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N. Ventricosa Pitcher

The title speaks for itself; how long do they last?
 
Care of the plant greatly determines how long pitchers will last. For example when I forget to water the khasiana on the windowsill.. the pitchers all die rather quickly .. oops. Luckily they grow back fast!

I gather you mean with good care how long will a ventricosa pitcher last? hmm 4 months in good shape I guess (give or take a month). Although I can't say I have timed it.
Tony
 
I haven't found a complete list of pitcher lifespans but Nepenthes of Borneo has a table with a few Nepenthes Species' pitcher lifespans. Of the observation group the N. mirabilis had the shortest around 40 days whereas the N. bicalcarata clocked around 200+ days but these were also plants that were growing in natural surroundings - for better or worse.
A complete list of Nepenthes pitcher lifespans is a bit of information I would actually like to have. I am going to start marking changes and taking records on the plants that I have. I just made log sheets for each plant in my collection the other day anyway. It'd be cool if everyone who cultivated Neps would do the same and we could compile a big list of all the different species and pitcher lifespans (i.e from formation of the bud to dessication of the top half of the pitcher), of course this would be for plants grown in optimum conditions (temps/humidity/etc).
Good question - lets find out!
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Ventricosa has quite long lasting pitchers. I have had one last for about 4-5 months. Now if you got to Lowii the pitcher will last well over a year in good conditions, Tony tells me, I have yet to see for myself.
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I've got two pitchers at 5 months right now, no sign of any decline at all.
 
Actually N. Ventricosa's pitchers are short lived compaired to most Nepenthes. Most Nepenthes pitchers last near to a year as N ventricosa's rarely lasts more than 6 months.
 
Pitcher lifetime also depends on feeding. Not feed pitchers do last much longer then the ones feed with a good amount of insects. Of course an overfeed picther may die in a few days. As a rule of thumb the sturdier the pitchers are the longer they will last.

Joachim
 
I think the two key points are made by Tony and Joachim. Caring for the plant obviously will affect the 'lifespan' of the pitcher, while what happens inside the trap does, as well. I've found that truncata pitchers deprived of insects last 6+months, while those that capture bugs last 1-2 months. Keep in mind these are large pitchers that are choked with huge insects. While the plant benefits from the nourishment, the pitcher is highly susceptible to rot...which is quickly does. Oz
 
i have a small N.ventircosa 'Red' with pitchers still alive since 6 months.
 
  • #10
Wow, Six months.
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One of my N. Ventricosa pitchers last about a month and starting to die away.
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  • #11
I got my plant back in March I think? So far zero of my pitchers have died...
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The one cracked pitcher seems to be doing alright..I have feed it like 5 ants so far.

travis
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