Question

The Plant Itself  
Best Example   QUESTION: Hi I have 5 dying pitchers on my N. Ventricosa x boschiana. They have never done this and I don't know why, they start out with the lids turning brown and then it just spreads down. The plant itself is doing great which i have had for about 3 months, and it actually keeps growing new pitchers, but since this happened I have 1 and another in the process of growing. Please tell me what is wrong or what i am doing. They are also growing on a west window. Thanks!

P.S. I have attached an image.

ANSWER: Hello Kade,

Send me a followup with some additional information. I do not know what you are doing because I don't know what conditions the plant is in to begin with.

Start off with the light level and amount per day.

Humidity

Temperatures

How long you have had the plant

What kind of water the plant gets

What potting medium the plant is in

If it has been close to or contacted by chemicals of any kind

If the plant has been moved around from inside to outside or from room to room or recently bought

Those things can help us to determine if there is a problem with the plant's environment.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The light amount today is around 5-6 hours. I keep my windows open, and it gets fairly humid environments depending on the day but probably 30-60% humidity. But in the winter the humidity gets as low as 0. During the summer the temperatures are 80s to low 90s during the day and mid 50s to 60s at night. But during the winter they are a pretty constant 80 24/7. I have had the plant for around 4 months and it has done great. The water the plant gets, is distilled tap water and our water from the tap is not very hard at all. The plant is in around 75% long fibered sphagnum moss, 15% organic perlite and 10% organic orchid bark. No it has not been in contact with any chemicals of any kind. The plant has always stayed inside and has never been moved from room to room, the only time was shipping which was 4 months ago when the plant was doing great! Thanks!

P.S. I keep my N. Ventrata in these exact same conditions and they are doing more than excellent!

Answer
Hello Kade,

Thanks for the information. At first it sounded like a humidity or lighting problem since the pitchers are dying off half way down consistently on that plant, the only problem is that your other plants, which you indicated are in the same conditions, are doing well. The plant looks to be getting enough light by the coloration on its pitchers and leaves.

The only thing I can think of is that the plant is undergoing a change in its growth pattern. I have observed Nepenthes undergo patterns of growth where several pitchers suddenly die off quickly, then new pitchers form on an upper tier to replace them. That growth pattern usually energes when the plant is about to vine though. If new leaves are continually growing in and new pitchers take the place of old ones, there should be nothing to worry over. Just keep an eye on those young pitchers. If they keep growing and developing well, the plant is fine. If the pitchers dry out and die off during formation, there is something about the environment that particular plant does not like.