The secret to pitchers

[SPECIALIZED]

Well? I have read on here that it is HUMIDITY well I spray my plants about 10 times a day! They are growing like crazy but when the tendrils are at length the pitcher starts to form and then stops about three weeks later it dies. Any clues? Oh they are N.Ventricosa. Since in my hands only one pitcher has opened that had already blew up with air/formed on the plant when I recieved it. The 2 largest plants have leaves that are 8in/20.5cm in lenght (that does not include the tendril that the pitcher grows on). So that makes it a 16in/40cm wide plant al together. The largest pitcher on it ever was about 6in long. But now they have completely stoped all their pitchering process. So whats the secret?

[JanW]

Light, bright light.

[Tim]

Spraying ten times per day wont help if it's, say, outside in a dry Texas environment. Give us more details. How long have you had it? They hate sudden changes.

[SPECIALIZED]

They are in a fireplace and have three 5000k bulbs 8in above them. The fireplace is lined with foil to reflect the lights back at the plants and cover all the black. They have been in there since I got them about two-three months.

[SydneyNeps]

There is no one factor which gives rise to pitchering. It is a combination of temperature, light and humidity, and to a certain extent, especially for some species, growing medium and watering. If any of these ingredients is badly out of whack, then you often own't get pitchers, or decent ones.

Hamish

[SPECIALIZED]

So the only thing I can think of would be the temp of my house is to cold. At 70 degrees (sorry don't know what it is in C). Is this to cold for them? My VFT's and most of everything else it growing and flowering fine.

HELP I'm so confused.

[elgecko]

I'd say the biggest thing needed to pitcher is light.

I grow all my neps as windowsill plants in fairly low humidity, average is 45%. My plants get watered twice a week.

What I have notice, being the second winter growing this way, is that the plants slow down pitchering in winter. I guess do to a decrease of light. They might only inflate a pitcher every now and then. But now that the daylight is increasing, they have all start to inflate pitchers like crazy. My plants have 4-6 pitchers inflating all at one time now that the daylight has been getting longer.

I'd say that there no problem with your temps. Mine is usually 65-75 degrees depending on what season we are in.

[scottychaos]

I found that light is FAR more important then humidity when it comes to making Neps pitcher..

I have a large N. coccinea that I grew next to a window in the bathroom for years..

smallish east window, bright, (or so I thought) but not much direct light.

highest humidity room in the house..

(which I thought was very important)

the thing grew like a weed..multiple vines 3 feet tall, very healthy, not one single solitary pitcher in 3 years!!

I took it into work, much lower hunidity, much brighter light (south window, direct light)

EVERY new leaf now pitchers..

it was all about the light..

Scot

[manders]

I have several Neps that are pitchering in low light levels, conversely, I have noticed that a Ventrata I had, would not pitcher well in low light levels and requred some sunshine/bright light, regardless of humidity. I've never grown Ventricosa, but wouldnt be surpised if it required more direct sunshine than some other neps, based on how the ventrata behaved.

Also i think on one of the websites (malesiana or borneo?) it says they require 'very bright light'.

[SydneyNeps]

Light is a key factor, but if for example you're growing highlanders and the nights are too warm, it won't matter how bright the light is and how high the humidity. Low humidity is something that many species cope pretty well with, but others will just refuse to pitcher. It's impossible to give a generic answer. For the most common species and hybrids, many can be adapted to very high light levels, even full sun, although you have to do it slowly.

However, I have a couple of species which prefer much lower light, but the humidity needs to be higher to pitcher well.

[JanW]

Yes but this thread is about N. ventricosa...no real ultra highland plant.

Cheers,

Jan

[SydneyNeps]

Yes, but the same concepts apply. Ventricosa will grow well in full sun. I have one plant climbing up a wall at the back of my house that gets full sun in the middle of the day. It will still refuse to pitcher if humidity stays low for long periods of time, or if nights are consistently warm. It rarely pitchers during summer, and the pitchers will be reduced in size. It throws out its most spectacular pitchers in autumn and spring, when there is still enough light, high enough humidity, and cooler nights. In winter it refuses to pitcher, again probably the combination of humidity (our winters are generally dry with low humidity), short and cool days.

Ventricosa can also be like sanguinea in its pitchering habits - not always producing pitchers one at a time, but in flushes of several pitchers at much the same time. Tendrils will lie dormant for ages, then swell as the newer ones start to inflate.

[Capslock]

I have ventricosa pitchering in less-than full light. I think something that nobody mentioned yet is water. If your water has minerals or your medium has nutrients, it can result in the plant not pitchering. You didn't fertilize it, did you? This can also cause this.

Capslock

[Guest tropica]

hey specialized! another san antonian!

i remember your dried pitchers thread.

i also got a ventricosa from calloways and mine is doing great. its about the same size as yours and has formed two new pitchers. i have it hanging in my bedroom with my orchids.

i think you r problem is light. try taking it out if that fireplace(?) and try a bright windowsill. half of one of my walls is a south window and i have it there. one 4 inch and another 1 inch pitcher have developed and are open. humidity is fluctuates from 45-75%. try more light.

also a heads up! have you been to hill country african viloet nursery?

they are supposed to be getting a shipment of nepenthes in the coming week. i know ill be there im hooked already.

[SPECIALIZED]

It was light...... I added another 40w bulb to the mix in the fireplace and it has worked. In the past few weeks I have had two good looking pitchers form on two different plants. One is two inches tall and the other is three. Looks like I am on the right track finally

[Billybob]

Hey, just my two cents worth, but I've found that my neps (mainly ventrata and ventricosa) have been pitchering far more since i repotted them in sphagnum moss, and then covered each developing ickle pitcher in the sphagnum to raise the relative humidity around the developing pitcher. Although I'm sure light is a large factor aswell, as when i kept them in a shaded old fishtank (thinking they needed very diffuse light) they hardly grew, let alone pitcher. So I'm guessing a combination of factors would be a good start.

Omar