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Carnivorous Plants/Asian Pitcher Plant

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Expert: - 5/5/2008


Question
I was just wandering what is happening with my Asian pitcher plant (Ventricosa), because the lid is all shriveled up.

Thanks,
Sammy

Answer
Hello Sammy,

When a pitcher gets old it will turn brown and shrivel up just like any other leaf. They will only last a few months each. So long as your plant is making new pitchers it will be fine. If all of the pitchers are drying up at the same time then your plant has been shocked by a change in humidity in all likelyhood. Give it a few weeks and it should recover after it adjusts to you home.

Christopher

Carnivorous Plants

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Christopher Littrell

Expertise

I am capable of answering questions about the most common carnivorous plants found in cultivation. I have no personal experience with Byblis, Drosophyllum, Aldrovanda, and Heliamphora. I have not cultivated gemmae forming pygmy sundews nor tuberous sundews. For information regarding those aforementioned species, I would suggest contacting other experts. I can answer questions regarding most species of Nepenthes, tropical and temperate Drosera, Mexican Pinguicula, Sarracenias, and Dionaea. I have some limited experience with growing Utricularia, Cephalotus, and Darlingtonia.

Experience

I have grown carnivorous plants off and on for about 27 years. I have made the same mistakes and suffered the same mishaps that many growers make as they attempt to separate the myths from the realities of growing these plants. Currently, I am successfully growing a variety of tropical sundews, a Nepenthes, several Venus Flytraps of varying ages, and Sarracenias. I have been successful in stratifying Sarracenia seeds and providing artificial dormancy requirements for my temperate plants when needed.

Education/Credentials
I hold a Master's degree in Educational Psychology. Over my lifetime, I have constantly read books involving the growing conditions of carnivorous plants. I hope to incorporate the educational aspects involved in psychology with teaching other people how to cultivate carnivorous plants.

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