Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 9/17/2011

Question
Hey guys!
 I'm finally giving in and asking what may be wrong with my Hamata. It's about 8 inches from two 32watt Shop lights in a terrarium. It's first couple of pitchers grew normal. The next one opened but not fully. The one after has a nice larger leaf, but the pitcher is funky and growing sideways. I understand random abnormal pitcher growth, but there seems to be a pattern developing. There's about three new leafs that are growing, but look to be stunted and the newest growth looks to be having a hard time getting past the previous stunted growth. Maybe too close to the light? Average temp is about 70-75 in the terrarium. Airflow is good. And water is 000 from a new ZeroWater filter I've been using (Thank you Jeff, for introducing me to a great filter at the recent Open house).It's growing in Sphagnum moss and I've had it maybe 3 or 4 months now. I think I covered everything.. Thank you!
~Christina

Answer
Thanks for supplying all that information and photo.  Sometimes low humidity can cause that type of growth on ultra highland and lowland Nepenthes.  Since you have your plant in a terrarium and you're using live sphagnum moss as the medium, I'm going to the assume the humidity is optimal for this plant.  (If it weren't, I'd see some dry areas on the moss and the lids of the pitchers would be wilted.)

One possible factor might be thrips.  These are very tiny critters that love to feast on new growth.  Just as aphids are a common pest with Sarracenia, thrips are a common pest with Nepenthes.  Some species and hybrids are resistant to them, while others, such as hamata, are prone to them.  That type of abnormal growth is consistent with thips infestation on Nepenthes.

To get rid of them, spray your plant with a systemic insecticide. While you're at it, you might as well treat all of your plants in the terrarium.  Watch our video podcast about using insecticides.  Make sure to spray directly on the affected leaves.  The bugs are very tiny, so you want to make sure every nook and cranny is treated.
http://www.cobraplant.com/videos

After treating your plant, you'll need to wait for new growth to determine if this was indeed the problem.  If thrips were the culprit, the new growth will look normal.  (Wait until you see at least two new leaves.)  If the new growth still looks abnormal, you may not have applied the insecticide correctly OR the problem is elsewhere.  For now, treat as if it's thrips.  Let us know if you need further assistance.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin