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Hamata Help!

carnivoure12

Hear the Call of Nepenthes
Hey guys,

Well I'm usually not the person to be worried about his plants dying. But recently my Hamata has been bringing that ugly paranoid side out of me.

heres the deal, The Hamata was doing well, for a month, because the temps were highland. However, my Hamata has been though some hard times with the temps going up here in the Canadian summer.

I moved a week ago, and finally got a central air apartment, I once again have perfect Highland conditions.

However I fear it might be too late for my Hamata, heres a pic that speaks for itself.

DSC02022.jpg


as you can see the latest leaf is smaller. I see another leaf coming, I hope its normal... any ideas? what do you think? will my baby survive, i'm quite devastated right now... I know these plants are much tougher than they look, but its hard to get past the paranoia...

so tell me what you think...
 
Since the growing point still looks fine, you'll be ok. It just needs to setting into the conditions.
 
But recently my Hamata has been bringing that ugly paranoid side out of me.

Heh. It sure is ugly. Don't worry, it's fine...Leaves don't last forever. So after changes, some leaves are probably bound to die. Plus, the three youngest leaves looks perfectly normal. Just give it time. :)
 
Dude....it can come back. Just ensure that it gets high humidity and good highland conditions. Trust me!! I had my hamata make a comeback from even worse looking than that.
 
Thanks guys, this really encourages me, i'm sure it'll adjust soon. thanks elgecko, cap and vraev :)
 
:hug:
it will be just fine lil buddy i am here
seriously i think the humidity is an issue . cause mine didthat shortly after i got it an i know tht the humidity was low .
 
well my humidity is always over 80%, and over 95% at night.
 
Which N. hamata is this? We have discussed this before but I don't think the temperatures are/were the cause. It looks to me like some sort of pest and/or perhaps a root problem but I am leaning more towards a pest (mites or thrips) because of the funky tiny little new leaf. Is this the one you posted a while ago that looked odd and sprayed and then grew more normally?
 
Perhaps it is just getting used to the new environment, however...

...it could possibly be a pest. If Carn is right about the high humidity, I doubt that mites could be an issue. Otherwise, something like this (the damage) would have already happened at his old place, unless the mites came onto the plant very recently.
 
  • #10
Well, I checked the plant, and there is no pest on it? I doubt the mite thing, as I live in an 11th floor apartment and new plants haven't be introduced into the terrarium for a few months...

Tony I'm not sure? ive only posted about it to say i got one, and then this time. And if by spraying you mean pesticides or something to rid it off pests, no i've never sprayed it.

Its from BE
 
  • #11
I must be thinking of someone else that had a N. hamata that was making distorted new growth.

Anyway, so you have had this plant for multiple months and it has been exposed to your warm temperatures for at least a couple? So how many of those leaves has it made in that time? Only the very newest leaf looks to me as if something is wrong. Is that the only leaf it has made during this period?

Are the undersides of the older leaves brownish/bronze colored or green? Have you checked the roots? There is clearly something wrong with it and I really don't think it was temperatures that were a bit on the warm side but not all that horribly hot.

Any other plants which don't appear to be growing properly?
 
  • #12
i had the same thing happen to one of mine it looked exactly like that for a week then all of a sudden blackened leaves went from the bottom to the top and mine died. You might have root rot which killed mine. how often have you been watering it.
 
  • #13
I don't really water it... i just spray the terrarium, and that keeps the media moist.

Only the small leaf was produced during the temperature fluctuations... All the other plants are growing perfectly... I've checked them all but they are all perfect.

should I repot it? its only in moss, with a top dressing of live sphagnum... i'm really starting to get worried
 
  • #14
Maybe a combination of factors?

Whenever I have a plant that acting poorly I unpot it to check the roots. From my experience carefully unpotting the plant won't hurt it if the roots are healthy. If they are unhealthy you will know in short order and can take action. I have found that plants with root problems generally respond favorably to repotting in nice fresh potting mix. Mainly because most root problems are caused by mix that is too wet and not aerated enough for the plant. Provided of course it's not too far gone, in which case repotting may not be enough. Perhaps your plant was kept too wet? Sounds to me like it never really dries out a little so it may take more than simply repotting but instead a change in mix composition as well.

Can you give any other details on the plant? How long have you had it? Was it newly imported? Was it established before you got it etc? Did it make any of those other leaves for you or just that little one? I am getting the impression that it was newly imported and it never really established properly for you and then the heat set in and maybe in combination with that and being too wet the roots are gone.
 
  • #15
eHi tony, ok well they arrived from BE on April 1st, the nursery kept mine for a month at my request so it would get a chance to settle in. so i'eve had it since may. The 2 previous leaves before the small ones are were made during the good temps.

What should I check for on the roots? is a mix of LFS, orchid bark, pure Canadian sphagnum peat moss and perlite a good choice for the new media? If the rootssare gone is that the ned of the road?
 
  • #16
Well lets see what you find out on examining the root system. If the roots are healthy you should see some actively growing root tips.

Personally I don't use all moss. It stays too wet for me and the roots don't breath properly. I also don't use sphagnum peat moss. I find it is too fine and smothers roots and promotes breaking down of the coconut husk chips and LFS I use because it settles down to the bottom of the pot. One of the keys to becoming a 'nepenthes expert' is tinkering with potting mixes that make your plants happy under your specific growing conditions and care. If in doubt lean towards a mix that will drain more and hold less water but require more frequent watering. The fact that you never water the plant but it still looks very wet to the point of soggy tells me there is something wrong right there.

I still have major doubts that it was a warm spell that caused the plants problems. The dying back of the leaf tips etc. I still think it's a pest, but could be that with a root problem combined with temps. a little higher than desired. Seriously though.. temperatures 10 degrees higher than satisfactory isn't going to cause the problems we see with this plant.

Can you get a better photo of the leaves? It looks to me like there is some brownish coloration here and there on the green leaves which would indicate thrips or mites.

Hope that helps...
 
  • #17
Well I guess i'll have to wait until tomorrow to uproot and take pictures... I do remember that on leaf had this weird bronze veining, the on before the small one, but i didn't think too much about it since only one had it...
 
  • #18
Oops sorry I forgot the last part of your question. If the roots are gone it is not the end of the road. It would need to be treated like a cutting. For such a small plant this is how I do that. I have saved many a tiny plant that was rootless this way.

1. Clean up all dead and dying plant material.
2. Trim back the stem until you hit healthy green tissue in the stem.
3. Dab in rooting powder. (can skip if you have none)
4. Wrap the base in about a golfball sized wad of LFS that is very moist but not sopping wet.
5. Place the plant in the LFS wad in the corner of a little sandwich bag.
6. Wrap a little scotch tape around the outside of the bag to snug the moss around the plant
7. Fold the top of the bag over so that humidity stays in but isn't 100% air tight.
8. Place under a nice bright fluorescent light with temperatures in the mid to high 70s.
9. Wait and hope.. it will take a month to 2 months to root if it is going to live. Peridically check the moisture level in the moss. You will need to add a few drops here and there to keep it nice and moist but not wet.

---------- Post added at 11:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:51 AM ----------

Just a few comments on the possible pests.
These are not the same red mites you find on other houseplants that don't like moisture and blanket the plant in webs. If it is mites though you should be able to see them on the undersides with a 10x magnifying glass. Particularly on the older leaves.

Thrips are fast and hard to spot and don't hang out on the leaves. They are tiny too.
 
  • #19
Ok thanks tony, I'll check back here tomorrow with pictures... I'll repot my hamata in orchid bark, perlite, and some sphagnum... thats if it still has roots :(
 
  • #20
I must be thinking of someone else that had a N. hamata that was making distorted new growth.

*Cough* ! :p

Anyways...don't loose hope Daniel. Just in case, get a magnifying glass and look over it carefully after its been left undisturbed for a few hours. If u see moving this on foliage....then there might be an issue. If present..I would try neem oil based insecticide/miticide ...thats just my opinion....although when mine had an issue with mites/scale, I used orthenex and then got rid of it as I would have been poisoned if I had kept it in my apt. ANyways...yeah! I repotted mine as well. As long as the stem doesn't die and foliage is relatively the same after repotting... u can assume that the roots are growing and the plant will eventually come back. Mine took over 8 months for its recovery and now its slowly growing...although its leaves are still a little bit disfigured sometimes.
 
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