Nepenthes

ISLAM, YASSIR (Y.ISLAM@CGNET.COM)
Fri, 26 May 1995 11:38:00 -0700 (PDT)

Steve: Thanks for the advice. However, since I live in an apartment I don't
have access to a compost heap. Neither do I have a wife to squish insects.
Having someone to squish insects would be good since I don't like squishing
them, and prefer not to harm spiders. Still, I swatted a big buzzing fly
yesterday, and quite gleefully fed it to the Nepenthes. The question still
remains though: why can't they catch the bugs themselves? Do they only
attract particular insects not found in the average DC apartment? Or are
they not very efficient, relying on large quantities of bugs swarming around
in order to catch a few?

Also I find the pitchers go dry very quickly. Should I top these up with
water? Is is harmful to add superthrive or dilute fertilizers this way?
(Water is hard, so I adjust pH to about 5-6)

Are there any compact and coulourful Nepenthes (smaller than Alata) that
can easily be grown under lights?

Thanks all, for your responses . Enjoy the long weekend!

Yassir (cool 70's in DC)