Nepenthes can’t handle growing pitchers?
I’ve had it for a while now, it was originally an offshoot from my first nepenthes. The pitcher it grew has been the same size for months and the lid seems deformed. The pitcher has opened for some reason and the lid is super small. The nepenthes is in distilled water instead of sphagnum moss, receiving good amounts of natural sunlight. How can I get it to grow pitchers? #Nepenthes #TropicalPitcherPlant #cpclubthursday #HappyPlants #SlowedGrowth #CarnivorousPlants #help #PlantAddict
2” pot without drainage
Last watered 1 year ago
14
Hi!! I'm no nepenthes expert, but I had this same issue when I got my first nepenthes. By upping the amount of light it got & giving it more humidity it began finally producing pitchers :) out of just pure curiosity, why are you growing it in just distilled water? Maybe that could be a reason why it's not producing pitchers?
@Merranda thanks! I’ll mist it a couple of times a day and possibly move it to a diff window. Also, when I put them in the water I didn’t have any sphagnum or peat on me so I improvised. I also wanted to see whether they could live in water for some reason (my brain not braining) and so I put them in. I got a replacement from JoelsCarnivorousPlants for a sundew that I ordered came with parasitic moss so I put it in a container to help it with the humidity. I will wash the roots of the nepenthes and pot it in the moss. I have an extra nepenthes that will have to stay in the water because I don’t have anywhere else to put it.
Hi Allison. I have several nepenthes including one close to this size. I think if your plant is getting sufficient light, it may be an issue with humidity. These tropical pitcher plants grow in very humid environments, and I try my best to emulate those conditions. I tend to use mini humidifiers near my nepenthes and it seems to help. You can also try a pebble tray, which may increase humidity enough to help with pitcher growth. At least it’s a starting point. Good luck!
@LaSiguanaba will do! I don’t have a humidifier but will misting work? Also, plant fully potted up! How wet should I keep the sphagnum?
@Fireplace Yes, misting will help, tho it’s not something I tend to do because I’ve had issues with mildew and fungal growth—particularly in the winter. But if you can get a humidifier, that will work better. You want to keep the substrate damp but not dripping, if that makes sense. Also, unlike many other CPs, nepenthes are not bog plants, so you should not place the pot in a saucer of water like you would a VFT. It looks like you have the pot in water in your photo.
@LaSiguanaba sorry for the late response! Because it is a net pot, I have it in a container to keep water from damaging the window. It isn’t standing in water. I’ll try and get a humidifier but I’ll stick to misting for now. Also, the plants are attracting flies. This happend before and I ended up finding maggots in the moss, and then the roots got eaten and the plant died. I have a huge fear of anything worm and if I find another maggot I might toss this plant outside no shame. (I’ll probably just put it in water again but if it gets bad I don’t want my other plants to get contaminated) I really don’t want to do that. How can I stop the flies from coming? I swat them when I see them but when I’m not there who knows… please help! 🙏🏻 🤢
@Fireplace I hear you about maggots—yuck! I have never had this experience with any of my plants, so I can see why it would be worrisome. I think you should try planting your nepenthes in a carnivorous plant soil mix instead of water. I believe most of mine are in peat based substrates, with lots of perlite mixed in to keep it well draining. If fungus gnats continue to be a problem, you might consider getting some butterworts (pings), which are excellent at catching these gnats. They are another carnivorous plant, which I find easy to grow. In terms of stopping fungus gnats entirely? I think it can be challenging to anyone with lots of plants. I’ve read that overwatering can exacerbate the problem, and it can be hard to avoid if you have a lot of plants. I haven’t noticed very many gnats in my home, but I also have a good number of carnivorous plants, so maybe that helps? In any case, good luck with your nepenthes—I hope you are able to help it thrive! ☺️
In fact, I do have pings! They don’t want any food though. I don’t know why, maybe they just hate my house. I repotted them and they seem to be doing better but only time will tell. I’ll prop them and keep them with my nepenthes and see if that helps. Gnats actually didn’t seem to be a problem when the nepenthes were in water. In the mean time I’ll keep swatting them. Here are the pings currently:
@Fireplace Hi Allison, lots of great advice above from my amigos @Merranda and @LaSiguanaba so I won’t labour the points. It’s all about giving the Nepenthes optimum conditions to mimic their natural environment as they won’t pitcher unless conditions are good enough.
I have discussed Nepenthes and their conditions with link at #cpclubthursday including optimum ppdm light intensity requirements
Here’s a guide and I also recommend the Windowsill Nepenthes videos
https://carnivorousplantnursery.com/blogs/general-growing-and-care/growing-tips-for-nepenthes
https://youtu.be/ZmOmpEJmJHk?si=1zvgjGoNjOPXmWed
https://youtu.be/9gWjJP2IOnc?si=tqjwUuxMKVzyUsAB
https://youtu.be/1Xon4qBoIn0?si=8ybmETouMnMJUjio
I have discussed Nepenthes and their conditions with link at #cpclubthursday including optimum ppdm light intensity requirements
Here’s a guide and I also recommend the Windowsill Nepenthes videos
https://carnivorousplantnursery.com/blogs/general-growing-and-care/growing-tips-for-nepenthes
https://youtu.be/ZmOmpEJmJHk?si=1zvgjGoNjOPXmWed
https://youtu.be/9gWjJP2IOnc?si=tqjwUuxMKVzyUsAB
https://youtu.be/1Xon4qBoIn0?si=8ybmETouMnMJUjio
Hi!! As other have mentioned most likely linked to humidity!! Haven't read all the comments but also worth nothing that the pitchers should have liquid in them!! If there's none, they will dry and the digestive enzymes produced in the pitcher will damage itself!! When misting just give them a little look and feel, never empty but never more than half full!! If they need just mist a but more directly at the pitcher :)
I know this can be controversial but when I've left pitches empty, I lose them 🤷♂️
I know this can be controversial but when I've left pitches empty, I lose them 🤷♂️
@CarnisNBegs when I was little, I got my first CPs, a VFT, a sundew collection (cape, cape alba, spatulata, and some others that I don’t remember), and nepenthes. Somehow I took very great care of them except my VFT. The nepenthes pitchers were always filled with enzymes but then I somehow had a maggot infestation from the sundews that killed it. I don’t think it was my fault. Anyhow, I’ve cared for a small nepenthes before, I think it was a St gaya, but Alata is very similar. Except I’ve had the mother plant for two years and it is huge, and grew me four offshoots. There are pitchers growing on all of them. One has opened because the lid shriveled up. What should I do?
