new plant

[Trixie]

I recieved this plant recently and am looking for all the information I can get on it. I found this site and can't wait to start browsing but in the meantime I hope I can get some tips from you guys and gals. What variety is it? Best pages/posts here for care? etc.. As well, the plant has pitchers that are browning and shrivelling up at the top. Might this be a problem? or just old flowers dying off? I live in southern Ontario, so it is a cool climate and very low humidity in the winter, I'm sure I'll have to create special conditions for this plant. Any help is greatly appreciated! Trixie

 

[Jimmy]

That is N. ventrata (ventricosa x alata). It is a very adaptable, vigorous hybrid tropical pitcher plant.

The browning pitchers are not a problem; it will continuously make new ones if you grow it well. Low humidity is causing those pitchers to shrivel, but the new ones will be acclimated to the lower humidity. Just make sure it gets plenty of light; a spot on a south-facing windowsill would be perfect for that plant.

 

[Trixie]

thanks for the quick reply Jimmy,
well, I don't have a south facing window sill, the front of my house faces northeast and ALL the windows with the exception of the kitchen windows, have radiators under them making them very dry spots. One kitchen window faces southwest and gets several hours of direct sunlight. The other faces Northwest and has no direct sunlight. Which would be better?

 

[Jimmy]

The southwest window should work well.
The humidity problem could be fixed with a humidifier, but that probably isn't necessary; N. ventrata is a tough Nep. Kitchen windows are very friendly to orchids and Nepenthes, in my experience.

 

[Halt]

@ humitidy mist a couple times a day to bring up humidity, and as Jimmy said, new pitchers will adapt to the low humitidy

@windows, i don't know jimmy is the nep expert.
ugh beat me to it.

 

[Trixie]

great, thanks, that'll get me on the right track, I've had the plant for a week and its been moving around alot..I have been misting it twice to three times a day, also poured some water into the pitchers today...I read that in a caresheet on line. I also read it is ok to drop tiny crickets into the pitchers. Is it better to do that or is using a suitable fertilizer sufficient?

 

[Jimmy]

Using an orchid fertilizer at 1/2 suggested strength accomplishes the same thing crickets would. I prefer to water the soil with the fertilizer solution, rather than pour it in the pitchers, but either way works.

 

[seedjar]

As far as I understand, misting doesn't actually provide a significant amount of humidity - the water dries/is carried away by wind too fast. It benefits the plant because they can take up small amounts of water through the leaves. A Nep grown in household/ambient conditions can adapt to lower humidity levels, so long as the water and light is good.
So, do use a spray bottle because it does help (don't believe people who tell you that spraying doesn't make a difference) but don't think that your plant needs to be jarred up inside a dank little terrarium for humidity, either. A cool window will probably have a high enough local humidity to make a difference, if unusually low humidity is actually what's bothering your plant. Also, you could try moving it into a bigger pot - your pitchers will last longer if the plant is comfortable with its water levels, and giving it more space to put down roots is the best way to make water more available.
~Joe

PS - Don't worry about feeding it after just a week. Neps take weeks to months to adjust to changes in conditions; the first thing you need to learn is to leave it alone. Give it water regularly and make sure it has plenty of bright light. You can move it around and it will still grow leaves and look nice and green, but if you want pitchers you need to let it do its own thing and get comfortable with its environment. I can almost assure you that bugs will find there way into the pitchers on their own, when the plant is ready. Feeding the plant when it isn't trying to catch things doesn't do a lot of good, and may even cause pitchers to wilt faster if it spoils the fluid. Most CPs can grow without any feeding whatsoever, in sterile lab conditions; they just grow better when they can supplement their nutrient intake with bugs. Once you have new, healthy pitchers that you've watched grow and open, you can feed those. Crickets work, but I find betta/koi food to be easier - it's basically bugs/shrimp pressed into little pellets. No worrying about pulling the legs off beforehand.

 

[Trixie]

I just found an interesting thread here about feeding plants. thanks again for all the info. it is much appreciated and more comments are welcome I'll have to continue my reading tomorrow, I'm pooped!

 

[xvart]

Unless it helps you build a bond with your plant or you enjoy doing it, misting does nothing to help humidity. It may boost the humidity for a brief moment, but after a minute it is back where it was (unless the plant is in a closed container where the water stays in the air in that area).

xvart.

 

[jimscott]

All humidity aside, Neps are basically equatorial plants. Consequently, their daylength (photoperiod) is ~12 hours per day. When they get less than ~10 they stop pitchering. I'm no expert with identification, for sure, but if indeed that is a ventrata or one of the easier hybrids, it can handle less than hot and humid conditions.

I've been in elgecko's kitchen, where he has hanging baskets of Neps, near his glass doors, in a room whose humidity was checking at 35%. The fun part was watching him water and quickly catching what drained through before it hit the kitchen table. But that's an aside...

Do you an artificial light to supplement our northern winter?

 

[Trixie]

I can get an artificial light easily enough, there is a reptile store just up the block, I'm sure they sell them there for their lizards. Thanks for the tip.

 

[SirKristoff]

trixie, those dont work. ive tried it hahaha
your best bet is to get a shoplight from lowes or home depot, fluorescent shoplight, any size...24"+ and try to get a double light fixture
use daylight or coolwhite fluorescent bulbs and keep em about 5 inches away from the plants.

 

[Trixie]

I'm very surprised! thank you for that tip

 

[jimscott]

Here are a couple ideas, visuals, and grins & chuckles:

Those are at a bathroom window sill and they stopped pitchering the fall. But if you can rig a light over them and keep it on for ~12 hours, they'll be fine.

Same plants, different setup.

Same plants, a couple years earlier.

Young plants in the heated fisthank setup.