I recently got my first Alata, a 'Typica' form with beautiful coloring;
petiole is maroon and condenses into a single maroon stripe that
completely ascends the outside edge of the wing all the way up to the
bottom of the lower lip. The olive green pitcher fades into golden
yellow near the top with maroon veining enveloping the the upper pitcher
until it ends in an upturned spike at the tip of the hood. Truly
remarkable.
But it looks anorexic. Rather than a tube, the pitcher looks more like
a colored piece of spagetti. (No offense to Italians) The skinny 14"
high pitcher tube is hardly thicker than the petiole; not widening
noticeably until just before the mouth, which is almost the same
diameter as a pencil. The wierd looking shape is long and sraggly with
_2_ 90 degree bends in it. It grows 9" up, 2" across, and then 5" back
up again.
My concern stems from the newest 5" pitcher which is displaying the same
tendencies now. It looks almost like the number seven in sillohuette.
(did I spell that right?)
Is this how all the pitchers will grow? I heard that low light can cause
the pitchers to curve so I supplement the sunlight from the window with
additional electrical lighting but little changes.
Does anyone have experience with these that could offer some insight?
Seems as though there was a thread not long ago concerning pitcher curve
and water levels but I unfortunately didn't follow it.
Anyway, your comments are valued to me. Thanks for the time.
Good growing to all, sincerely, Eric Kamakea
ekamakea@haywire.csuhayward.edu