What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Hey guys i think i have a problem (it seems whenever i post on here i do LOL). I got my little Hamata (FINALLY!) a couple weeks ago and it has put out its first pitcher! Thats great! but here is the problem- the new pitcher is about two inches tall, while the ones previous are two and a half inches and whopping three inches (THE DIAMETER OF THE PLANT!!!)
So, is i just because i have just transplanted it about a week ago, or is it because of its introduction to my new environment? or are my conditions off?

here are my conditions-
it sits under 4 40 watt t12 lights (2 cool white, 2 Plant and aquarium) for up to 13 hours a day.
it receives frequent misting and is sitting in sphagnum moss with a transparent 'bowl' at the top with a vent hole about two inches wide.
at night, i remove the plant from the terrarium to a table right in front of a portable air conditioner that gets temps down to 62 degrees Fahrenheit. it still has the bowl on. a humidifier runs its pipe through the vent hole on top of the plastic dome to the plant. so, with the air conditioner running and the humidifier going, a vortex forms inside the dome, cooling the plant (you can tell- the medium and the condensation on the leaves is cool.
after about two to three hours of vortexing, i put it back in the terrarium (lights out) until morning when the cycle begins again.

now this could very well not be a problem at all, for i heard plants in a greenhouse pitcher a lot nicer than ones in a terrarium. but i want to hear from you guys. by the way, again, the plant is three inches in diameter, with a two and a half inch, a three inch, and now a two inch pitcher. i am trying to be as descriptive as possible to compensate for the lack of images (sorry)!
 
Well, aside from the surprisingly complicated and, I've gotta say, perhaps unnecessary nightly ritual you've got going, you shouldn't expect any new plant to suddenly put out larger growth as its first sign of growth. Just the process of being repotted and the change in conditions will usually cause the plant to not only create smaller pitchers than what it made before you received it, but smaller leaves too. Overall, the plant is going to want stable conditions, so you may find it sulking a bit if you keep moving it around to give it the "vortex" treatment. Also, if possible, you may want to acclimate it so you don't have to use the dome on top anymore, since that will likely cause you several headaches down the line.
 
Don't sweat it. Every plant that I have ever owned, has occasionally sent out underachievers of one form or another. It could be a change in growing conditions -- whether it's an increase or decrease of light or temperature; a recent replanting as you had described; or more likely than not, just the inherent perversity of a group of fussy plants, fond of eating insects . . .
 
I have yet to meet a Nepenthes that performed optimally in less than six months from the time I adopted it. Patience, grasshopper, patience. That said, you may be seriously over-engineering your plant's growing space, and yet still not really meeting a very important environmental need: night temps below 60F. While 62F at night might not present problems in the short term, you would be well advised to find a way to get it at least another 5 degrees lower. Some people are currently experimenting with placing their young plant in a tupperware container (after a misting, so humidity will be high) and placing the container in a fridge for the night. Of course, you will have to arrange it so the fridge doesn't cool below 50F or that will present new problems. Maybe an ice pack strategically placed in a small cooler will achieve the right effect? Something to experiment with! (but just use a thermometer at first, to see how cold it gets before you place plants in it)

That said, is there no way to expose the plant to cooler night temps naturally, in your climate? (Your profile contains zero information about your location)
 
To Whimgrinder-
Im sorry. let me rephrase what i said. i meant the air conditioner gets a right sized room to sixty two, but the actual air temperature never gets above 56 degrees farenheit. and i place the plant at most a foot away from the air duct.
and sorry about the profile thing. i will change it. i was a little skeptical about the security of the forums when i first joined. though now i am fully certain the site is secure, i have not bothered to change it. changing currently. Anyway i live in Texas, and we are already experiencing 97 degree weather- so outdoor cooling is out.

To Bella-
ok cool. now that i think about it i am WAY to over worried about the new plant. But then again, who isnt! LOL

To Mato-
other than that i have no other way to have the cool air reach the plant. the room the terrarium sits in is MUCH to large for the air conditioner to get the desired temps. And as far as i have heard, the said plant MUST have cool temps to survive. So i dont know what to do about that. i will think a while on the subject. Also my house maintains a 30 to 40 percent humidity, so i dont have any other option but the bowl- and the plant is small, so i heard it wont take anything but high humidity (above 70 percent all day every day until it grows up).
 
I understand, dude, I used to live in Houston and there was no cooling solution other than blasting a/c all day. If I were you, I'd consider just putting the plant in the fridge at night, but if the way you're doing things works, and you don't mind the doing it, than just stick to it until an easier solution arises.
 
alright so guys i have decided to use a fridge. is one that gets down to 45 degrees good? i will be putting a humidity dome over the plant and the pot is plastic, so i doubt any low temperature damage will occur. what do you think?
 
Back
Top