Dried pitchers (top half only)

[agustinfranco]

Hi all:

I was wondering if someone might have noticed the same experience as myself. I do feed my nep pitchers, once a month with either fish pellets and now I am using skim milk. Most of them seem to enjoy it. However, i have this N. veitchii which tends to produce short lived pitchers and these dry half way down. the bottom half remains green!! ( 4 weeks after reaching maximum size). Could it be excess feeding or just the plant which does not like my growing conditions??. By the way, my veitchii is an intraspecific hybrid H/L. Thanks

Gus

 

[schloaty]

That happens to me (premature drying) if I loose humidity.  Perhaps your plant would do better in higher humidity?

Also, I think this will happen if it gets to hot...isn't Veitichii a highlander? Maybe your days are too warm? (again:

)

 

[Beagle]

The "short lived" part is what bugs me. Pitchers will eventually do what you describe, but not right away. I would think conditions and not feeding also. Of course, when you do feed a pitcher it could make it rot.

I try to feed a couple old pitchers when I feed my plants, which is rarely. I was thinking about getting some crickets for the first time in a couple months.

 

[swords]

I haven't noticed feeding affecting my pitchers lifespans. I used to only feed sparingly every time a new pitcher opened but in the past few months I've been feeding every 2 weeks or so. I can't do this with the smaller plants with 1" pitchers but those with 3"+ pitchers can be fed quite often and the plants seem to enjoy it, the fluid levels in the pitchers seems to rise slightly with continual feeding. I do not add water to the pitchers and they seem to secrete more fluid when there is a constant input of food. Crickets at least, seem to do OK in this method of feeding. I haven't use anything else really.

The worst thing I fed was defrosted Bloodworms (mosquito larvae) they were too rich and rotted the pitchers. Some of them got suck on the sides of the pitcher above the fluid level and that's what started the rapid decline.

My vote would be for the humidity level, but perhaps N. vetichii has rather short lived pitchers? Mine is too small (4") to make any sort of observations on how the mature pitchers act in my conditions. I can say that the large N. veitchii growing up the post at the orchid greenhouse near me has mostly half dried pitchers with only the newest ones up near the ceiling looking really good. But I'm not there enough to say how fast it takes for them to start to decline from opening.

 

[nepenthes gracilis]

My big veitchii (the one in my avatar) has pitchers on it from way back from last February/March. It's pitchers aren't short lived from what I have seen. Mine is grown is moderate humidity (high now with my new cycler) but I would guess that you are feeding them too early which marks a noticable decline in the pitcher it is is not allowed to fully unfurl the peristome and level out it's operculum (lid).

 

[agustinfranco]

Thanks everybody:

This is my hypothesis. For starters, i have a young plant. Not more than 6 inches in diameter. Pitcher size about 1.25 inch.
The funny thing is that this plant can tolerate less humidity than the other neps, but yet its pitchers dry out. This hypothesis of more tolerant to dry conditions comes from the fact that this plant is hairy!!. Other neps with no hair at all do better under the same conditions. Maybe there is too much light on it??.

Gus

 

[Beagle]

I agree with nepenthes gracilis, don't feed young pitchers. You are feeding your plant for the plant, not the pitcher. If I notice some ratty looking leaves and pitchers with a nice green stem connecting the whole thing to the plant still. I feed those.

 

[swords]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">this plant can tolerate less humidity than the other neps, but yet its pitchers dry out[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

If the pitchers are drying out then it's not handling low humidity very well!

Neps will live/grow in lower than needed humidity, but they won't pitcher or the pitchers will be short lived even if the leaves grow nice and big.

I can not get Neps to pitcher outside my chambers because my house/area is very dry. Neps will live and grow with low humidity (so long as the soil is damp) but they refuse to pitcher no matter how many times I mist them. If I want Neps with pitchers I have to grow them in terrariums or some other area where I can control the humidity.

In time, as your plant ages it may acclimate to your environment and stop the premature drying out.

What is your humidity reading? Do you have a hygrometer?

 

[agustinfranco]

No Josh, i don't have one, but I am getting one soon!!. Thanks for your input.

Gus