Expert: Christopher Littrell - 6/21/2008

Question
I purchased this plant at a flower show and it had lots of pitchers.  They all
eventually dried up and died so I cut them off.  Last sumer I had the plant
outdoors, hot and humid, not direct sun.  Now it has been indoors and has
not produced any pitchers.  It has bright light in a Southern window, no direct
sun.  We water every day, fertilize often, spray daily. The foliage is gorgeous
and growing, the tendrils emerge, but no pitchers.

Is it because we use tap water?  I just purchased distilled.  Other suggestions?

Answer
Hello Bonnie,

Nepenthes, like any plant, need to kept in one place for an extended time or they will suffer shock from differences in humidity and temperature levels and will simply not produce pitchers any more. Place the plant in one well lit area where it will receive stable, bright light, humidity, and temperature and keep it there.

Nepenthes can handle some hardness to the water but distilled is better than soft tap water. If your tap water is hard, over 100 ppm of mineral solids, I would not use it on Nepenthes ever. You can water a little each day if you want, just make sure the plant does not get waterlogged or it will suffer root rot. Make sure it has good drainage and no tray under it.

Misting the plant will not serve much purpose as the mist is only a momentary increase in water vapor, but it helps to clean the leaves off.

Fertilizing often is a problem. How often do you fertilize the plant and how? Nepenthes cannot take much fertilizing on their roots, so if you fertilize the soil it will eventually die from root burn. Nepenthes can be fertilized with foliar feeds, particularly water soluble orchid fertilizers. Use a rag to wipe each leaf top and bottom or lightly mist the leaves with a spray bottle, but avoid getting the solution in the soil. Make sure you use only a light mix of fertilizer, 1/4 or less strength, as the fertilizer might be burning the leaves and tendrils, keeping pitchers from forming. Only fertilize once every 2-4 weeks at the most. With carnivorous plants, less fertilizer ensures a live plant, too much will ensure a dead one.

My suggestions would be to add some florescent lighting of at least 12-16 hours a day 4-5 inches above the plant and keep it in the window. Use a twin mount 4 foot shop light with cool white or true daylight tubes so that the total lumen output is about 6000. That, with a light fertilizing every now and then and stable environment, should help your Nepenthes make a comeback on pitchers.

Christopher