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Two Nepenthes questions

Hi,

I have two Nepenthes questions:

1. Since my N.ventricosa produced a basal shoot and flowered a few months ago, the main part of the plant doesn't seem to be producing pitchers anymore. The main vine is still producing plenty of leaves, but they're getting smaller and smaller (it used to produce 6" leaves with pitchers, now only 2-3" leaves), while the basal shoot is producing larger and larger leaves and is pitchering just fine. Any ideas what might be in store for the main vine? Will it just produce leaves from here on out or will it start pitchering again in the future?

2. My N.sanguinea has stopped pitchering completely. It's still producing plenty of 9" long leaves, but the buds at the ends never swell up. Is this typical winter behavior for an N.sanguinea? My N.ventricosa (above), N.spectabilis, and N.fusca are pitchering fine in the same growing conditions (they're all next to each other). Should I be concerned?

Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
I'm no expert, but maybe the humidity changed? That's what usually causes lack of pitchers...

Drastic temp changes have forced my Jacquelineae to stop pitchering... but I've keep it cool and humid so its coming back.
 
Could be time for a repot as well. Smaller leaves leave could be indicating a problem with your soil, BUT........since you have a large basal coming along it is probably siphoning off a good portion of the energy the plant is making. As a forecast, the main vine will probably go kaput and die. Then the basal will take over. Thats how Nepenthes grow, they are a vine an regenerate from time to time.
 
Are you using artificial lighting or sunlight? If sunlight is your main illunination it could be the photo period. I have some plants that do this that I grow in windowsill terrariums.
 
sanguinea stopped pitchering here to, like every winter. I think that the plant likes a lot of sun, but now in winter the light levels are a bit on the low side. It'll probably start pitchering agani when spring rolls in.
 
Could be time for a repot as well. Smaller leaves leave could be indicating a problem with your soil, BUT........since you have a large basal coming along it is probably siphoning off a good portion of the energy the plant is making. As a forecast, the main vine will probably go kaput and die. Then the basal will take over. Thats how Nepenthes grow, they are a vine an regenerate from time to time.

That leaves me with some questions now....

Will basals always end up killing the main vine over time? And, if the basal is removed will it stop that from happening? Also, what about when a node starts to grow? Will that have some type of impact on the vine?

-Nate
 
I grow my neps as windowsill plants and they only produce a pitcher or 2 in the winter time. Then as the days start getting longer I usually experience an explosion of pitcher formation.

As for the basals killing the main vine, not in my experience. I had a N. ventrata that had around 10 basals growing on it. It was nice and bushy. Once they hit the ceiling, around 5' tall I would chop the vine off. I would leave around 12" of the old vine above the soil. Then usually, but not always a node below the cut would start to grow and repeat the process all over again.
 
Thanks for all of the info. My Nepenthes are grown in a plant rack under artificial lights. Currently, the timer is set to "winter" mode, so they get 12 hours of light a day. They'll get 14 in the spring and 16 in the summer. I was expecting fewer (if any) pitchers with the lower light levels, but I wasn't expecting all of my Nepenthes to pitcher except for one. :)
 
Nepenthes are equatorial plants. Leave the lights on 16 hrs a day year round. There's absolutely no reason to give them seasonal light changes.
 
  • #10
Yes, as a windowsill plant my N. Sanguinea stopped pitchering during the winter. But once I put it in my new greenhouse, it started pitchering again. It was either the increase of light, or the increase in humidity. I think it has more to do with the light though.
 
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