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Rust on Nepenthes?

I did a search on the site for any threads about this, and couldn't find any. If I missed something, please point me in the right direction. :)

Anyway, my ventricosa has always grown very well since I received it a year ago. It has not pitchered for me in several months, but the leaves have been healthy. It lives inside my apartment on a sill facing an east window. I realized recently that the lower leaves have developed what I think is rust on the underside of it's leaves. One leaf has turned yellow and started to blacken at the tip. I cut that one off. The top 3 leaves, including the growth point, are fine but I am afraid that the rust stuff is spreading.

Does anyone have experience with dealing with rust on their nepenthes? I have 3 other plants next to it, none of them exhibiting any of these same rust spots. I have a systemic insecticide but that's it. If there is something else I can purchase that would be gentler to the plant, I would love a recommendation. Thanks in advance!
 
The "rust" could be a couple things hard to tell without pics.

The first possibility is that it is a fungus. These are not always detrimental and to the best of my knowledge the one that grows on Neps which is orange just feeds on the nectar.

The second possibility is that, with the change of seasons, it is getting more sunlight which may be burning the leaves. Burned leaves on Neps often get an orange cast to them.
 
I have some orange coloration on some of my nepenthes because of either too cold or too hot for that particular plant. Since i grow my highlands and lowlands together then I have my bicals showing orange now while during the summer I had my ramispina was showing the orange color.

Not that is cannot be rust, but i would look at other things first. And pictures never hurt like Pyro said.

After reading your post again. Since it lives indoor do you fertilize? It might be cannibalizing itself to keep growing forward. My thorelli x artriso was doing something like that. I just added some nutricote knockoff to the pot to see if it helps it since there is not bugs this time of year in the GH except mealy bugs and scale that I am trying to knock out with merit.
 
It seems odd that a ventricosa would "canniballize" itself since the leaves are usually so waxy and full. Rust spot fungus is my bet.
 
I had a similar experience with my ramispina this past year. It stopped pitchering and I noticed some rust spots on the leaves. I isolated the plant, and tried to cut away the infected areas. Then I sprayed the plant with Safer. I also tried dusting it with cinammon which I heard inhibits fungus. I'm not sure which part worked, but after a few months it's doing much better and is pitchering again. Hopefully your ventricosa will do the same.
 
Thanks for the tips about Safer and cinnamon! I will take some pics and upload them soon. I guess a trip out to the nursery for fungicide is in order. :(
 
Another method of applying cinnamon is to mix it with some cooking oil to make a paste, then use a finger to spread it thinly on the affected area.
 
Well Nepfrak. I have seen plants do just that. Cannibalize themselves and turn to the woody vine structure to continue moving forward. Orchids will do that to back bulbs too suck out the nutrients of old back bulbs to continue to move forward. The woody vine portion of a nepenthes uses far less nutrients to keep up than the green leafy vines. That may not have been the issue, but it very will could be. The only rust color I haev seen on my plants has been due to unfavorable conditions too hot or too cold. My truncata has a spot on a new leaf right now from getting too cold. My rami has spots from last summer where it got too hot. Then I have a thorelli x aristo that has ist lower leaves dropping off because I need to change the mix and fertilize.
 
Finally, here is a picture of the spots that are happening on my leaves. The damage seems to mostly come from underneath the leaf. The areas that are rust colored tend to have a rougher texture than the healthy parts of the leaf.
 
  • #10
That looks like rust to me. Remember, rust is a basidiomycete, which means it usually has two hosts....so if you have plants nearby with rust they could inoculating the Nep leaves with urideospores. Any generic fungicide should be plenty safe to use on your nep.
 
  • #11
That looks like rust to me. Remember, rust is a basidiomycete, which means it usually has two hosts....so if you have plants nearby with rust they could inoculating the Nep leaves with urideospores. Any generic fungicide should be plenty safe to use on your nep.

This is very helpful information! I bought some neem oil spray from the nursery. Do you recommend I spray the other neps that are next to this plant? For some reason, none of my other nepenthes that are next to it have exhibited any of the same signs of rust. Perhaps I should wait to see if they develop symptoms before I hit them with the neem?
 
  • #12
Why would you use neem oil? Neem is more geared for pest problems, specifically insect pests, not a fungus problem. I would lean more towards a fungicide like Clearys or even a generic soap to help bulk up the waxy layer on your plants leafs, if a plant has really thick cuticles or a wax layer is makes it much more difficult for a germ tube from a germinating spore to penetrate into the plant. Eventually the rust will go away with some fungicide application, whatever product you chose to use, just remember, follow the directions very carefully.
 
  • #13
I bought it because the guy at the nursery recommended it. It is what he recommended I use for rust.
 
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