Nepenthes

[tonytheterrible]

My Nepenthes ventricosa seems to pitcher just when it feels like it. So I may get 2 or 3 leaves without a pitcher, and then one with a pitcher. Is this normal?

 

[TunaSurprise]

Nope.

It may be in overly fertile soil. I have had Nepenthes refuse to pitcher under these conditions. If it is watered with tapwater, that may also be the problem.

Temps and humidity may be too out of line, though i have had Vents pitcher under extreme lowland conditions with nearly no humidity.

Growing specs will aid in diagnosis.

 

[SydneyNeps]

One thing ventricosa does do is produce pitchers in flushes. You'll get all these leaves growing, with nothing happening with the tendrils. Then, at almost the same time, 3 or more tendrils will starting growing at the same time - sometimes they can be months apart in age but all kick off at the same time. I've seen sanguinea do the same thing.

 

[TunaSurprise]

Yeah, i haven't noticed it, but my ventricosa will kinda do that. He said that three without one, then one inflates one. If he's saying what i think he's saying, then only 1/4 leaves produces a pitcher, period. I'll still go with my previous answer.

 

[SydneyNeps]

I was just checking to see that this had been happening over an extended period of time. Sometimes people gets new Nepenthes, and if they haven't produced a pitcher after a month they ask what is wrong with it, it's not pitchering. It's always good to wait 3 months or more before you know if there's actually a problem.

Ventricosa should produce basically a pitcher with every leaf, with the odd dud, but tendrils may take weeks or months to do so. Factors which mitigate against pitchering are: low humidity, low light, high night temperatures.

 

[tonytheterrible]

It's probably part humidity, and high night temps. What do you think the night temps should be at? Does it need to fluctuate, or just be cool?

 

[SydneyNeps]

Tony, anecdotally it seems to me that there is a correlation because temperature and humidity in the formation of pitchers. Where humidity is low, ventricosa does not seem to pitcher freely where nights get much above 18-19 degrees centigrade. However, where the humidity is high, it will continue to produce temps where nights are above 18C, and even up to 20C or more. It also depends on the duration of warm weather, several night in succession of nights at, say, 25C won't stop pitchering if the night temps are generally below 19C for example. It's all a matter of degree.

 

[tonytheterrible]

My night temps are probably around 65 to 70 degrees farenheit, but it doesn't get that much warmer during the day. Will that make any difference?

 

[SydneyNeps]

That's between 18-21C, which is the point at which you can start having problems. Day temperatures don't seem to make much difference, it's cool nights that they need. If your humidity is not really high, then pitchering may be sporadic, or your plant might produce teeny pitchers (which happens to some of mine during mid-summer).