Question
hi i was given a nepenthes gentle for x-mas when i was home but i go to college and had to travel with the plant. now its not do to well and has lost all of its bells. it has had two bells start since i have been out here but the first one turned up and the vine went black and the bell died. i have one more that is starting to come out and want it to live can u please help me and tell me how to take care of it, i have it with some sun light but not two much because when i put it near a window it does not d good. so i keep it with as much light as i can with out hurting it. it is up on a book shelf, i keep the temp between 62-68 and put water in the cup that the little pot sits in, never more then a 1/2 in of water. the cup that it is in is only 3in tall and the whole plant is maybe 3in tall with no bells right now. when it had bells i fed it 2 fruit flies every other day in each bell and they turned black and died please tell me how to take care of this plant.

Answer
Hello Kaitlin,

The "bells" are called pitchers. Nepenthes can have such problems from a number of reasons.

The main reasons why Nepenthes fail to pitcher and/or lose their pitchers are due to insufficient light and wide fluctuations in humidity.

Since the plant was moved from one location to another, it will require time to adapt to low humidity. Since it is small, you can cover the plant with a clear plastic bag to increase the humidity. Over several days, decrease the humidity by punching half a dozen 1/8 to 1/4 inch holes in the bag. Do that about every 3 days for the next couple of weeks. After two weeks, remove the plastic and the plant should be adapted to the local humidity. The damage has already been done, but adapting it slowly that way will give it time to recuperate and hopefully begin producing pitchers again. Plants root in place and are not used to moving around like animals are, so they cannot quickly adapt to temperature and humidity changes.

Next, make sure the plant is receiving at least 6000, or even better, 12000 lumens of florescent or natural light for at least 12-16 hours a day. As it gets bigger, it will need more light over a larger area. There are two reasons why the plant does poorly in the window. Either the air is very cold near the window in your area, from winter, or the window produces too much or too little light for the plant. Nepenthes like partial to slightly filtered sunlight. They need very high intensity light that is just short of full sun. If the plant fails to pitcher in the present light levels, try to increase the light until you see faster growth and more coloration as well as pitcher growth. Many Nepenthes show coloration on their leaves and pitchers when they receive adequate light.

Make sure the water you provide the plant with is distilled or reverse osmosis as mineral laden tap water (over 50 parts per million hardness) can build up in the soil and cause illness and death in carnivorus plants of most species. Nepenthes can handle slightly higher hardness than most other carnivorous plants, but safe is better than unknown. In addition, do not let water stand under the pot. Just water the plant every three days and monitor the soil. Make sure the soil stays moist all the time, but standing water near the plant's roots can cause root rot and kill Nepenthes eventually.

Make sure the soil is not potting soil. It should be a mixture similar to what orchids need. One part sphagnum peat moss, one part orchid bark and one part pelite or silica sand or chipped coconut shell provides acidic soil with lots of drainage and air spaces in the soil, which Nepenthes need.

Nepenthes are fine even if they fail to pitcher for a while. So long as the leaves are growing in, the plant is fine. There is just some change in the environment that the plant did not like.