You don't need to fill the pitchers. Only S. purpurea pitchers contain a significant amount of fluid and most of that is rain water. S.psittacina can also fill up with water if grown submerged. The other species do not produce much in the way of digestive fluid. Usually the digestive fluid amounts to little more than a thin coat on the pitcher walls. Filling the pitchers with water tends to make them top heavy causing the pitchers to fall over.

As Cory says, no. That lid is to heep water OUT. Also it helps attract insects as the inner rim has nectar on it.

This is a common occurance. The trumpet pitcher plants like you are describing consist of Sarracenia minor, flava, rubra, alata, and leucophylla. There are also many hybrids of those that produce tall pitchers with hoods or lids over the top. Many times insects will stuff themselves in large numbers into the pitchers until all you see is a dark mass running the entire length of the pitcher. That is completely normal and natural. Even though the insects are not in the digestive fluid pooled in the bottom of the pitcher, as Corymbosa indicated, the walls of the pitcher produce digestive enzymes that drip down to the bottom. Any organic matter rotting in the pitcher will be subjected to this digestive enzyme and the nitrogen rich products will drip down and be absorbed by the plant. It is a slow process, so don't hold your breath.

My Sarracenia rubra captured a large number of flies in several pitchers that show up as dark masses for over half the depth of the 10 inch pitchers. Another pitcher captured a large spider that died when it got stuck half way down the pitcher... the pitcher is still fine after a month like that. All that happens is that the plant gets more nitrogen from these captured critters and makes more leaves to capture more critters.

Here is an interesting and funny picture on cobraplant.com that shows that this is a common and amusing occurance even with smaller pitcher plants.

http://www.cobraplant.com/gallery/menu.html

Enjoy!

Ok, thank you all for the info. I have grown VFTs for a few years and thought I would branch out a bit. I guess I always assumed that there would be a significant pool of digestive fluid in each of the pitchers but having a digestive coat inside the pitcher does make more sense, does it also secrete a preservative to keep the bug from rotting or molding? And yeah, from what I read, I figured I shouldn't add water to the traps.

BTW, thanks Mutant Hybrid for that site, I saw the exact same thing in one of my pitchers and wished I had a camera on me. Now I don't need to take one myself.

Oh, also, I was wondering what the best potting medium is for a Nepenthes Rafflesiana. I just ordered one to try my luck with. Any growing tips are really useful. Do you water them in the same 'bottem up' method as most CPs or do you top water them? Again, all replies and tips are appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi antechron,
I am telling you how I grow mine, which is doing excellent.
A perfect potting mix for all carnivorous plants is a mix of 50/50 peat moss and perlite.I grow it on a windowsill and it recieves 4-6 hours of morning sun.You can't use the open tray method with nepenthes or their roots will rot.Just water it until the soil is moist and water it whenever it gets dry.
- Adrian

Hello Antechron,

I do not think Sarracenias produce preservatives like the Venus Flytraps and Nepenthes do since they actually rely on bacterial decay to aid in the digestion of insects. Some actually smell bad when they fill up with rotting insects.

Nepenthes do produce much more fluid in their pitchers and secrete benzoic acid to preserve their prey after it drowns, however; they do have symbiotic bacteria that apparently can live in the benzoic acid and help break the digested insects down into nitrogen.

A mix of peat and perlite like your Flytraps get would work for Nepenthes, but to add more drainage you can use 2 parts perlite to one of peat. My Nepenthes is in 1 part peat, 1 part orchid bark, 1 part coconut husk. Nepenthes are one of the few carnivorous plants that actually can live in that mix and enjoy it. That mixture drains very well, but can dry out quickly, so I tend to spray the topsoil each day just enough to wet it down and then top water the plant good twice a week with no tray under the pot. Just remove any waste water and use it on another Nepenthes but not on your other plants if you use the coconut husk and orchid bark. Like Carnivorousplants stated, Nepenthes root rot when the soil retains too much water and a tray of standing water is under the pot, but they do like their soil always moist.

Nepenthes can go with less light than the Venus Flytrap, but still like good strong light. Some can handle full sun and some cannot. Best bet, give it partial sun like under a shaded tree or in a morning sun window where it gets good sun in the morning for several hours and plenty of ambient light the rest of the day. (You can top water Venus Flytraps, Sundews, and Sarracenias as well as tray water them. I do both, letting the top watering drain through and settle in the tray. They also do not mind being misted occasionally.)

If you have a florescent light setup, use a combined 12000 lumens and the plant would do well 5-6 inches from that light.

Nepenthes can suffer climactic shock from changes in humidity and temperature, so make sure your supplier has either pre-hardened the plant or that the plant is coming from a place that has similar conditions to your area. If not, get ready to slowly adapt your plant with a humidity cover for a couple of weeks or it will loose its pitchers and refuse to make more for a while. Every 3 days open (or punch a few holes in it every 3 days until it looks like Swiss cheese after 2 weeks)the humidity dome or bag a fraction of an inch until it is completely open after 2 weeks. In any case, you will want the humidity in the dome or cover to lessen slowly over time until the plant is adapted to your home environment.

If your supplier grows the plant in low humidity to begin with, you are in luck. Just give it light, soil, and water and watch the flies drown.

Is it this one?

{{gwi:566982}}

This needs help with filling the pitchers with water. (S. purpurea)

Petiolaris: Ummm, it is not quite like that one, it is taller and thinner, like the blurred one in the foreground. For the life of me I can't post a picture! ugg lol.

Mutant Hybrid: I am ordering from somewhere in NY, I believe it is located in a zone 6 and I am zone 5, should I do the humidity cover still? I think my main problem is my high altitude :(

Carniverousplants: Thanks, do you also spray your plants?

Thanks for the tips everyone, I think I will try 1:1:1 of peat:perlite:orchid bark, think that would work or would 1:1 or 1:2 peat to perlite still be best? I believe you all have said bright indirect light (with a few hours of direct light). Should I spray my plants? Oh, by the way, if you were wondering, I live in possibly the worst climate on earth for even dead plants... Utah.

Antechron,

The humidity in Utah is quite low for Nepenthes so keep the plant indoors and check your house humidity. If it is over 30% you should be fine with adapting the plant slowly to your humidity (the temperature at night is also a bit low for many Nepenthes outside though some like a nightly drop in temperature, just not below 50 degrees usually). If it is lower, you might need some additional humidity to help the Nepenthes out.

Venus Flytraps can go with humidity as low as 30 or even 15 percent if they are preadapted and given plenty of tray and top watering.

Nepenthes are a group of vines that live in relatively humid, high-altitude conditions where trees grow around them. Some are lowland and some are highland, growing in different heights on mountain sides or in the valleys between mountains. There is also a classification of ultra-highland Nepenthes that live in extreme altitude. The Nepenthes you are getting is one of the easier growers, however; you will certainly need to ensure it gets enough humidity to keep its pitchers. They need light to make pitchers and nectar, but at least some humidity to keep the pitchers from drying out. Call or email your supplier to find out if they keep their plants in a greenhouse or if they provide any special considerations before shipping them, like hardening the plants to low humidity. If not, get a clear plastic bag or humidity dome that will contain the plant and just open it slowly over a couple weeks until it does not hold humidity... if your plant still has problems and starts losing its pitchers after that, your humidity might be too low for it and you might have to provide for that. I was lucky in that mine came from a supplier that prehardened the plant in Oregon (about 30 percent) and then sent the plant to me where my area has a higher humidity (about 50 percent). The plant liked that.

Any mix that gives the Nepenthes acidic soil, sphagnum peat or sphagnum moss, and good drainage, the perlite or orchid mix, should be fine. Just be mindful that perlite can break down after a year or so and will need to be replaced. It is always a good idea to repot plants once a year anyways to freshen the soil.

If it's like the one in the foreground in that Purpea photo it's a Sarr. NOT a Nep! Needs dormancy. Mine go in the fridge when temps get and stay around 40 degrees F. I take them out of the soil, wrap the rhizome with long fibered sphag moss, place in a zip lock bag and in the fridge until spring.

Tommyr,

Yeah I think we have his Sarracenia narrowed down to a trumpet variety for now... at least they all like similar conditions in winter.

The Nepenthes Antechron is getting will not need to go dormant though.

UGH! I just tested the humidity in my house and (get ready) it came out to be a whopping 20%. Man that is dry! So what is the best method for raising the humidity. I guess I should be impressed that any carnivorous plants grow for me. Oh well, that is my climate, it sucks. How do I combat it. I suppose I may have to go and buy a great big terrarium... but that is an expense I am not too keen on. How big can I expect my plant to grow? If, that is, it were in favorable conditions.

Get a humidifier.

Don't fall for the hand misting nonsense, it does nothing unless you can stand there and spray every 5-10 minutes 24 hours a day.

Here's another common plant sold in Lowes, Home Depot, etc...

{{gwi:430817}}

{{gwi:547800}}

That is either a Judith Hindle or a Dana's Delight.

Sigh, ok well... do I want a "warm" or "cold" or "sonic" humidifier? is there really a difference? Will a humidifier have any negative effects on wood or books? What are your recommendations?

http://housewares.about.com/od/humidifiersdehumidifiers/f/coolwrmhumidify.htm

Antechron,

If your humidity is already at 20 percent indoors, placing your plant in large water trays and keeping the soil moist will raise the ambient humidity around them to over 30 percent, especially if you use extra tall trays that come up to an inch or two taller than the plant pots. You will want to keep the Nepenthes pot out of the standing water, but you can place it on a pedestal in the center of a tray or place it between several plants in trays to still receive the benefits of additional humidity without waterlogging it. Don't go through all the added expense of a humidifier unless your certain you will need one.

When I spray my plants, I do not mist them, I make it a simulated rain until the plants and top soil are wet... that lasts for several hours and cleans their leaves of dust and dirt. (Don't do that with butterworts)

Thanks everyone for your advice, I ended up just putting the plants in an aquarium with water in the bottom. I will leave them there for a while and slowly remove the cover and lift them out of the humidity trap. From what has been said in the Nepenthes Humidity post, I should be ok if I just keep the house humidity a little higher than it is. Just 2 more questions. Will the pitchers that were shipped and are now empty refill themselves? and How bright of ambient light do they need? A room with full south window or any windows as long as the room is well lit? Thanks again for all your advice.

Hi antechron,
since nepenthes can't be in standing water you can't put water at the bottom.
You just keep the soil moist by top watering.Since nepenthes are really leafy, I water them at the base so the water does'nt just drip on the leaves.Nepenthes really like high humidity , but it is not neccesary.So the higher the humidity, the better.And yes, all pitchers will refll with liquid as soon as it settles in.The acid is clear and gooey so don't think it's just water.I'm not sure how much light they need but they would grow well if you put the aquarium by a sunny windowsill.
- Adrian

Antechron,

Just make sure the Nepenthes pot is raised over the water level on a pedestle to keep the drain holes from absorbing too much water and waterlogging the roots.

Nepenthes fluid will refill in a few days if the plants like the climate they are in. If not, they will take some time, maybe even a few weeks, to adapt to your environment. The fluid is composed of primarily sugars and benzoic acid at first, but when an insect falls in and drowns, the plant produces digestive enzymes as well. Just pouring water in the pitchers wll not help the plant other than covering over the symptoms of humidity shock temporarily. Better to fix the humidity by adapting the plants slowly like you are doing with the terrarium so they will grow properly from the start.

Nepenthes tend to like partial sun, like what they get under a shady tree. A window that gives morning sun and plenty of ambient light the rest of the day would be good (avoid the brightest midday sun as it can burn some Nepenthes). You could also use 12,000 lumens of artificial florescent light 5-8 inches from the plants.

Ok, thanks again for all your help. If I have further questions, you will probably see them pop up in other related posts.

And, yes, I meant to say that the plants are raised out of the water but I forgot to add that bit. The aquarium is just to temporarily give the plants as high of humidity as possible so I can slowly adapt them to lower levels.