> I've added a signature file, hope it works. My question is about old
> pitchers on my Nepenthes. After they have been on a plant for a long time
> and started to fall apart, should I remove them from the plant? I assume
> I should leave the leaf but I wasn't sure about the pitcher itself.
> Thanks.
>
To remove dead parts of a plant is just important if
a.) you do not like to see dead parts on your plants (In the
wild nobody removes dead leaves and in Nepenthes they do not fall but
rot away slowly...;-))
b.) As a matter of hygiene. In Greenhouses you have far less air
movement and suboptimal growing conditions. This leads to plants
which are more easily attacked by fungi or bacteria. Many fungal
infections need dead material as a start from where they grow into
living tissue.
As however Nepenthes are very rarely infected by fungi I'd consider
it as a matter of taste. I must admit that due to lazyness (;-)) and
lack of time many of my plants have many dead leaves, a fact which
does not seem to bother them at all.
Andreas
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