What is this! ahh!

[carnivorkid]

I just checked my nepenthes and i found this as shown in the picture i was like what! i had this plant growing extremely well for almost 2 years now. all thats left is some basal shoots from the bottom. I dont know what the cause of this was it might be from root rot. As it is growing in pure peat and that doesnt drain much. It was my first nepenthes so i didnt know about the drainage part so i put pure peat. In which all my nepenthes now are grown in peat , spagnum, perlite. This is how it looks now.

Its getting worse and today its mostly all black. there is some mold /fungus growing on the dead stem.

This is how it looked just last month.

 

[schloaty]

Pure peat? Yikes.
1) cut away all dead material
2) remove from pot, and check roots.
3) repot what's left in new, fresh media
4) treat as cutting

You may luck out. Sanguinea is a hardy sucker, and may just pull through.

Also, I would keep it AWAY FROM ALL OTHER NEPS in case there is a pathogen of some sort.

 

[The Griffin]

Yeah, what he said.

 

[nepenthes gracilis]

Yup, peat is a big no no. Repot and decrease watering, the roots are in need of drying out, let them babies breathe!

 

[TunaSurprise]

(I'm NepenthesMaster in disguise got it?)
Okay, pure peat is EVIL for Nepenthes. Repot in to a better drained soil. Let it dry out for a while. Pray that it makes it. It may, as was stated before, sanguinea's pretty hardy. It's the only plant i've given my friend that he didn't kill yet.

 

[wolf9striker]

I think that is exactly what schloaty & Nep G already stated.

 

[TunaSurprise]

I guess it is, but i always think it's better to get info from multiple people, regardless of how knowledgeable the people who already told me are, it reassures me that what i am told really works.

Also, that's what i would have done in that situation anyway.

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Looks like it got some disease into the main stem. Probably came up through the roots. Once the main stem is infected there is usually little that can be done. It spreads up the stem very fast and by the time you see the growth point blackening the whole stem is infected. IF your really lucky you might be able to save the basal shoots. They appear unaffected so far. I would consider cutting the largest one off and try rooting it. Just be sure that when you cut it the stem inside shows absolutely no sign of brown.

Tony

 

[Phyrex]

Got a question:

When you have a realy large (/long) nepenthes which has the same problem (root rot). Is it better to take cuttings or just leave it alone?
More cuttings have a bigger chance of at least one surviving right?
I mean, if it lost its roots, isn't it hard to support a whole plant with hardly any water uptake? (The same reason to cut leafs in half with cuttings)

 

[nepenthes gracilis]

If a Nepenthes comes down with this "stem rot" illness, I generally take a cutting ASAP. The quicker has proved to be the better to keep the plant in your collection. To prevent this altogether though, so you don't have to worry about dying and infected plants is to:

1. an open airy, soil mix.
2. good light
3. regular pitcher feeding
4. peat shouldn't be a majority of one of the compounds in the soil mix. It should be omitted or a minority part like Peat:mosserlite (1:3:3)

 

[carnivorkid]

oK i have some further questions. sorry i didnt get up here quicker as of right now the basels are fine and same as they were .

Ok is this contagious( sp) to other neps ?

Do you really think i should repot it into a new soil ? well i guess it would because with pure peat its likely to happen again.

 

[Flip_Side_the_Pint]

yes I would repot it quick style... Peat isn't good for neps because its compacts and does not allow for good air flow.

Use something like pure LFS or a mix of fine grade orchid bark with LFS....

 

[carnivorkid]

ok i will do that very soon.

I checked the main stem and it seems that some parts of the main stem are alive but it is wierd because its like a patern up the stem like dead in one spot and still alive in another. i might be able to get some type of part rooted from whats left in the main stem.