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Nepenthe leaves

I have two Nepenthe Miranda's . I recently purchased them at a plant show. They were in pretty bad shape. All of the pods were damaged and incapable of holding water. Some were starting to brown. None of them have the top leaves over the pods. The soil was very dry.

I hung the plants out on my sophet edge from my roof. I placed rain water in the pots just enough to make the soil moist and place water in the pods that could hold a little, none of the pods were really any good. However a couple could hold a teaspoon or two of water.

I have not yet given my plants any bugs yet.

Within a couple of days of good soil conditions and good light levels. The plant has start to grow like mad. New growths are coming out like mad. When I bought the largest leaves were around 10".

Now here is the issue, there is a red tint on some of the leaves, is the red tint a sign of something? say to much light or water, not enough or is it natural and I should not worry about it. It does not cover the whole leaf but seem to exist at the center.

I realize this red is the same color as the pods but I got have some peace of mind as these leaves haven't grown their pods yet.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
 
Miranda gets some bronzing... it's natural (and perdy).

I wouldn't worry about feeding until you get some new pitchers. The old ones don't sound too effective.
 
Brendhan,

There is red and there is red, so it can be a bit hard to say. But by the sounds of it, if it is growing well, it sounds like the red tint Nep leaves can get when exposed to high levels of light. This is a good thing and shows that they are producing pigment in accordance with the light levels.

Hamish
 
Thanks

I will try to post some pics tomorrow. Just to remove doubt.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
 
The leaves of my plants develop a flush of red or purple under strong light.  A lot of carnivorous plants show this response.  Post a photo of your plant, and I'll try to post a photo of one of my plants with the same response.  

I found a photo of a very happy guy with his N. miranda, and the leaves show a flush of red/purple:  Very happy guy

P.S.  You should receive the bugs I sent soon.  Wait until new pitchers open up before you feed the plant.

Brian
 
Brian W

Yup that is what mine lok like I aplogize for not getting photos up but I am typing this in the airport at JFK as I wait to change planes. Work is a little hectic.

I assume that means the plant is getting just a little bit to much light. I will tell my wife to move them .

Sincerely,
Brendhan
 
Brian,

That's quite interesting. I grow both of those hybrids as well in full sun, and while Red Leopard gets a mild red tinge, it is still predominantly green. The lowii x truncata is certainly all green other than the tendrils and traps. Is the new growth coming out red as well?
 
SydneyNeps,

 I was a bit surprised at the color of N. lowii x truncata also.  I've seen numerous photos of the hybrid, and it's parents, but none had red leaves.

  The new growth that is forming on lowii x truncata has an even better red color.  The photo I took is of the original growth, and the red color is kind of blotchy.  The photo of the N. x red leopard is new growth, and the coloration is more intense and evenly distributed.

   I'm hoping the coloration of N. lowii x truncata remains even as the plant matures.  So far it seems to be stable, but it's too soon to tell.

Brian
 
  • #10
Sorry for the delay. I have had to roadtrip with work. Here is the update.
After moving the plants the leaves have become much more green in color. There is still a little red but not overall.

Here is a link to some lousy pictures I took just before I had them moved.

Nepenthe Leaves

Sincerely,
Brendhan
 
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