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Hi everyone i'm pretty new to the forum. i used to have about 20 nepenthes but i went away and lost most of them now i only have 4. i have a n. Truncata, n. alata, n. miranda and a n. Maxima x Lowii. The have been going downhill lately especially my alata. I was wondering if anyone could give me some help on bringing them back to good health, also i'm not sure if i have the right soil mix, what would the best mix be?

This is my n. miranda, the leaves seem to be slowly curling up, it also has a few little lumps on its leaves. Lastly it hasnt had a pitcher in a long time and the tiny baby pitchers seem to be shriveling up before they have even started growing. This next pic is from when it was nice and healthy.

This is my n. truncata

The truncata has pretty much the same problems as the miranda and it also has some discoloration on some of the leaves, i will also add a pic of when it was healthy.

Next is my n. Maxima x Lowii

This one one is similar to the rest, its leaves are slightly curled and the pitchers don't seem to be developing.This next pic is what it use to look like.

Lastly is my n. Alata, well it was sold as an alata but it pitchers are a bit different to what i would expect but anyways what ever it is it is not in a good way, i have cut all the dead leaves of and i dont think its going to make it, im not sure whats wrong with it im thinking maybe the soil and it holding to much water. This is it all nice and healthy.

Also i'm not sure if the photos will work i'm not sure how to insert photos, this is my first post.
Any help will be very much appreciated

Thanks Lachlan
 
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No photos. Please describe the growing conditions.
 
As Whimgrinder has said, we'll need more information. Specifically:

* Temperature, day and night
* Humidity, day and night again
* Lighting
* Water quality
* Soil mix
 
Welcome to TF! :welcome:

To upload photos, put them on photobucket or some other image hosting site, get the direct link to the photo, and then put it in the dialog box that pops up when you click the image button when making a post.
 
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Ok i will try to get some photos and it might be a bit hard to describe the temperature and humidity because they are outside at the moment. Im pretty sure the soil mix is wrong, i couldn't find a nepenthes mix so i just got an orchid mix. Also they get filtered sunlight because the are up under a tree and i use my bore water and i think it is a bit acidic. maybe i could move them into a terrarium or something like that
 
An orchid mix sounds fine, provided that it doesn't have added fertilizers and has some sort of component to retain water (ie, it's not just bark and perlite). Slightly acidic water is no problem, in fact, I find that many Nepenthes (and other cps) actually benefit from a monthly watering with acidified water! However, if your water TDS is above 100ppm, there will be an issue with mineral buildup.
 
how do i find out the TDS?
 
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There are several ways of doing this. TDS meters are cheap and readily available online. You could also check with your local water supplier, they usually have the information posted online or on some other venue. As a last resort, you could try boiling away a gallon of your water. If there's a crusty white or yellow residue left after the water's gone, it means that your water is not safe. If there isn't anything, your water MAY be safe. Keep in mind that this method only works with detecting heavier things like calcium, solutes like chlorine will simply evaporate with the water as it is boiled.
 
Ok i will try to get some photos and it might be a bit hard to describe the temperature and humidity because they are outside at the moment. Im pretty sure the soil mix is wrong, i couldn't find a nepenthes mix so i just got an orchid mix. Also they get filtered sunlight because the are up under a tree and i use my bore water and i think it is a bit acidic. maybe i could move them into a terrarium or something like that

At the very least, what's the weather been like over the past week? What's the local weather report been saying?
 
  • #10
Stranger the temperature this month so far has ranged from a minimum of 18 C/64.4 F to a max of 28 C/ 82.4 F. And im guessing the humidity has been ranging between 50 and 90%.
 
  • #11
Hmm... those sound (in my relatively inexpert opinion) fine to me.

Aside from the possibility of your soil having fertilisers of some kind I'd say we'll need pictures.
 
  • #12
okay i know this is probably easy but i cant figure out how to get pictures, I've set up an account with photo bucket and I've uploaded some photos but i don't no what to do now.
 
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  • #13
You need to click on the uploaded photo's thumbnail and get the photo url. Then, using the option "Insert Image" on the forum, paste the url into the pop-up window. Before you post, you can click "preview post" to make sure the image has successfully been linked.
 
  • #14
N. Miranda
IMGP0432_zpsevbzxtdc.jpg


N. Maxima x Lowii
IMGP0435_zpszdphgpgs.jpg


N. Truncata
IMGP0436_zpsa9npcqxp.jpg


N. Alata
316c7add-3dfd-47e1-8c3c-bc4949239d9b_zpspc39xk6l.jpg


I think the N. Alata is too far gone, Also should I send the photos of what they use to look like? One of the things that is annoying me the most is that the pitchers and tendril closest near the tip is shriveling before they are even developing.
 
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  • #15
I just found the orchid mix i used and it says that it contains Calcium and enough controlled release fertilizer to last 12 months. The mix is Osmocote orchid mix.
 
  • #16
Yeah, I'd repot those plants ASAP, think you're right on the alata though. Personally I use a mix of long fibre sphagnum, perlite and plain orchid bark in about a 1:1:2 ratio, other people have their own preferences though.

How long have they been in that soil? When you repot them a picture of the roots would be interesting to see.
 
  • #17
That media you're using is no good for them. Aside from it being too rich in nutrients, it also won't hold enough moisture. You want to use a mix heavy in LFS or even just LFS on it's own.
 
  • #18
I'd imagine that the added calcium isn't good for them either - soluble calcium tends to raise soil pH and harm their growth.
 
  • #19
oh.... ummm they have been in there maybe a week i just up sized their pots. what should i go and buy tomorrow. Before i re potted them they had a mix with quite a lot of LFS and were holding a lot of water i think a bit to much. Also when i moved the alata there was a slug in with the roots. So number one priority is soil, should i go with the ratio that stranger stated.
 
  • #20
Yes, remove the soil. LFS straight, or more preferably mixed with pumice, non-fertilized orchid bark, or other particulates is better. And, there is green on that alata stem, so don't give up on it just yet. These plants can bounce back in surprising ways, but you'll probably want to treat it like a cutting. Also, from the looks of the leaves on some of those plants, the lighting may be a bit on the low side.
 
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