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Carnivorous Plants/nepenthes scale

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Expert: - 1/27/2010


Question

n.miranda
Do most nepenthes( 'miranda', and ventricosa ) secrete sap naturally  or is it deposited from scale? I have 3 large nepenthes growing in a south window planted in sphagnum and coarse sand. They pitcher regularly. I'm including a picture of n.miranda with red spots which I think are scale. They are indented into the leaf, not raised. I've had the plants for 5+ yrs. The red spots are diminishing over the years but there is a lot of dewy sap on the pitchers and stems. I usually remove the most infected leaves. Thanks for the help!

Answer
Hello Lisa,

Red spots on Nepenthes leaves are pigments, not scale. Scale are tiny insects that suck sap from the leaves of plants. The red spots on your Nepenthes look normal to me as mine have exhibited those same spots periodically in high intensity light. It is not an infection. As you surmised, those spots are points in which nectar may be produced by the plant to entice insects. These spots may be simply misplaced glands or actually intentionally grown there by the plant as a means of luring crawling ants and beetles up the vine and across leaves to the plant's pitchers. I have had Nepenthes that developed such highly active glands on their leaves that nectar dripped from them more than from some of the pitchers.

Christopher

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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