Question

sick nepenthes   QUESTION: Hello, Ive been having a problem with my Nepenthes plants, and its been going for more than a month.  The various plants I have seem to have a rotting problem at substrate level, stem looks brown and dry, but if you scratch the tissue below is green and looks fine. The plants keep growing (and pitchers too).  Even if you pull out the whole plant, roots are not rotten, dont smell bad, and  tips of roots are growing (white). Ive applied fungicides two different times (benomyl and metalaxyl+cholorothalonil) about three weeks ago, but I believe nothing has changed. I am hoping maybe you can you help me identify the disease?

ANSWER: Hello Christina,

I am happy to announce that your Nepenthes is not sick or dying. That brown woody layer developing on the lower stem of the plant is normal in most species of Nepenthes. As the plant gets older that brown woody growth keeps it from snapping off with the added weight of the upper vine. My N. sanguinea is about 4 feet tall and has several inches of brown stem below the greenery.

Christopher

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brown stem   QUESTION: Hi Christopher, I got your answer and Im happy to hear that my plants are doing fine. What still makes me uneasy is to see one of them getting this brown patches on its vine, not at substrate level, but instead on upper parts. Is it also normal to get this woody stem start forming "downward" on the stem?  And also, I have some small plants with 4-5 pitchers already having this woody growth. Does it matter if the plant is young or not? and does it have something to do, with getting cuttings from "old" plants? (even when I get the cuttings, the stem is green)?

Answer
Hello Christina,

The brown patches should be on only the lower few inches of vine. It looks like the Nepenthes in the picture has been damaged or chewed on by some insects. Is the upper section of greenery still growing?Age of plant is really not relevant. I have a young plant barely 4 inches across with woody growth around its base already.

Christopher