Question

Nep glabrata   I have a very small glabrata about 2-3 inches in diameter and it has pale green leaves an some of them are yellowing.  I've had the plant for a couple months  and I keep in a glass terrarium to keep the humidity. I live in the Bay Area(Sunnyvale) in California  and when it gets warm enough I leave the plant outside, but I left them outside for a couple nights that were really cold. What's wrong with my plant? I really hope it doesn't die on me I plaid quite a lot of money for a small plant.

Answer
Hi Ian,

Your plant looks sun bleached, and like it may have been experiencing too much cold.  Nepenthes glabrata like it cool, but 40's at night will be too cool.  Also, moving Nepenthes around (or any other plant for that matter) is a big no-no in gardening.  You need to find a location such as a sunny window where the plant can live, and leave it there.  They like conditions nice and boring.  Moving plants around will make plants try and constantly re-adapt to the changing conditions, slows them down, and will always prevent Nepenthes from making pitchers.  Too much moving can kill plants.

The type of terrarium your using is problematic also.  If you want to increase humidity try a gravel tray, or if you want to have a terrarium plant, you need to set one up properly.  This will usually mean an aquarium of some kind with fluorescent lights over it.  A simple two-tube shoplight type fixture can do the job, they make many types of lights for aquariums too.  You would also need a thermometer to monitor temperatures, and a timer for the light.  In general we are not big terrarium fans because they can cause more problems than they solve, and they can be expensive to set-up and maintain.  Just using glass jars (as you are discovering) doesn't really count since you rarely can give plants the light they need in such a container.  Here's our general information on growing Nepenthes:  http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets/nepenthes

To wrap up, I would just place your plant in a sunny windowsill with a gravel tray underneath it, and leave it be.  Make sure it's kept moist, then give it time.  Water can be down in the gravel, but don't let the plant itself sit in water.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com