no cups

[smucka]

i got this alata or so it says on label from garden centre where it was un loved but there r no cups alive so i cant feed it . i mist every day with rain water to keep humdity up and it in the warmth too. any idea how to feed and how to grow cups?

.

 

[obregon562]

i believe the "cups" you are referring to are pitchers. They are the main factor for growing these plants.

Basically, patience is all you need. they will not form over night.

Your plant is most likely a N. x ventrata (Nepenthes ventricosa x alata), so try doing a quick google search for that name (ventrata).

Keep the soil moist, not wet, and give the plant plenty of light. Ventratas are SUPER easy to grow and should reward you with many "cups".

 

[Grey Moss]

You don't have to bother with the spraying. It will not help as it only raises the humidity for a few minutes. Make sure it is in a bright place and you will see pitchers in a few months.

 

[DavyJones]

Just some quick and dirty answers...

First of all, don't worry about pitcher development so much as getting your conditions correct. Some things to note...

--It is probably an N. x Ventrata if you picked it up at a Garden Center, but seeing as I don't have Alata or Ventrata, don't quote me on that.

--Make sure you are using distilled or rain water. Looking at your water dish, it looks like you might be using water with some dissolved minerals in it. This is fairly important.

--What direction is the window it is growing in facing? Try anything but a North facing window for starters, but I would pick your sunniest window.

--This plant is very easy to take care of, especially on a windowsill. Don't worry about the humidity/spraying of it constantly. After a month or so it will acclimatize.

Once you get decent conditions, and the plant has 1 month+ to settle in, you should see some pitcher development. You have stumbled upon a wealth of information, feel free to ask questions, and welcome!

p.s. You can cut the dead pitchers off at the tip of the leaf if you wish.

 

[DavyJones]

Wow, in the time it took me to write my answer, 2 other people got to it. Wow you guys are fast.

 

[obregon562]

oh yeah haha, WELCOME TO TERRAFORUMS!

 

[Grey Moss]

Welcome!
Yeah, we are fast.

 

[seedjar]

Welcome! In addition to what the others have said already, don't worry about feeding it. When it's ready, it'll find it's own meals. You can think about supplementing later on, once you have pitchers, but it's pretty much 100% unnecessary. These things survive in the wild, after all.
~Joe

 

[Capensis]

Looks like they already got it covered. Welcome to TF!

 

[jimscott]

....and about 12 hours of light per day...

 

[smucka]

its in a south facing window that onlys get decent light in the morning. should i put it under some cfl's untill spring? can i pot now or wait untill growing season? also can i use lfs/moss perlite for growing medium?

 

[Grey Moss]

You can use lfs and perlite. It will be fine without the lights. It might not pitcher though. You can repot at any time of the year. Be careful with lfs though. It can stay very wet and rot your plants, especially in the winter, so you need to add more perlite or water less in the winter.