N. lowii 'G. Mulu' - Blackening

[AaronJ]

Hi everyone.

I'm having some trouble with my N. lowii.

I got the plant about a month ago and this is what it looked like after being potted up in LFS:

N. Lowii

The plant is now having it's leaves turn black and die form the base leaves up.  I have also seen little growth, though I don't think this is unexpected given the timeframe.

I don't have a picture just yet but will get one to post tonight.

It's in my glasshouse with temps ranging from 15 degrees C at night to about 30 degrees C day (sorry for the "degrees C"), humidity does not drop below 70% and it's getting bright but no direct sunlight.

I've searched through all the posts I could find on similar topics but wanted to see if there were any thoughts?

The only idea that I could come up with was the LFS being too wet (this batch seems to be quite soggy compared to my other batches of LFS).  I've been watering it every day and it IS quite damp.  I also read one reference that suggested that N. lowii likes a slightly drier substrate than most Neps.

All of my other Neps (mostly highland/Intermediate and a few lowland) are doing great.

So... over watering & too wet? SHould I re-pot inot a better batch of LFS (i.e drier and more airy)?

Thanks.

Aaron.

 

[Stefano1]

Hey, i had a similar problem when i had gotten a baby ventrosica, i had a mini terrarium for i but i soon found it dying as well, the leaves turned black from the stem outward

i tried to save it but no luck

i am 95% sure that it was because it was water logged, i think that what hapened with me is what is going on with you, i would reduce watering to maybe 2-3 times a week, it depends where you keep it,

im pretty sure its because of watering too much, repoting it wont do anything i dont think, just cease to water and the LFS will become drier with time until you re water again, itll make it moist but not water logged

good luck

 

[nepenthes gracilis]

Hey Aaron, I think its also too wet. N. lowii is more of an "epiphytic" Nepenthes than all the rest of the species. I suggest letting it dry out quite a bit and increase airflow a bit.

 

[Capslock]

If you re-pot it, I'd use a mixture that helped air out the soil. I use orchid bark, coir chips, charcoal, and pumice in all my mixtures, in various amounts. I like to use half lfs and half other stuff.

Capslock

 

[AaronJ]

Thanks Stef and Nep (and Schloaty for the PM).

The LFS in this pot has actually gone a bit slimy (indicating poor quality and waterlogged). Although Stef suggested against it would there not be some benefit in re-potting with as little disturbance of the roots as possible into a better LFS?

Is the blackening a fungus caused by the moisture, or is it simply the result of the moisture?

Thanks,

Aaron.

 

[AaronJ]

Sorry Caps. You were too quick with the post (or I was too slow).

A mix of 50/50 LFS/orchid bark sound OK to try?

Aaron.

 

[Capslock]

Sounds perfect, Aaron. I'd soak the orchid bark for a few hours and rinse before using. That seems like a good mix, and yes, the slimy lfs is from being waterlogged. Even the best lfs can get this way.

Capslock

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Quote[/b] (AaronJ @ Mar. 22 2004,17:57)]A mix of 50/50 LFS/orchid bark sound OK to try?

Aaron.

I would include something inorganic that will keep the mix open and airy.. Pumice, Horticultural perlite, charcoal or something.

Btw I converted the temps for us American folks

night 15 = 59/60 and day 30 = 85
While not horrible it is a bit on the warm side.
Tony

 

[AaronJ]

Thanks Caps & Tony,

I have some perlite so might try 1:1:1 - LFS, Orchid Bark, Perlite.

Sorry about not converting the temps for you. Very rude of me with you guys being the majority here.

With summer just ending night temps are dropping (so should day temps).  I'll be aiming for 10 degrees C (50F) night and 25 degrees C (77F) day in the next week or so.

I just called home and got my girlfriend to check last nights low and it was about 12 degrees C (53.6F).

I'll try the re-potting tonight, keep my fingers crossed and let you know how it goes.

Aaron.

 

[nepenthes gracilis]

Sounds good to me. LFS,bark and perlite sound like a fine combination of materials, just make sure you mix is damp and not wet, esp. since your leaning more towards winter now, you'll want to have drier mixes to reduce can of fungus and root rot. As for the blackening, its probably from too much moisture. Fungus doesn't really cause leaves to blacken...fungus would be a grey fuzzy growth on the blackened leaves. Also, keep in mind that leaves die away naturally, but if many leaves are doing this, particularly the newer ones, its probably an issue.

Good luck!

 

[AaronJ]

OK, here is the plant when I got it about a month ago:

Here it is today (sorry for the large image size but I figured it'd be best to let you see it clearly):

I feel so bad as I had not realised how much had died until I compared the two photos.  The LFS does not look flash either hey?

So is the feeling still over watering?

Given that I will repot it tomorrow, once I get some Orchid Bard, is there any other suggestion to try and save it?

For that matter does it look like it can be saved?

Thanks for any help,

Aaron.

PS: I'm not sure if there is a download limit on my Tripod site so HERE is the link to the page if the images do not work.

PPS: Looks like I can't add images so just use the link to the page.

 

[The Griffin]

Aaron,

You reecently ordered this from Southern Carnivores, ie Phill Mann? Last I knew from checking his site out, he was not up and running form the moving disaster. I have trouble getting any correspondence from him anymore, and we used to echat all the time.
Anyway, is he selling only within Australia now, or does anyone have a clue what is going on with him these days? I really miss chatting with him.

Regards,

Joe Griffin

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Tripod will not let you remote load hosted photos.. ie you can't see them in the thread.  Links to their website work however.

Phill is fine and still busy busy but getting slowly back into rebuilding his stock.

Aaron,
Looks like the plant was fairly recently out of TC.  Alot of the smaller sidegrowths have rotted and looks like the main plant is infected as evidenced by the lower leaves that are blackening from the middle outward.  Can't really offer much advice.. plants from TC are very tender.. I would remove the plant from the pot and clean up any dead stuff, give it a fungicide dip and repot into fresh moderately moist potting mix, keep it very humid and in moderate light.  Basically treating it as a tender cutting..

Tony

 

[nepenthes gracilis]

I'm with Tony. Looks like its got a case of the nepenthes lover nightmare, our ole arch enemy...rot. Clean it up and hope for the best, doesn't appear to be too extensive yet, but a quick response should save your plant.

 

[AaronJ]

Thanks guys,

I'll follow your advice tonight. I'm assuming a general purpose fungicide will suffice?

Joe, as Tony mentioned, Phill is still around and getting his stock back up and running. He still has SOME plants available of which I am trying to get a list from him at the moment.

No idea if he is supplying OS and , yes, he can be hard to reach via email, but he does get back to you eventually. Just keep trying.

Nep,

"Nepenthes Lover Nightmare"...LOL I’m also heavily involved in marine aquariums and we see the exact behaviour all the time. A bit too much loving!

It certainly seems this is my fault by over watering. I've been treating it the same as all of my plants but it's the only one that has had this reaction. Though, it does seem that the LFS in smaller pots does not fair as well as the same LFS in larger pots.

I have a couple in 200mm pots and the LFS is great. Nice and clean, no slime and growing like mad. I'm thinking there may be less aeration in the smaller pots or less surface area to allow excess moisture to evaporate off.

I had also not even considered its more delicate needs of the N. lowii being tissue cultured. Lesson learnt and I'll back of on watering a little for ALL my Neps just to be safe.

Aaron.

 

[AaronJ]

All done.

There is almost no root system so I figure that is not a good thing.

I cleaned the plant up of all dead plant material, treated it with a systemic fungicide (dipped and watered) and have used the 1:1:1 potting mix mentioned above.

I've placed the plant in the shadier area of the glasshouse (currently under 50% shade cloth).

Time to cross my fingers.

Aaron.