Question
Hi there, I have a few more questions.

First of all, I have two easy Nepenthes (Ventrata and Alata) who I have been growing for over 4 months now. The Ventrata is an older plant which is vining and has three basal offshoots, orginating from the soil next to the plant, but the Alata is a small, rosette, which is just beginning to vine.
Both plants are happily producing new leaves and vines, and each is complete with a tiny pitcher, but the pitcher refuses to grow larger, they just stubbornly stay the same.
The plants also have no red, so after some consideration, I concluded it was either light, humidity, or over-fertilising.

The plants (up to 4 weeks ago) were grown under a 150W incandescent light, which 4 weeks ago I swapped for a 20W flourescent light. This is the highest fluorescent I can get, since the plants are in a hanging basket under the ceiling light bulb, and a little to the side of it. They do get a minimal amount of light from two nearby incandescents and two nearby windows as weel, so the area is pretty well lit anyway.

The plants have no additional humidity supplier, and the position where they are is constantly in reach of the constantly burning fire, which is going all the time, night and day, except in summer. I think this is contributing to lower humidity.

Last of all, I had an incident about 6 months ago where I over fertilised in both the soil and pitchers, without harming the plants drmatically, which may be contirbuting because the soil has not yet been thoroughly rinsed.

So, because of all these factors, I've decided to repot the plants and move them, in seperate pots, onto the windowsill, where they will get natural direct sun-light for 10-14 hours a day from an South-SouthWest facing window (I'm in the southern Hemisphere)They will also get more humidity, due to being near a window, more significant night-time temperature drops, and will be monitored more closely.

My questions regarding this are: Is this the right thing to do, or should I wait longer in case its a acclimatisation issue? Do Nepenthes like pots to fit them, a bit too small, or a bit too large? And also, can I use the same soil they were in again, if I rinse it, and if so how would I need to rinse it to be certain?

My next question is concerning what plants to grow on my windowsill. It is a West-nortwest facing window, so it does not get a long period of light, but it gets light for at least 6 hours a day, and much more in winter. In winter the light quality's not extremely bright, but in summer it is bright enough to grow Sarracenia, and still have them colour up nicely. The temperature is around 20-25 degrees celcius in both summer and winter, but it drops considerably at night, and there are chances it could remain cold for a day or two, but it would remain cold for no longer than 2 days in a row, and 'cold' would be a minimum of 6 degrees celcius. not too sure about humidity, but being on a windowsill it will probably be quite reasonable, and I can use plastic covering etc on small plants which don't bush out heaps. Is this suited for any plants?

Last of all, I have a ping which was growing winter leaves on the windowsill mentioned above, but now that the temperatures risen due to the arrival of a heat pump, it's stopped growing. Should I move it to a colder spot so it can carry on it's 'winter'.


Answer
Hi Katherine,

With your Nepenthes, both improper lighting and fertilizer are certainly contributing factors for small pitchers.  You'll need to give your plants more time before they produce normal pitchers again.  In some instances, you may need to wait up to 3 months since the plant needs to produce new leaves and new tendrils.

Since you're in the southern hemisphere, find a sunny north or west window.  While your south window might have lots of ambient light, the lighting might not be intense enough for your plants.  (Your south window would be equivalent to our north window.)  Given that you're in your winter months, you should definitely move your plants to a brighter location.

Avoid reusing the old soil.  Soil ingredients breakdown over time and changes properties.  Always use fresh soil when transplanting your plant.  Use a mix of 1 part dried sphagnum moss and 1 part perlite.  This will give your plants lots of aeration and moisture.

Use pots that look proportional to the plant.  Nepenthes have very short roots, so pot size doesn't matter too much other than for aesthetics.  Of course, smaller pots will dry out faster, so if you want to water less often, opt for larger pots.

For a list of plants that you can grow indoors, use the feature, "Best Plants For You," which you can find on our main website:
http://www.cobraplant.com

Just answer a few short questions about your growing conditions, and you'll get a list of plants suitable for your growing conditions.  Just make sure to use select north window as your south window, and vice versa.  

I assume that the Pinguicula you have is a Mexican variety.  Once they enter their dormant state, they'll remain in that state for 2-4 months, regardless of temperature.  It's usually light levels and soil moisture that affects their timing for dormancy so you can leave it in the same location for now.

For more information about growing Nepenthes and Mexican butterworts, visit our care sheet section on our main website:
http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets

Good growing!
Jacob Farin