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Carnivorous Plants/asian pitcher nepenthes

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Expert: - 9/19/2008


Question
in one of my pitchers the cricket grew mold.  is that normal? will it make the plant sick?

Answer
Hello Matt,

This can occur if the prey item is large enough to protrude above the preservative/digestive fluid level in the pitcher. In most cases this is not harmful unless the plant begins to become infected by the mold. Usually the pitcher will develop a brown spot in the area the prey item is rotting and molding in and the pitcher will die back after a couple of months. If this worries you, just tip the pitcher sideways every day so that the insect is submerged briefly in the preservative fluid. That fluid is an antifungal as well as an antibacterial called benzoic acid. It will kill off the mold and keep the prey item from rotting too much. The pitcher might still brown in that area if the insect is very large in comparison with the pitcher size. It will not overtly harm your plant in the long run... it is natural for some overly large insects to be trapped on occasion. Since we like our plants to keep their pitchers, it does distress us when this happens, but it is natural and not harmful.

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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