AboutChristopher 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, Utricularia, 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, Sarracenias, and Dionaea. I have some limited experience with growing Pinguicula, 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.
Question QUESTION: my question is the baby that i recieved in the mail there were 2 tiny pitchers on it but they have now seem to turn brown on the tips...I have another Alanta an when the new shoots come out they seem to turn brown on the ends before the pitcher forms..what am I doing wrong with this before it dies
ANSWER: Hello Judy,
When pitchers fail to form on Asian Pitcher Plants it is often a sign of humidity changes or not enough light. On occasion, it also means that the plant is not receiving enough nitrogen.
The new plant might be suffering from low humidity shock, so place a clear plastic bag over it and punch a half dozen 1/4 inch holes in the plastic every 3 days. After two weeks of that, the bag should no longer hold humidity and you can take it off. That should help the plant adapt to your home humidity.
Next, I would try more light for both plants. Place the plants in a good south facing window or under a set of four 40 watt cool white florescent tubes. The tubes should be about 4-8 inches from the plants and on for 16 hours a day. Asian Pitcher plants need very bright light to produce pitchers. They do not need full sun, but slight shade or partial sun, like under a tree that lets light in mostly in the morning and evening for several good hours a day each.
If you do not see improvement and new pitchers swelling in a couple weeks then you can try fertilizing them lightly with 1/4 to 1/8 strength water soluble foliar orchid fertilizers. Just lightly spray each leaf or wipe the fertilizer on the leaves top and bottom once every 2-4 weeks until new pitchers form, then let the plant catch its own fertilizer and stop artificially feeding it.
Christopher
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QUESTION: could you tell me do you clip the dead pitchers off once they turn brown? What about the runners once they are brown do they get clipped off
Answer Hello Judy,
You can and should remove the old leaves and pitchers after they turn brown and die off. I usually wait until the pitcher dies all the way back to the runner, or tendril as it is called, than just snip it off as far up the tendril as the dead material is. Leaves usually last for months after a pitcher dies off, so just wait until they start showing yellow coloration then and wait for them to brown back to the vine, then clip them off as close to the vine as you can. Be careful not to accidentally snip off any live leaves, pitchers or vines. Those tendrils and leaves can be tough, so use a strong pair of snips or clippers to remove them easily when your plants get larger.
Basically, just remove anything that dies and leave anything green or colorful.
