Question
QUESTION: Hello, im 19 and not very expirienced with these plants. Since i got my N. Deroose Alata as a baby, i kept it upright in a pot.
It grows very fast as you probably no. My dad suggested a pole in the soil for the plant to grow up...
Now, its began to grow very, very high & im not sure if ive done the wrong thing and should of kept it in a hanging basket?
The plant is very healthy as it keeps growing, but produces no pitchers :(
Please help im not sure what to do. Do I cut it? If so, where?

ANSWER: Hello Stephanie,

In the wild, Nepenthes grow up trees and across the ground, so it really does not matter if the plant is in a hanging basket or given a pole to climb.

Lack of pitchers is a sign that something is wrong. The plant might need more light. Send me a followup and let me know what kind of light the plant gets, how much and for how long. I also need to know if the plant has been exposed to any chemicals, particularly those with copper in them. Has the plant been moved around a lot and has it been exposed to different environments with and without air conditioning. Fast changes in humidity on a constant basis can keep Nepenthes from growing properly.

You can prune the plant. This will not harm the plant and will promote more vine growth from the growth nodes just over each leaf. As the plant ages it will produce more vines from its base as well. Just clip off a section of vine between two leaves where you want to shorten the plant. You can place the cut vine in an opaque vase of water and see if it grows roots of its own. This sometimes results in a new plant, though is much harder to do with Nepenthes than with Ivy.

Christopher

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


My Pitcher Plant   QUESTION: I repotted it last night. Its looks to me like if  I took the pole away it would just fall & maybe pull up the roots. But I think I will cut it in the middle. Im just scared I will kill it. It doesnt get much sun as on the tag when I got it, It says DO NOT GIVE THIS PLANT MUCH LIGHT. I now reaslize this is wrong. So I will put it on the windowsil. I planted it in compost, does that make any difference? Im going to a nursery today to get some orchid fertiliser. I heard thats good for it. 1/4 per gallon.

Answer
Hello Stephanie,

First off.. throw away the instructions. The instructions that they give you in garden centers is incorrect and will kill carnivorous plants of all types. Garden centers are not knowledgable about the needs of these plants.

Next, get the plant out of the compost. Carnivorous plants will die in regular compost and potting soil as it is full of fertilizer and is not the correct Ph balance. Carnivorous plants of most kinds prefer acid soil like that found in peat bogs. The type of peat they need is a moss called sphagnum. That moss produced the proper acid environment for these plants. Fertilizer in the soil kills them as their roots are burned by it... they simply cannot absorb fertilizers through their roots like other plants can; they adapted to trap and digest insects so that bacterial action releases nitrogen on the plant's trap leaves. The best soil for Nepenthes is a mix of coconut husk, orchid bark and sphagnum peat moss in a 1/3 mix each material. Make sure the materials you use have no fertilizers or salts added. Best bet would be to buy specially prepared soil from a carnivorous plant specialist like cobraplant.com.

Next, you can use orchid fertilizer for them, but make sure to use only 1/4 or less of the normal mix, that it is foliar feed that is water soluble, and that you only lightly spray or wipe each leaf once top and bottom with the fertilizer every 2-4 weeks at the most. Too much fertilizer on the leaves can also harm Nepenthes. They can suvive on very little fertilizer and too much actually can harm them far more than other plants. I never fertilize my Nepenthes and they are growing very nicely. A little fertilizer can help get the pitchers started again in a few months, but once the plant makes a new pitcher, you can just stop fertilizing it and let it catch insects. You can feed it a small insect every few weeks just to make sure.

On to light. Nepenthes need a much higher amount of light than an ivy but much less than garden plants. They do well in a bright sunny window that faces east or south. I have my Nepenthes in south windows and have 12000 lumens of 40 watt florescent cool white shop lights over them as well. They develop nice pitchers and good coloration in such light. If you use shop lights, make sure to keep the lights about 5-8 inches over the plant and leave the light on 12-16 hours each day.. less in winter, more in summer.

At your plant's size you can prune it some. It is mostly just waiting for the light to provide it energy to produce pitchers again.

Water: Make sure you are watering the plant with distilled, rain, or reverse osmosis water as tap water contains mineral salts that alter the Ph of the soil and damage carnivorous plants. Nepenthes are a bit more tolerant of hard water than many other carnivorous plants, but it is best to be safe and use only soft water. Never use drinking water or water softened with salt as those can still contain minerals and salts that will harm you plant.

Make sure to water the plant as you would a house plant. Nepenthes can suffer root rot in standing water. When watering, just make sure the soil is moist and that excfess water does not pool too high in the tray. Your pot has a small tray so is fine. The taller the pot, the easier it is to keep your Nepenthes from suffering root rot. Make sure the soil never dries out either as that will harm the plant.

Nepenthes really are tough plants, but they require middle ground when it comes to a great many aspects of cultivation. Not too much nor too little of anything as related to say garden plants.

Christopher