borrow the veitchii pitcher shape, which tends to be more bulbous at the bottom. Others a bit more villosa-influenced, with a solid colored body, a more consistent pitcher shape, and a raised neck. Most, if not all, of the individuals, have prominent teeth. The pitcher color ranges from greenish to red, with the majority being the latter. The leaves are somewhat waxy and have an intermediate shape between villosa and veitchii, with a visible midrib, slight thickness, and are more elongated than ellipsoidal. 

 

 

 

Growth/Conditions

Nepenthes villosa x veitchii is a surprisingly resilient grower. Currently, I’m growing it an upside-down cup. There are no fans, deliberate night drops and the temperature remains just around 75-70 F°, with high humidity of around 95-100%. I’m growing under just a typical LED desk light, around 14-18 hours each night. Even with all of this, the plant grows without hitches, not even skipping a beat after being shipped(which might be in part due to Native Exotics’ wonderful packaging). The plant, in the last 2 weeks, has put out and is unfurling a leaf(which is a bit larger than the last one), expanded a pitcher, is forming another pitcher, and is producing a new leaf. The plant is simply extraordinarily resilient for a villosa hybrid and is quite vigorous just in general for a highland plant. In the future, I plan to grow it under lowland conditions, where it has been noted to grow vigorously. 

 

Graphs:

Leaf Production vs. Time

Diameter(inches) vs. Time