QuestionQUESTION: Hi, this is matt again, back in november, I bought a nepenthes pitcher plant. I keep it by a window, where it gets a good amount of indirect sunlight each day, as well as humidity and water. I keep it in a terrarium. It is doing GREAT, and it grows fast, but the only problem is that the pitchers won't grow past a little under an inch! Do you have any tips on how to make the pitchers bigger?
PS. Because the pitchers are so small, it's hard for me to feed the plant, so I only feed it pinhead crickets, cricket legs, and ants.
PLEASE ANSWER SOON!!!
ANSWER: Hi Matt,
Most Nepenthes need some direct sun in order to produce pitchers. That isn't easy to do in a terrarium without cooking your plant. If you could supplement your natural indirect light with fluorescent lights it will probably help tremendously.
Since it doesn't have pitchers, just give the plant a weak orchid fertilizer mixed at 1/4 teaspoon per gallon. Only do this once a month until the plant has pitchers than can capture insects.
Good Growing!
Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com
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QUESTION: It actually does have pitchers, but they are really small. The terrarium isn't really humid or warm, so I just spray the plant every few days. Also, for some reason, whenever I try to give it extra light, (fluorescent, of course) it slows down growth. I also do have a big fluorescent light in my room where I keep it. Do you have any other ideas for getting it to grow bigger?
Thanks.
Please answer soon.
ANSWER: Hi Matt,
The first thing I would mentioned is more of a general piece of advice. Nepenthes are not plants for the impatient gardener. By nature they don't grow very fast. Recently I had a Nepenthes ramispina in my west facing living room window to see how it would do in household conditions. It lived just fine, but took 8 months before I saw nice looking pitchers on it. Now, many other species are not as slow as this, but it is a good example of what to expect.
You never mentioned what species of Nepenthes you have. This can make a difference.
You may also be misinterpreting what the growth slow down is when you give your plant more light. When Nepenthes are healthy they often produce smaller leaves with bigger pitchers. It requires lots of photosynthesis to make those things. Also, if the fluorescent light is a ceiling light, it won't be providing enough extra light to be of any significance. To help a fluorescent light needs to be about 4 inches away from the plant.
Your terrarium set-up seems a little confusing to me. Do you have a picture you could send me? It would really help me to give you better advice. Be sure to include in the photo your terrarium, the plant and the window you have it in.
Good Growing!
Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com
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QUESTION: Well, if you want to see a video of my plant, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4XnKy_9S1E
But here are some photos of the terrarium/plants that I just took.
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd56/Cetacean007/DSC00613.jpg
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd56/Cetacean007/DSC00614.jpg
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd56/Cetacean007/DSC00616.jpg
Answer
Nepenthes sanguinea
Hi Matt,
Low light is definitely the problem. It looks like your plant is a Nepenthes sanguinea, but it hard to tell since it is so pale. I've included a photo of an N. sanguinea that I grew in a sunny west facing bedroom window for two years. Our indoor humidity is about 20-30% and the plant was never misted. I just made sure it was watered.
Good Growing!
Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com
