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Carnivorous Plants/nepenthes alata

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Expert: - 11/20/2010


Question
i have a nepenthes alata, all the pinchers are slowly drying off,  and the new young ones dry off before they get half a centimeter long. what should i do to make them healthy and make the pinchers grow back??

Answer
Hello Andriy,

If you could send me a followup with more specific information I may be able to help determine what the problem is.

When you send a followup include information about what kind of light, how many hours and how intense, the plant is getting. Also include any other environmntal variables and how long you have had the plant. Any changes in environment are good ideas to include, like moving the plant from one place to another or from indoors to outdoors.

In most cases of failure to pitcher it would be a lack of light in intensity and daylength.

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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