Expert: Christopher Littrell - 4/7/2008

Question
Hi Chris, thanks so much for the info about lighting which you gave me last week. The plants now have 2- 40W cool white 48 inches and 2- 24W T5's for a combined lumen around 10,000. The difference has been noticeable within a few days!

I have run into a couple more issues which I was wondering if you may be able to answer. I have a Sarracenia Nepenthes which came with 2 pitchers already on it. I transplanted the plant and put a small amount of distilled water in the pitcher (about 1/4th of the pitcher in each) and put one fly in one of the pitchers. The top of the pitcher though has been closing or opening over a period of time, I believe due to humidity. If I take the humidity box off of it, the tops close over time and open if I put it back on. Do you think it will eventually adapt if I leave it off permanently or will this kill the pitchers?

Also I have a butterwort which did not take to the transplant very well and the leaves dried up. So I trimmed these dried dead looking leaves and left the stem with some new leaves coming through. Will these new leaves be adapted to the lower humidity or will they dry up as well? This question also applies to my sundew, one of which is dry and the other is a dome and has some dew with green leaves and red spotted ends where the mucus is.

Last but not least is a question concerning my Sarracenia Purpurea. WIll it adapt to a lower humidity or would it be better to  trim the only pitcher on it and let the new shoots growing(it already has 4 small shoots coming out) adapt to the lower humidty?

Thanks so much for the advice!

Answer
Hello Yann,

One of the main concerns about growing carnivorous plants is about humidity. When you buy these plants at general stores they come in silly little domes that boost humidity for no good reason. When you take the domes off, the plants dry up and wilt. The only good way to adapt these plants to lower humidity would be slowly. An easy way to do this is to punch holes in the domes about a quarter inch across... maybe half a dozen at first. Punch 3-4 more holes every three days for two weeks until the domes look like Swiss cheese, then take them off. By that time the plants should be adapted to your home humidity level and be fine.

For those plants that dried up, they have already suffered from a lot of dehydration from humidity changes too quickly.

The Nepenthes and the Sarracenia are two different genera completely. Nepenthes pitchers really do not open and close and do not need water poured in them at all. They make their own liquid, a sugary substance with benzoic acid and peptic acids, that quickly drowns insects faster than regular water would and keeps bacteria from rotting their prey too quickly. When you place water inside the pitcher it really does not help the plant except in times of extreme humidity changes. Just cover the plants and slowly adapt them and you will never need to pour water in the pitchers. Most species of Nepenthes have pitchers with lids over them to keep out rain. The "opening and closing" you are seeing is probably the wilting of the pitchers'  lids in times of low humidity.

The Sarracenia purpurea does need some water poured in its pitchers as you will notice that they do not have hoods to keep rain water out. Sarracenia purpurea tend to use more bacterial decay to break down their prey than other pitcher plants (except Cobra Plants) do.

If you take the domes off quickly and leave them off, the Nepenthes will probably lose its pitchers for several weeks.

If your Butterwort is growing new leaves it should be fine. New leaves will be adapted to low humidity, so you will not need to replace the dome on that plant.

Leave the sole pitcher on the Sarracenia for now as they grow slowly and will need all the leaves they have to get sunlight. Just adapt it slowly and you should not lose any leaves to wilting and drying.

Once your plants adapt and start growing open pot in a few weeks they will start looking much better.

Christopher