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Dying bottom pitchers

trashcan

O:-)
The bottom pitchers on both of my Nepenthes alata (i think, i'm on my third species claim for the same plants) are dying off. When I bought the plant a few weeks ago, they were doing fine. Is this natural? All of the upper pitchers are perfectly green, even though there are only one or two on each plant. One plant has also started growing two new pitchers. Is the plant dying, or are the traps probably just old?
 
Trashcan,

They are probably just old, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Pyro
 
It's normal don't worry. Just like all plants their geen leaves die and new one replace them. Nep.G.
 
Ok, I was just concerned because all of them started to die at the same time (2 weeks after I bought it :). I do have a "special touch" with plants sometimes (frequently). Thanks
 
I noticed a funny thing about Neps Trashcan and I'd be interested to know if anyone else has noticed the same thing.

The plant will be coming along really well, bunches of leaves and a nice little pitcher developing at the end of each tendril. Despite the leaves all beng at different heights on the plant the pitchers develop almost simultaneously and open at the same time.

I wander around in my garden admiring the beautiful pitchers hanging in bundles from each plant until a couple of weeks before I have a group of friends invited over for lunch. A few weeks roll by, the friends arrive and I go to show off my fantastic garden full of bug eating plants (which, incidentally, is probably mind numbingly boring for them - but that's another story) and I find I'm left with these withered black things hanging off the ends of each leaf. ALL of them!!
Couple of weeks later and they're all back again, but no one will EVER see them in all their glory like you do.
This happens, and it always happens at once.

My advice, don't invite your friends around with the intention of showing off your plants, it's a sure way to guarantee losing all your pitchers.

Cheers, fatboy.
 
Too funny Fatboy...

I wish I had a garden of Nepenthes to show off... just not practical in San Antonio.... maybe someday, with a green house..

What you are describing is murphy's Law, and it happens with EVERYTHING I do... not just pitcher plants!
 
So it's normal for the plants pitchers to just suddenly die? And i was wondering when the Nep's lower leaves die off do new ones sprout from the brown stalk left,because i had an N.Alata once and it's bottom leaves would die leaving just a brown stalk and new leaves wouldn't grow where the previous ones died although it would grow new ones from the younger part of the vine,the top. Is this normal?
 
Seems to be a couple ways that pitchers die off.. the ones that have thin substance kinda just go brown all at once very quickly. Then you have plants that produce very thick fleshy pitchers that last many many months... These seem to die from the top down and can take many many months to go totally brown. Also appears that the former type are fast growing plants that mature pitchers very quickly while the latter types grow slowly and pitchers take a long time to develop.

The growth you describe for you alata is typical. Sometimes when the vine gets really long, basal shoots will sprout and start new vines. Chopping the top of the plant off will promote this. Personally I don't like to let plants get way out of control and end up with a long brown stem. I have a tendency to chop them back alot and when I repot to pot them deeper.

Tony
 
Tony, thanks for that... I have an unidentified nepenth that is going to vine right now... I am going to wait for a basal shoot to pop up before I snip it though...

So you plant as much of the brown stem as you can huh? Nice... does it grow roots out at all the dormant nodes? Or just the clipping point?

Also, do you know, if you lay a nepenthes down along the ground, will dormant nodes set root?
 
  • #10
Personally I have found that the softer cuttings closer to the top of the plant root easier. Also when you chop the plant back it is a good idea to leave some green leaves rather than wack it back until there is just a brown stem left..Plants that are chopped way down tend not to survive, although you should have plenty of cuttings anyway that will root up, (which is also why I prefer to chop them back more frequently, before a long brown leafless stem developes). Maybe a long vine with alot of brown leafless stem at the bottom would be a good candidate for airlayering technique, before the top portion is removed?

Roots will develop at the cut surface on the end of the stem. I also make two 1-2" (depending on the size of the cutting) vertical cuts in the stem about 1/4 of the way through the stem on opposite sides. This allows rooting powder hormone to penetrate to the tissue surrounding the vascular tissue in the center of the stem. This is where callus will develop and eventually roots.

I don't think you will get stems to root much at all by simply laying them down on the potting mix.

Also, a vining Nepenthes is more likely to send out basal shoots if the vine is allowed to go horizontal or even droop over the edge of the pot. Doing this reduces apical dominance in the plant and promotes dormant buds furthest from the growing point to break dormancy.

Tony
 
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