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Pitcher lifespan

fly-catchers

fly-catchers

Hi,
I have been comparing the pitcher lifespan between three species I grow. The rajah, hamata & villosa.
So far the rajah lasts the shortest time. The lid dies off first and them gradually the pitcher. The plant is still fairly small and the biggest pitchers so far produced are about 2 inches in height. I would have imagined that in the wild large mature pitchers would last many months given the time & effort the plant needs to produce such large structures?

The hamata pitchers seem to last ages, even given their relatively papery feel.
But the villosa wins hands down with pitchers still being in excellent condition well after a year or more!

Is my experience with fairly short lived rajah pitchers typical amongest growers?

cheers

bill
 
For me, I think that the pitchers on my ampularia last the longest, followed by the merrilliana and the aristolochioides.
 
I grow those three species, And yes i would have to say N.rajah does'nt hold its pitchers as long as hamata.. and villosa as well. My rajah also starts to brown from the upper lid "top to bottom".

D r e w M c c l a i n
 
I've got N. thorelli x aristolochioides that have lasted forever, and N. x Rokko that are getting to be ancient.

My N. rajah is hurting these days, as it lives exposed outdoors year round and suffers the San Francisco winter head on. The pitchers so far haven't lasted that long.

Capslock
 
the pitchers on my maxima x miranda last way long. I think I have a pitcher on there thats almost 6 months old. The shortest I would say are my juvi northiana
 
It really does depend on the species/hybrid and how vigorous it is.
 
My maxima has yet to drop it's origional pitcher. It was purchased over 6 months ago. Ventrata is a winner too. It's pitcher lasted from the time i first bought it (about 9 months ago) up until about two months ago.
 
I got my Ventrata last April and it still has some half-dried pitchers from the original greenhouse, and some pitchers it formed after I received it that only have dried up lids.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]But the villosa wins hands down with pitchers still being in excellent condition well after a year or more!
Click to expand...

MOTHER, HOLY MARY OF JESUS!
 
  • #10
Rather than start a new thread about this I will ask my question here...

I just received my first Nepenthes plants at the first of the year (quite litteraly on New Years Eve) They are N. ventricosa red, N. macfarlanai x ventricosa, and N. ventrata. All 3 have sent out new shoots that have unrolled into leaves... My question is: How long before they actually start to form pitchers? The tips of the new leaves all look healthy, I dont see signs of browning or anything like that but they dont seem to be in much of a hurry to form pitchers.

These are my first Nepenthes plants ever so I am learning this as I go and Im not too sure what to watch out for as far as problems.

Thanks
Steve
 
  • #11
It doesn't always go exactly in this order (leaves are skipped sometimes and randomly grow later on), but a new pitcher usually starts to inflate on the leaf above the leaf where the last pitcher developed. At any given point you'll probably have a lot of leaves between the top of the plant and the most recent pitcher.

Are you saying they're young plants that don't have any pitchers at all so far? Or are they somewhat mature?
 
  • #12
Hey Steve!

It depends on the plant, but most of mine pitcher about when the next leaf starts to unfurl. This is MOST of the time. Sometimes, a leaf several leaves down will pitcher, especially on climbing vines.

Also, when they are new, sometimes a leaf or three will not pitcher at all before the new ones start to pitcher as the plant progresses.

Hey, ya wanna do a trade or two? I've got tons of neps, and am looking for some drosera. PM me!

Capslock
 
  • #13
I have some pics from the day I got them..  I will see if I can get any decent shots of them now using my little cam but most likely any good pics will need to wait till I can borrow my moms cam again.  They are somewhat new cuttings.. The ventricosa red is dated 3/04.

No date on the macfarlanei x ventricosa though although it did have several pitchers on it when I got it. The immature pitcher in the back is open, but not as large as the others on the plant. The VERY tiny immature pitcher at the front of the plant is now about 1/2 inch tall and appears to be enlarging a little every day. The sprout comming from the top is an open leaf and a second leaf has also opened since that pic was taken.

http://steve.nightscapecreations.com/cppics/Nmac/P1010004.jpg
http://steve.nightscapecreations.com/cppics/Nmac/P1010009.jpg
http://steve.nightscapecreations.com/cppics/Nmac/P1010010.jpg

http://steve.nightscapecreations.com/cppics/Nvent/P1010001.jpg
http://steve.nightscapecreations.com/cppics/Nvent/P1010002.jpg
http://steve.nightscapecreations.com/cppics/Nvent/P1010004.jpg
 
  • #14
I think the ventricosa is going to take a month or two to get its act together... I have a ventrata cutting that rooted 3 or 4 months ago and it's still looking a little underdeveloped.
 
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