Question
I have put the name above but we live in france so i dont know if the name above is French or English
I have had my plant about nine weeks now it was very small when i bought it. I have now re-potted it, that seems to be fine. The leaves are in good condition but the pitfalls are all brown and dry. I spray it every morning with rain water collected it sits on the corner of a very high french fireplace in the south west of France. Can you tell me what I am doing wrong.
Many thanks.

Answer
Hi Dawn,

Official botanical names are in Latin, so the names you listed are universal.  Of the two, only Nepenthes coccinea is a carnivorous plant.  I'm not familiar with Osteospermum ecklonis.  It's not one of the 600+ recognized species of carnivorous plants, so you'll need to contact another expert for information about how to grow it.

Nepenthes coccinea is actually a hybrid that was developed in the early 1900s when Nepenthes was first discovered.  The official name is Nepenthes x coccinea.

There are two reasons why Nepenthes often drop their pitchers - low humidity and lack of sunlight.  Your plant is a lowland species, so it likes it fairly warm and humid.  While southwest France is on the Mediterranean, my guess is that it's not quite humid enough for this plant.  Although you spray it every morning, it's simply not enough to keep the plant happy.  Spraying only lasts for about 10 minutes.  When the spray dries up, the local humidity drops down to ambient humidity.

I'm also not sure if there is a window near your fireplace.  If not, definitely the lack of proper lighting is a contributing factor.  Contrary to popular belief, Nepenthes is not really a low light plant.  There are only a few Nepenthes that grow well in low light, but your plant isn't one of them.  A sunny south or west window would be most appropriate.

If possible, grow this plant in a greenhouse.  Keep in mind that this plant is native to Indonesia, so you'll need to replicate as closely as possible it's natural growing conditions.  If you don't have a greenhouse, then set the pot on a tray of water filled with pebbles.  Rest the pot on the pebbles.  Avoid keeping the pot in standing water, so keep the water level below the pebbles.  This is a technique that orchid growers use to increase local humidity around their plants.  

When you make these adjustments (increase lighting and humidity), you should see new pitchers forming within a couple months.  For more information about growing Nepenthes, read our care sheets on our maine website:
http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets

Good growing!
Jacob Farin