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Noob question

chump_hater21

chump_hater21

Hey guys,

I am new to this forum as I am new a new Nepenthes hobbiest. 2 weeks ago my wife and I went to a nursery to pick up some vegitable plants for the new growing season. While we where there a Nepenthes Alata caught my eye and I told my wife I had to have it. Took it home and was on the web for days trying to find information on how to care for it. It appears I choose a good one to start with. It's in very good condition with about (8) 4-5" pitchers and it looks like 7 more are about to sprout.

I have it on my patio and it's doing well so far. Last week I had a cool surprise on my front door. When I came home from work hanging on my door knob was a huge Nephenthes Miranda (only had 1 6" pitcher) and appeared to be in bad shape (leaves are 2' long and most are broken in half). There was a note with the plant saying he noticed my plant hanging in the patio and he thought I would'nt mind having his since he's moving away. I just can't believe it. I just found out about neps 2 weeks ago and already I have 2. I am looking forward to next week to see what else is left on my door.

Anyway this leads me to my first question. I brought the n.miranda inside and I accidently bumped into my wife. The one pitcher's contents poured all down my wifes leg and about a couple of minutes later my wife had what appeared to be a rash where the liquid dumped out. Is the contents in the pitchers dangerous? I was thinking it may be since I have never seen my wife break out like that. She said it was burning.

She is fine now, but like I said I am concerned. Anyone know if the pitcher contents is powerful enough to damage tissue? Next question is since the contents dumped out should I leave it empty or should I put water in it?

Thanks for the help guys. I look forward to chatting with you guys on this forum.
 
the pitcher contents generally shouldnt be harmful. maybe she has a slight alergy to the enzymes. ive never had an issue with spilt pitcher liquids on me. welcome to TF. and the question really is, is your alata really an alata and not one of the many mislabled plants out there :) give us some pics and we can hope to correctly identify it for you.
~Happy growing
Kris
 
Like SK said, it generally isn't harmful. However, you did say that it was left at your doorstep. Maybe the previous owner was using fertilizer in his pitchers. Long stretch, but just a thought. Welcome to TF!
 
:down:lucky lol haha :welcome: to TF's. If only i had neighbors who brought me plants :/
 
Welcome. It shouldn't cause a reaction unless your wife is really sensitive. Even so, I can't imagine it being anything since Nepenthes fluid is sterile when the pitchers open and the enzymes are only released once triggered by trapped prey.

My guess would be something your neighbor put in it before giving it to you. It would be worth asking about.

Welcome to TF.

xvart.
 
welcome to TF I also wish my neighbours left me plants haha but their a bit too snobby around here to be that nice :p. as to why her skin reacted like that i have no idea why it happened, other then maybe fertiliser was used in one of the pitchers?
 
Thanks for the assistance guys. SK I believe you are correct about the N. Alata. It seems that all of the photos I see online aren't close to mine. I saw a photo of N.Ventrata and I think that's what I have.

So what do you guys think about the empty pitcher? Should I leave it empty or pour some distilled water in it? I have no idea what to do since I've seen different responses on line. Some say rain water naturally fills the pitcher and others say the plant produces the liquid themselves. I've seen others say that the plant won't produce until there is a bug inside the pitcher. Are all these correct?

Thanks again
 
The plant produces its own "water" when inflating, but if emptied wont create more if i remember correctly. some species do get rain water in their pitchers, but most use their lids in a way to keep the rain water from diluting the enzymes. you could put some water in the pitcher if you want to keep it from drying out and dying faster.
its up to you
 
  • #10
Your wife probably experienced contact dermatitis, basically a catch-all for any minor rash or irritation. Some people are capable of getting a rash from a new brand of detergent . . .

On the issue of filling the emptied pitcher, I'd put in a small amount of RO or distilled water and let the palnt produce its own digestive fluids; otherwise, an emptied pitcher will often dry out die, a common issue after shipping . . .

Good luck . . .

chump_hater21 said:
Hey guys,

I am new to this forum as I am new a new Nepenthes hobbiest. 2 weeks ago my wife and I went to a nursery to pick up some vegitable plants for the new growing season. While we where there a Nepenthes Alata caught my eye and I told my wife I had to have it. Took it home and was on the web for days trying to find information on how to care for it. It appears I choose a good one to start with. It's in very good condition with about (8) 4-5" pitchers and it looks like 7 more are about to sprout.

I have it on my patio and it's doing well so far. Last week I had a cool surprise on my front door. When I came home from work hanging on my door knob was a huge Nephenthes Miranda (only had 1 6" pitcher) and appeared to be in bad shape (leaves are 2' long and most are broken in half). There was a note with the plant saying he noticed my plant hanging in the patio and he thought I would'nt mind having his since he's moving away. I just can't believe it. I just found out about neps 2 weeks ago and already I have 2. I am looking forward to next week to see what else is left on my door.

Anyway this leads me to my first question. I brought the n.miranda inside and I accidently bumped into my wife. The one pitcher's contents poured all down my wifes leg and about a couple of minutes later my wife had what appeared to be a rash where the liquid dumped out. Is the contents in the pitchers dangerous? I was thinking it may be since I have never seen my wife break out like that. She said it was burning.

She is fine now, but like I said I am concerned. Anyone know if the pitcher contents is powerful enough to damage tissue? Next question is since the contents dumped out should I leave it empty or should I put water in it?

Thanks for the help guys. I look forward to chatting with you guys on this forum.
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  • #11
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