> 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.
> Does anyone have experience with these that could offer some insight?
Low light will cause pitchers to become long thin and scraggly! However,
I have a plant here I call Alata anorexic. Its a plant that comes from a
site just outside of Dallas Texas. These plants produce very thin, tall
pitchers. My plants are growing in full sun in a greenhouse (no light
problems!) Then bending is also something I've seen. I'm not sure what
causes it, maybe some bug or something. Sometimes too, after spraying
alata with malathyon or other chemicals, it tends to deform new pitcher
growth for a bit! I guess one other though is, are your sure they are
alata? rubra alabamensis produces very curved and gangly pitchers in the
spring, to be replaced by more typical robust pitchers in mid summer,
with the best crop of pitchers in the fall!
Just some thoughts
Carl Mazur