Question

Nepenthes ventricosa   QUESTION: I love my Nepenthes ventricosa I bought from you guys in August 09.. It is nice and green and looks very healthy. It has a new pitcher on it and 5 other vines growing and 2 more pitchers on the way.

It has been about 2 weeks or so and it( the pitcher) hasn't opened yet. Does it normally take this long for them to open? I had 2 on it die when I got it before they opened up. I just want to try and make sure this one doesn't die before opening. Is there something I might need to do to help it open? I water about every 3 day's depending on temp. I live in Sacramento California. It has been really hot here and now cooling off again...Thanks for the help..
I also added a picture of it

ANSWER: Hi Juanita,

Time is your only ally at this point.  Your plant looks very healthy.  The leaves are green and firm.  The fully developed pitcher has good color.  It's just a matter of time for the developing pitchers on the tendrils to open up.  From the time you see it to the time it actually opens can be 2-3 months.  The others that died may have been developing pitchers that were present at the time of shipping.  When they're in that stage, they're a bit sensitive to extreme changes.  Any newly formed pitchers developed after shipping will be acclimated to your home.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin

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

QUESTION: My pitchers are dieing before they get a chance to open. Since I got my plant a Nepenthes Ventricosa it hasn't not had another pitcher open. I have it in a huge window on the south side of our apartment. It gets a lot of light during the day. It is also now getting little brown speckles on the under side of its leafs. It does have vines on it and a new leaf opened kind of curled though. I also think the leafs kind of look yellowish/green but could be wrong...I don't know what to do for it. Thanks for answering all my question. Would you like to see a picture of the plant underneath the leaf or top?

Answer
Hi Juanita,

As we begin moving into mid-November and December what you're seeing isn't unusual.  As days get short pitcher production will often slow down and then stop until the days begin getting longer again.  Since you're a bit further south than us, I would expect late February to March is when you'll see new pitcher production.  Be sure your following watering directions, and a light fertilization as mentioned in your growing brochure.  You could also add some pea gravel to the tray you have to help with a little added ambient humidity.  Check to make sure you don't have any dry drafts near the the plant, such as from a heater.  That could also slow it down some.

On another note, patience is one of the ingredients needed for growing Nepenthes that is often not mentioned in the literature.  They are definitely not plants for the impatient gardener.  When I try new species in my windows in my home I often go 6 months before I see a plant really adapt and take off.  It is often faster in our greenhouse, but I've even heard Nepenthes growers in tropical climates comment on how slow some species are.  N. ventricosa I would rate as moderate.  Just give it time.


Good Growing!

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