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Carnivorous Plants/Nepenthes copelandii, Intermediate

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Expert: - 3/5/2010


Question

my plant
I live in zone 7 of the US. I a Nepenthes copelandii, Intermediate and it won't grow any cups. What am I doing wrong It was a beautiful plant when I bought it last summer and it had cups then. The cups slowly died off and now I have sad plant. Please help me nurse it back.

Answer
Hello Connie,

By the picture, it looks like the plant is simply not receiving enough light. Even though they are partial sun plants, Nepenthes need far more light than an Ivy to produce pitchers, produce nectar to attract insects, produce fluid in the pitchers, and then to kill and digest the insects it attracts. I experimented with growing a N. sanguinea in a South facing window with a single compact florescent bulb about 8 inches from the leaves as additional light and, due to the size of the plant, still had unsatisfactory results. I now have my Nepenthes directly under three banks of 40 watt florescent shop lights that together produce 18000 lumens about 4-6 inches from the leaves. The plants also are near another set of lights for some other plants. Needless to say, they are developing very bright colors and nice pitchers. Light is the key. If the plant slowly loses pitchers (despite being adapted to lower humidity) and becomes less colorful, it is not getting enough light.

The hanging basket might be too high and the window might not be allowing enough light in.

Too much sun may burn the leaves, but too little will slowly starve the plant.

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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