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giselda74_gw

Nepenthe pitcher plant doesn't make pitchers

giselda74
10 years ago

Hello, I have a beautiful healthy looking Nepenthes, it grew twice its size since I got it more than a year ago. Despite the fact that it grew so much and the foliage looks very healthy it is not producing pitchers.
Can anybody help me with suggestions?

Comments (9)

  • jean001a
    10 years ago

    Needs more light.

    From: Caring for Nepenthe (http://www.pitcherplant.com/care_sheets/nepenthes_care.html)
    "Nepenthes generally like bright light without much direct sun. About 50% sun or dappled shade is good."

    Indoors, you'll need to supplement the available light. (The above page has the info you need.)

    Here is a link that might be useful: grow nepenthe

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    with a house plant.. NEVER confuse what it would do in its native habitat.. with what it can do.. indoors ...

    why is your house plant not outdoors for summer????

    and if you want to try such.. NO DIRECT SUN EVER .... tuck it on the north side of a house... even full shade outdoors is significantly more intense than indoors.... it would need to be hardened off to light... before allowed any sun ... if ever ....

    you dont mention where you are.. so i dont know if it can ever be put in full sun ... FL is much different than say.. WI ...

    welcome to GW .... come back often ...

    ken

  • giselda74
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Hi Ken, I live in San Diego, when I bought the plant I was told to keep it indoor by a sunny window and it made beautiful big pitchers last year. Also I was worried that keeping outside would have killed it because of the big changes in temperature from day and night 88/60. So should I put it outside in shade and bring it back in at night?
    Thanks so much for your help

  • giselda74
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Here is a photo of the new pitchers that start and then die right away. right now I have the plant next to east facing big windows that have a lot of sun from early morning to afternoon.

  • jean001a
    10 years ago

    You can grow the nepenthe outdoors in San Diego if you have a sheltered site for it.

    Jean
    who gardened in Long Beach, CA, for 30-some years.
    And who had a friend in Irvine who grew his successfully outdoors in a sheltered site for years. (It was planted in the ground.)

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    10 years ago

    I don't know this particular plant but a few general observations...

    As long as the temps in question aren't vastly different from what a plant would experience in its' natural location(s,) it should enjoy the fluctuations between day and night. That's normal anywhere.

    Are you using a fertilizer that may be encouraging foliage but not blooms?

    Has your plant been in the same pot/soil the whole time?

  • apg4
    10 years ago

    There's an active discussion over on the carnivorous plants page here for more info....

    ...but, what have you been watering with? Neps live high up in the trees, and just get rainwater in their native environment. They don't like 'city' or well water with dissolved minerals. However, they do benefit from occasional feedings of 1/4 strength orchid fertilizer.

    Nepenthes do quite well outside in the summer. Mine gets full (noonday) sun for several hours and is loving it. More pitchers than I can count.

    Cheers

  • giselda74
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I have not used fertilizer because I read that will decrease the pitchers production and I only use distilled water. I did transplant in in a larger pot and that's when it grew twice its size. I used a mix of Sphagnum moss, charcoal and orchid bark.

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    10 years ago

    It sounds like the factors I mentioned aren't the cause of the issue, you're already "on it." The orchid fertilizer sounds like something I might try. Different fertilizers encourage different traits, depending on their numbers, which is why I asked what kind you might be using, if any. Potted plants have no other way to obtain the sustenance they require, if not available from the potting mix.