Nepenthes help, please.

Tom Marazita (toad@eci1.ucsb.edu)
Thu, 08 Aug 1996 10:22:26 PDT

Hi folks,

Although I have been growing various CPs for many years, I've
never actually tried any Nepenthes. About a month ago a friend's
relative gave him an N. burkei and an N. ventricosa. Being unable
to provide proper care and knowing that I was interested in CPs,
he gave the plants to me. They were not in the best condition at
the time -- in fact the soil was bone dry -- but at one time they
had clearly been healthy and there are various large dried traps
on the older leaves.

Over the past month I've nursed them back to health, but I've
noticing a couple of problems. Perhaps someone can allay my
fears that I'm about to kill these things.

1) The N. ventricosa is doing well; plenty of helthy new leaf
growth, almost explosive. However, there are no new traps. Is
it just taking a long time to produce new traps after having been
stressed?

2) The N. burkei isn't doing too hot. It is producing new
leaves, but they are droopy and rather yellow. There are no new
traps being produced here either. Is there anything I can do to
help promote at least healthier leaves?

Both plants appear to be in peat/perlite soil. I've been keeping
them in my warm bright room, and they receive about 2 hours of
direct sun per day. I water only with distilled water, and allow
the soil to dry partially between waterings (it remains moist,
but not soggy), and they are never left sitting in water.

If Nepenthes growers can offer any advice, I'd appreciate it!

Thanks,
Tom

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Tom Marazita | Engineering Computing Infrastructure
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toad@engineering.ucsb.edu | University of California
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