Nepenthes Ventrata (Help a newbie!)

[SmellySloth]

Hello all - I'm new to the forum.

I recently purchased a Nepenthes Ventrata. I have done a lot of research on how to care for these plants but wanted some further advice.

First, I found an old plastic fish tank with gravel and thought it would look cool with a plant in so my recently-purchased Nepenthes has ended up in there. Will it benefit at all from being in there? I included a shallow tray with water to try to encourage some (albeit very very minimal) humidity and spray the plant and the tank's walls 2-3 times a day but I was wary about adding water up to the top of the gravel in case it caused mould or fungus.

Second, the guidance I found on keeping this vareity of Nepenthes was that their soil should be kept moist but the plant should not sit in water; use rain water/distilled/RO; that they're not very fussy in terms of humidity/light/feeding. Is there anything else I should know or do to encourage the plant to thrive? I seem to be doing well with my Venus Fly Trap and Capensis Alba but I have never attempted to care for a Napenthes before and I'm scared in case I do something wrong!

Any feedback/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Picavorus]

Ventrata aren't fussy plants, so yours should be quite happy in there.  They do really well on kitchen or bathroom window ledges as they're more humid than other rooms.  It may not do much over the winter, as they slow down in terms of growth, but as long as the temperature doesn't dip too much you should be fine.

[SmellySloth]

It is currently in a south-facing window. Given that it is winter and the sun is very weak and short-lived, is it okay there? It does get a bit of absolute direct sunlight but only for an hour or so, the rest is indirect (but as strong as it can be in winter!)...

Also, is it true that these plants don't really need to be fed at all? I saw a fly drop in one of the pitchers yesterday but there doesn't seem to be liquid in any of them?

[Stu]

It'll be fine over winter - growth will slow down and you may not see it produce pitchers for a bit but it'll take off again when it gets the warm spring sun.

With regards to feeding, indoor plants can benefit from a bit of food every now and then but don't overdo it. A small amount of water (rain/DI RO) can be added to the pitchers if they really are dry.

As others have said, Ventrata is quite tolerant of a range of conditions, but will quickly perish if temperature falls below about 5C.

Edited November 6, 2016 by Stu

[Yossu]

I reckon your plant will be fine in there until it starts to grow too big. I have one of these, and the vines are about four or five feet long! You can worry about that when it happens though

You don't actually need either of those trays though. You can sit the pot directly on the gravel, and when you water the plant, any excess will drain through to the gravel. As long as you make sure the water level stays just below the surface of the gravel, your plant will be happy (no roots sitting in water) and you'll have enough humidity.

As for feeding, I wouldn't feed it anything solid. Make sure the pitchers are about half-full of water, and it should be fine. If you want to boost growth, drop some half-strength seaweed based fertiliser into the pitchers once a month. Most people don't recommend feeding their CPs, but if you're careful, it can help.

Hope that helps