Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 21:13:28 -0700 From: Gary Kong <garko@juno.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2152$foo@default> Subject: Sad N. sanguinea--puckered S. leucophylla
Hi Everyone--
I re-potted my tc'd N. sanguinea from a 3" pot to a 12" hanging basket
about two months ago. Since then, it's produced three increasingly
longer petioles (the last one approx. 5 1/2" long), but the pitchers
remain stunted or deformed. Just prior to re-potting, the forming
pitchers' lids turned brown as the pitcher inflated. This sometimes
resulted in a swollen pitcher with a constricted mouth or no mouth
opening at all. In other cases, the lid wouldn't even exist on an
otherwise normal trap. I don't grow this under glass, but on my
south-facing windowsill in the fog belt of San Francisco. I mist it
daily. The only thing I could think might be the problem (other than low
humidity--although the air hasn't been all that dry), is my soil mix.
It's very high in sphagnum peat and very acidic. Plus, I used a
commercial Bonsai mix (Whitney Farms brand) in the blend. Is this type
of growth typical for a Nepenthes with a too rich/too acid soil mixture?
Plus, the lingering winter effect of La Nina doesn't seem to be helping.
Which brings me to my next question. My S. leucophylla (growing in a
windowbox with southern exposure) has consistenly formed puckered
trumpets for the last two years. What I mean by this is that in the last
stages of the mouth opening (when the nectar roll forms), instead of
folding back into a trumpet shape, the sides pucker in as if someone has
pinched the mouth shut. Is this the result of it growing in cool
conditions? The last two summers here have been unusually cold (high
temps rarely rising above the mid-60's, lows in the low 50's.) I know
this species thrives in hot weather. I hope it's not suffering.
If I'm killing my plants, someone please stop me!
Gary Kong
garko@juno.com
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