Question
Hi Guys,

I am from Australia and let me say... Gee I wish we had Carnivorous Retailers
like yourselves in Aust!. Not only for your plants but your knowledge, experience and friendly service. I have purchased your first DVD and can not
wait for the second and constantly visit your site. As I am in Aust, unfortunately I can not buy your plants as our customs are very tight and
plants end up dying before they get in. But I do love your resources.

Now I have three things I would like to ask..

Please follow this link where I have included detailed pictures of the below
issues:  http://nepenthesplants.blogspot.com/

1.   Can you please help me identify a black mold that has in the last month
began to become a problem. It started of with my sundews and sarracenia's
(which I have only been collecting for about 6 months) and has now moved to
my belvedere and old (to me) nepenthes that are in a different location. They
are both watered with rain water and the sundews and serracenias sit in a
saucer of water as the nepenthes are kept moist. What can I do to rid this
mold as since the photos were taken has become very bad.

2.   I thought I would give growing Sarracenias ago as my Nepenthes have
been growing well for a few years... A few pitchers grew straight and then all
of a sudden they have began to curl (see pic at above blog) and deform. They
receive about 5 hours of good sun every day and sit in a shallow saucer of
rain water. What is causing this curl... The black mold???

3.   Can you please help me identify 5 of my Nepenthes (please see above
blog) as I have collected them over the years and want to get really into
collecting and need to know what they are for certain, If you could assist with
the naming of these Nepenthes it would be greatly appreciated.


Many thanks for any help you can offer and I can't wait till your next DVD/s
and love the PodCasts.

Regards, Corey.

Answer
Hi Corey,

Thank you for purchasing the DVD! We plan to film the second and third volumes this summer.  Hopefully they'll be released in fall.

1) That type of black mold is very common.  Unfortunately, it's also a type of black mold that is common to homes.  So if you have your plants indoors, they will be constantly exposed to the mold.  You can treat your plants using a sulfur-based fungicide or Neem.  Neem works immediately, while sulfur works as a preventative.  Spray some Neem on a cloth and use the cloth to wipe off the mold.  Next, spray the plant with a sulfur fungicide.  You may need to do this regularly since the sulfur will last for about a week or so.

2) The leaf curl is from aphid damage (or similar insect).  To prevent further damage, spray the plant with a systemic insecticide.  Aphids only attack young growth, and when the leaf matures, they move on.

Plant 1: Most likely Nepenthes x 'Efllugent Koto'
Plant 2: Has features that suggest Nepenthes thorellii x truncata.
Plant 3: Possibly Nepenthes x coccinea
Plant 4: Nepenthes alata x ventricosa
Plant 5: Unknown hybrid with Nepenthes maxima

Good growing!
Jacob Farin