Question

N. mirabilis var. glob  

N. reinwardtiana   These plants N. mirabilis var. globosa, 3" pot, arrived 1/19/13, N. reinwardtiana, 4" pot, arrived 1/9/13, are not looking good. I live in central Florida, west coast.

They receive about 6 hours sun facing south east, original potting soil,kept moist. Other similar plants look great. Could it be a fungus or insect problem? The plants are taken inside for a day or 2 with passing cold fronts under 50 degrees at night. Can you tell what is happening?

Answer
Hi Robert,

The N. mirabilis actually looks fairly normal for that plant.  The reinwardtiana looks like you may have some kind of root issues.  It's possible your plant had some damage from the shipping/transplanting.  Unfortunately, it looks like it may be on it's way out since the growing tip looks like it is black.

What you should do for now is keep them bright, but not in full sun.  If your humidity is high outdoors, just keep them partially dappled from other plants.  After a couple more weeks you can move it to a sunnier location.  The N. mirabilis probably just needs some time since it has not been with you long.  The N. reinwardtiana you may need to keep in a bag or small terrarium for awhile to keep the humidity very high, but even with that you may not be able to save it.  Keep it bright, but not in sun.  Fluorescent lights work best for this.  Also, try to make sure your plants are not dropping below 60 degrees.  Mirabilis is a lowlander, and from my experience N. reinwardtiana likes it warm.

Good Growing!

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