Question
chaniana x veitchii
I've had my N.chaniana x veitchii for a little less then a year. Its hairy and I like it, but it has not been doing so well.It will pitcher from every leaf, but the pitchers are always super tiny, and the "lid" leaf dies before the pitcher even opens ( you can see it in the picture... the front most pitcher). The largest pitcher I have ever gotten out of it was less then half an inch. Leaves are also coming in smaller then looks normal to me and very pale green. I treat it like I do my other neps- SW sun supplemented by a 40w fluorescent light, watered twice a week or so, repotted back in early summer with the soil I bought from you guys. Any suggestions to make it thrive?
Thanks!!
AnswerHi Katie,
Here's a couple things to try. A southwest facing window should be plenty bright unless you have trees that block the sun some, you may not need the fluorescent light. Keep the soil evenly moist. I noticed no tray under the pot. Put one there to catch excess water. When you water allow a little water to remain in the tray. Don't leave alot the way you would for a bog plant like a sundew, but just enough to keep the soil a little wetter. Giving the plant a larger pebble tray underneath it may be beneficial to raise the humidity some.
The biggest issue may be nutrients. Find an orchid fertilizer that is urea free and low phosphorous (middle number). Many orchid fertilizers are like this anyway, but some are not, so check the ingredients. It will also help if it has trace nutrients. Use 1/4 teaspoon of the powder per gallon of water and water the plant with the solution once every two weeks. Watch to see if the color improves. If you have other Nepenthes you can use this on them also. Let us know how it does.
Good Growing!
Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com
