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dried out pitcher tops

recently i've noticed a trend in a few random neps i've seen... the top of the pitcher will dry out and look brown while the bottom looks perfectly healthy. my juvenile ventricosa does this (sort of- the tops are just slightly more wrinkled than the bottoms), a Miranda i saw at a flower show recently had brown tops, and i think i even saw them in a picture of a ventrata here in the forums.

any particular reason why this happens?
 
Heather, could you refresh our memories as to how you are growing them? I mean, are you employing a terrarium set up or a hanging basket at a window sill or...?

Mine are exhibiting that as well, but I can point to lack of water, perhaps low humidity. I think the light could be a little better. I am only using sunlight through a southern exposure window sill.
 
That happenned to mine when I was feeding them koi pellets. It can also happen in low humidity environments after the pitchers get a little older.
 
That eventually happens to my pitchers after several weeks/months and is a normal result of pitcher ageing. Most people keep the pitchers on until they've completely died, as they can still absorb nutrients from their bases.

Low humidity or light, overly wet conditions, and/or disease can all cause a pitcher to prematurely die.
 
Welcome to winter in nep-land. I don't have a good high-humidity setup so that's basically how most of my plants look this time of year.
 
Yep. Low humidity is the biggest culprit. It is also how a pitcher ages.
 
mmm low humidity makes a lot of sense... growing on a desktop in a dorm room that averages 90 degrees F would dry them out. maybe i'll mist them more...

thanks a bunch!
smile.gif
 
any temp change?

Dont know if thats a factor...

Cheers
 
no drastic temp change that i've noticed, just very dry. (please, if my hands are this bad, i can only imagine how the poor plant feels!!!) i did notice the pitcher hoods doing strange things when i moved from home it over the winter though... the pitcher would develop normally but the hood would never form. now it's decided to put out nice big pitchers with huge lids again, so i suppose it settled back in... finicky plants, these are! ;)

i'm actually thinking of converting a fish tank into a terrarium this summer... hopefully it'll like that better. i'm 70% sure this is a ventricosa (or ventrata... i'm just not that good with id's!) so it would probably like some more humidity... we'll see!
 
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That and they seem to be particularly sensitive to change in environment, whether it be humidity or temperature or light, more out of proportion to other CP's. I fried several last summer when I thought that a week of being outside in "bright shade" before moving them a few feet to more direct light, would be safe. I was wrong.

Question: how effective was using cinnamon for mold? I have a friend who tried it and it got worse?
 
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