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Little Nepenthes aristolochioides limping along

Hey guys,

So, I have this little Nepenthes aristolochioides that is, unfortunately, just limping along and seems to be getting smaller since I bought it at last fall's New England Carnivorous Plant Society's plant show, from what I believe is that notorious MA nursery. My conditions are as follows:

Three inches from the lights which are 1 T5HO 24 watt, 2 T8 17 Watt, and 2 T12 20 Watt, each is 24" long.
The temp is around 75 to 80 degrees F during the day, and into the low sixties, even upper 50's, at night.
Humidity is around 50% during the day, and 90-100% at night, but there is living sphagnum moss in the pot, which (i think) increases the relative humidity around the plant, which is quite small and really buried in the moss (though I trim it back so as not to block the light). It is growing right next to my Heliamphora pulchella, which is doing very well.
The medium is 1:1:1, LFS : perlite : orchid bark, and has been in it since January. The medium before, the stuff i bought it in, was very tightly packed (but actually good quality) LFS.

According to my research, my conditions are pretty fairly spot-on. Something i thought of might be humidity stability, which i could remedy by putting a plastic bag (with a hole in it) or a clear plastic cup or something to keep the humidity more constant.


Please tell me what you think,
CJ
 
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I dunno. My Nepenthes aristolochioides is the fastest-growing plant in my collection. Mine is two inches tall and 1.5 inches in diameter, with tiny, but full-formed pitchers. It's very hardy and I've had mine for a year now.

If it came from that notorious MA nursery, swab the bottom of each leaf with a wet cotton swab to check for mites, because conditions might not be the problem.
 
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Humidity isn't necessary because mine regularly gets 15% or so during the day. I'm not sure it likes it all the way up to 80F during the day though, and maybe try fertilizing it? Mine's getting about 4ish hours direct sun, 65ish F by day and 50ish F by night the past month, and just rewarded me with 3 pitchers. It's in a mix of roughly 1lfs : 1perlite : 1orchid bark with top-watering once a week.
 
Oh yes, I forgot my conditions. My plants get full sun or partial shade nearly all day. It has been getting up to 80 around here, but my Nepenthes aristolochioides is still quite presentable, perhaps because of the still-cold nights. I hit mine with Maxsea earlier this spring just to get some larger leaves. Mine is in a bark:long fiber sphagnum mix with a top cover of live sphag. It gets watered whenever the pot feels fairly light. :p
 
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I dunno. My Nepenthes aristolochioides
If it came from that notorious MA nursery, swab the bottom of each leaf with a wet cotton swab to check for mites, because conditions might not be the problem.

Will I see mites or a different sign of it being mites? (waste, or similar)

Thank you all for your advice though! I feel better about my humidity. I can open a window to keep the temps more in the mid seventies, but that drops does drop the humidity to around 50% (its higher when i keep the window closed)

Keep it coming!
 
mine likes it cooler...like low 50s, high humidity gets you larger pitchers too.
WP_000047.jpg
 
Boost the humidity up to 70% and get the day temps down to 70-75F and it should perk up....also..night temps in the 50's will help if possible.
 
Will I see mites or a different sign of it being mites? (waste, or similar)

You will see mites on the swab if they're around. Swab each leaf bottom. It helps to use a magnifying glass so you know it's not dust.
 
You will see mites on the swab if they're around. Swab each leaf bottom. It helps to use a magnifying glass so you know it's not dust.


I used my jeweler's loop and a pocket microscope and there was nothing that jumped out to me as "mite." To be safe, I made a 2:1 Distilled water : 91% isopropyl alcohol and applied it with a Q-tip.
I then rearranged my terrarium so it is on the cooler side, (the near-by thermometer read 75 degrees F today, where the other thermometer on the other side read 80). Additionally, i put a sandwich bag over the pot, with a pretty large hole in it to increase the humidity substantially but, hopefully, not to increase the heat too much.

Unfortunately, when I change so many factors, its hard to tell which one worked, and i run the risk of shocking the plant.
 
  • #10
Happy update!

Hey guys!

Thank you everyone for all the great advice that you gave me before. It has been bagged and growing slowly in highland conditions for a while now. And one day I saw a tendril that looked like it might inflate! Then another! And now it is big enough for me to take a picture of and show you guys.


P6071008.jpg



Still quite small, obviously, but big enough to feed a single freeze-dried blood worm to! It is still covered in a sandwich bag (removed for photo) that has two holes cut into it. I've been working at it, and it seems that my humidity stays around 60% during the day, which is pretty ideal I believe. I'm being brave and slowly acclimating it. But honestly? It can live under that bag forever if thats what makes it happy!


Thanks again,
CJ
 
  • #11
Awesome story of success!

I want one bad!
 
  • #12
Speaking of N. aristolochioides: does anyone have a seed-grown one available for trade?? :-D
 
  • #13
unstuckintime thats strange i got mine from the same place at the same time and now is in less than good conditions and its growing fast it is 2-3 in tall an inch taller than when i got it and its pitchering almost every leaf its 2 in diamiter
now i changed its place it is in a area with 90% humidity and 77 degree days and 68-70 degree nights
or should i move it to my new villosa tank? 40-50 degree nights and 70 degree days
 
  • #14
how big was yours when you got it? me being me i picked one of the biggest ones so it might be that mines is older and easier because you have better conditions that me i have 1 4foot t5 light 50 watts and now i changed it to 1 2foot t5 24 watt
 
  • #15
So I'm not the only one getting pissed at my aristo, huh? :p

Mine is growing and putting out leaves the same size as the previous ones, but it is doing so very slowly and none of the pitcher will inflate. Hopefully when my new swamp cooler gets here this week, I can set it up on the weekend and see how it cools and humidifies.

In the meantime, is there any way to raise the humidity around the plant without heating it up too much?
 
  • #16
If the daytime humidity is as low as you've suggested, this is very likely the reason it isn't pitchering. Did you ever look into acquiring one of the hose-end fogging nozzles I suggested (repeatedly!)?
 
  • #17
Uhhh, this thread is a year old? Why did you resurrect it Bical? ???
 
  • #18
Giving it a little extra help nutritionally might do a lot of good. I'm guessing it's not catching much of anything at that small size, if it even has pitchers. I would try applying 1/4 strength orchid firtilizer every other week. That might give it the boost it needs to help overcome its issues, in addition to the recomendations made by everyone else.
I personally would think three inches is a little close to the lights as well. Try puting it a few inches farther away (6 or more inches, perhaps).

Edit:....Ah, it's an old resolved problem... I guess I should start reading the post dates and most recent developments in these threads... LOL. Oh well, nothing lost.
 
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  • #19
I'm happy someone resurrected this.......good info here. I'd like to see a pic of those little aristolochioides plants today for sure.
 
  • #20
I'm happy someone resurrected this.......good info here. I'd like to see a pic of those little aristolochioides plants today for sure.

Well today is your lucky day! I've been absent from the forum for a while, I'm a bit surprised to see this thread I started has gotten so much attention. Anyway, my N. aristolochioides seems to wax and wane, which is kinda annoying, but I know it's ultimately my fault for that. It did not like how hot it got during the time between moving into my new place and buying and AC unit.

First, the scary part:
IMG_0075.jpg


I don't know why, but it did this for a while. Slowly, slowly, deteriorating until finally I was about to give up all hope on it. Suddenly! I noticed there was a basal coming up, which eventually lead to this:

IMG_0551.jpg


Then this:

IMG_0561.jpg


IMG_0608.jpg


And now it looks like this!!

IMG_0909.jpg


IMG_0907.jpg


Conditions are still the same, more or less. Day time temps are around 75*F, and at night around 65*F (Though, a few nights ago it was 54*F because it got so cold out. I was excited, but I realize that sort of instability probably isn't ideal). My ultrasonic fogger is connected to a hydrotherm, to humidity stays above 75%.

Thanks for looking!
 
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