Hello! I'm brand new to the forum (I plan on posting to the welcome section next), and I have a few questions. I've read through several pages of the Nepenthes threads, but just want to clarify some things/ask a few questions of my own.
I bought my little plant a couple of weeks ago from a vendor at an orchid show, and have been obsessing over care ever since. I really don't have a green thumb; I've kept a handful of pothos and and a cyclamen alive, but not much else. I think I over-water.
So, I have my plant in a birdcage (my cat wants to chew on it), sitting in front of an east window. I've watered it a few times, but have let it go a few days this time, because I'm worried about root rot. It's just in a tiny pot, with what I think is a moss/peat mixture. It started off lively and green, with several happy pitchers, but has since taken a turn for the worse. I assume that some of this is the plant trying to acclimate, or maybe that it's just in shock; regardless, three of the six pitchers have slowly turned brown (lids first) and died. The others seem to be okay, and are full of nectar and insect goop...except for the biggest one, which was a casualty from the first feline attack that necessitated the bird cage. The plant fell over, and a whole bunch of nectar and half-decomposed ants spilled out. I filled it about 1/2 full with distilled water, and have since dropped a big house fly in it.
There's one very-baby pitcher, and then a few leaves that have what might be even tinier pitchers on the end? I think I saw them described as proto-pitchers? The littlest pitcher seems to have gotten a bit bigger over the last couple of weeks.
So, as far as my questions go...
1.) Is it bad to keep the pot sitting in a little bit of water?
2.) Is it true that coffee is good to "water" with? I've read that on a couple of other forums.
3.) Since there are very few insects in my house, how often should I feed the pitchers, and what's the best thing to feed them? I've seen crickets, mealworms, fish flakes, fish pellets, etc. Do I need to crush up stuff like that?
4.) How worried should I be about the pitchers dying off?
Even though it's not a very impressive plant, I'll hopefully be able to post pictures when I get home from work!
I bought my little plant a couple of weeks ago from a vendor at an orchid show, and have been obsessing over care ever since. I really don't have a green thumb; I've kept a handful of pothos and and a cyclamen alive, but not much else. I think I over-water.
So, I have my plant in a birdcage (my cat wants to chew on it), sitting in front of an east window. I've watered it a few times, but have let it go a few days this time, because I'm worried about root rot. It's just in a tiny pot, with what I think is a moss/peat mixture. It started off lively and green, with several happy pitchers, but has since taken a turn for the worse. I assume that some of this is the plant trying to acclimate, or maybe that it's just in shock; regardless, three of the six pitchers have slowly turned brown (lids first) and died. The others seem to be okay, and are full of nectar and insect goop...except for the biggest one, which was a casualty from the first feline attack that necessitated the bird cage. The plant fell over, and a whole bunch of nectar and half-decomposed ants spilled out. I filled it about 1/2 full with distilled water, and have since dropped a big house fly in it.
There's one very-baby pitcher, and then a few leaves that have what might be even tinier pitchers on the end? I think I saw them described as proto-pitchers? The littlest pitcher seems to have gotten a bit bigger over the last couple of weeks.
So, as far as my questions go...
1.) Is it bad to keep the pot sitting in a little bit of water?
2.) Is it true that coffee is good to "water" with? I've read that on a couple of other forums.
3.) Since there are very few insects in my house, how often should I feed the pitchers, and what's the best thing to feed them? I've seen crickets, mealworms, fish flakes, fish pellets, etc. Do I need to crush up stuff like that?
4.) How worried should I be about the pitchers dying off?
Even though it's not a very impressive plant, I'll hopefully be able to post pictures when I get home from work!
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