Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 9/19/2011

Question
hey guys i have a poi dog and a n.ventricosa x (ramispina x sanguinea) that i got from you guys about 2 months ago i was growing them under a 25 watt cfb and recently changed to a 125 watt cfb they seem to be doing pretty good growing new leafs and pitchers when i switched to the 125 watt cfb they turned really red and they got what appears to be like sap sticky stuff on there leafs little bitty droplets within about four days of useing the new light i use distilled water and have the light about 9 inches above the plants they are on a timer for 12 hours a day any advice what is going on

Answer
What's actually going on is good.  The red leaves and sap sticky stuff are signs that your plant is happy.  Some varieties of Nepenthes should have a red tinge in the leaves.  This would be true for your sanguinea hybrid.  Generally you can tell if Nepenthes are getting adequate lighting if you see some redness in the leaves.  One notable species, Nepenthes maxima, will have red leaves when grown in strong lighting.  So your red leaves are a good sign.

Nepenthes will also produce lots of nectar when lighting is strong.  The plant uses the nectar to attract insects.  It also takes a lot of energy to produce the nectar, and your plant gets that energy from sunlight via photosynthesis.  Without adequate lighting, your plant won't produce nectar.

So there's nothing wrong per se about your plants.  Nepenthes actually prefer quite a bit of lighting, more than most people think.  Your plants are just showing you that they're happy with the changes you've made.

For photos of how colorful Nepnethes can be, visit our photo gallery on our website.
http://www.cobraplant.com/gallery

Good growing!
Jacob Farin