Expert: Christopher Littrell - 10/7/2008

Question
I just got an Asian Pitcher Plant earlier this summer.  It has been doing great in an east window.  It has had several pitchers on it.  In the last week I've noticed leaves turning brown as well as two pitchers turning brown before they are even open.  I'm watering it with drinking water.  Should I be using distilled water or is this natural for getting ready for winter?

Thanks!

Answer
Hello Debbie,

While Nepenthes (Asian Pitcher Plants) can tolerate more minerals in their water then other species of carnivorous plants it is always best to ensure those minerals do not build up at all. Drinking water unfortunately contains minerals that can build up in carnivorous plant medium. Distilled or reverse osmosis water, or even better, rain water, is best for carnivorous plants. Drinking water often contains salt, magnesium, and potassium to add taste to the water for human consumption. Those minerals alter the acidity of carnivorous plant medium which can cause root damage and death in carnivorous plants if too many minerals build up over time.

An east window is generally a good place for a Nepenthes. Nepenthes need a lot of light as compared to plants like Ivy, but they really do not need full sun like Venus Flytraps do outside. The light they need is partial sun.. like they would get under a large tree that allows morning and evening sun through and some midday sun to filter in from above.

If the leaves that are dying are near the top, which you seem to indicate since pitchers are dying before opening, then several things could be occurring.

Make sure you are not overwatering the plant. Nepenthes like plenty of water, but need well drained, airy soil to survive. If they become waterlogged, like what can happen with sitting water under the pots, they can suffer root rot and death as their roots asphyxiate. In that case, the visible part of the plant dies from the top down.

Never fertilize the soil of your Nepenthes as that can cause damage to the roots of carnivorous plants in general. Carnivorous plants adapted to capture live insects and digest them so that resulting nitrogen released from the dead insects' proteins (bacterial action) can be absorbed through the plants' leaves.

A failure to pitcher often occurs when the plants do not get enough light or when humidity fluctuates drastically from high to low. Since you have had the plant for a while, I would think that light and humidity are not the problems unless the plant has been moved recently. When Nepenthes respond to low light they stop pitchering and keep growing leaves normally until they have enough light to grow pitchers again. In extreme light starvation they would grow more slowly and eventually expire.

If ythe brown leaves are near the bottom of the plant and the dying pitchers are near the top, with the newest leaves remaining green and healthy looking, you might have a reaction to shorter days in fall. Place a set of florescent shop lights over the plant with 40 watt cool white tubes. I would suggest 12000 lumens from 4 tubes about 5-8 inches from the top leaves and set for 12-16 hours a day according to season. That added light will give it the intensity it needs to continue pitchering all winter.

If the top leaves and pitchers are browning, you might have a chemical reaction to some fertilizer, allergen, or poison sprayed near or on the plant or its soil or too much water. Alternatively, check for pests (like aphids) on the young top-most leaves as those can damage and kill young leaves on plants. If you find pests, remove them with water based pesticides like pyrethrines.

Christopher