Burnt ceph traps ??

[Ausceph]

Hi all

Four pitchers on my ceph have developed yellow/white bleached sections on the lower parts of the central rib.

The ceph in question was recently aquired and was mostly green in colour apart from the peristomes which were red. I've placed it 6 inches under a 24w Cool daylight compact fluorescent lamp and 1 foot away from a north east facing window (I'm located in the southern hemisphere). The pitcher's are turning a red colour but as previously stated the lower parts of the central rib has turned a yellow/white on 4 of the largest pitchers.

Has anyone else experienced this? Could it be signs of the media being a little to dry or a sudden over exposure to light?

Any comments

Cheers
Louis

 

[naich]

yes its common. You may need more light though. After a plant is switched condition wise they ussaly have die back. I had two of my recently purchesed neps have the majority of their pitchers turn crispy. Its normal. But ill let the more experianced members tackle this one.

 

[nepguy]

Greetings,

My first instinct is that there is nothing to worry about, that it is probably just a reaction to the changes you made. Nevertheless, I don't like to see yellow colors in my cephs, especially if they appear upon newer growth.

I have a few questions that might help the kind folks on this forum to zero in on what is causing the problem. 1. You said you recently acquired your ceph, How long have you had the it? Are we talking last week or a period of months? 2. It sounded like you were making a speculation about the dryness of the medium. Has it actually gotten too dry to your knowledge? 3. How much sun does it get in the window, and did it get any before? 4. Is the abnormal coloration only on older pitchers, or is it on newer ones, as well? 5. Have you made any other changes besides the ones you mentioned, things like your method of watering, for instance.

Those compact fluorescent bulbs are quite bright. I have some plants under a bank of 8 of them (24w, 6500k), and I have noticed that nepenthes leaves will actually burn if they get too close, and I am talking red-red, and crispy brown, particularly if they have been stressed by dryness, which happened a couple of times and produced an instant reaction in the leaves closest to the lights. I have some cephs growing there, as well, and even at 20 inches away they color up nicely (mind you there are 8 bulbs, so I have to provide more distance). I mention that to say that it might be a good idea to raise the light fixture a bit, perhaps by even another 4-6 inches, and see what happens.

Can you post any pictures? That would help a lot.

Regards,
Glen

 

[Ausceph]

Thanks for your ideas naich, much appreciated.

Hi Glen, thanks for your help.

Following are the answers to your questions:

1. I have now had it for 2 months. I placed it under the CFL (24w, 6500k) about 4 weeks ago. It started to take on a strong red colouration very quickly.

2. I water it via the tray method by adding about 1 inch to the tray and letting it evaporate and waiting a couple of days before adding another 1inch of water. I have done this since receiving ceph. I dont think its gotten to dry.

3. It gets approx. 3 hours of filtered (through a very thin voille) morning sun. It has been in this position since it arrived home; 2 months. The previous grower had it under 4ft fluorescent lamps in a terrarium.

4. The abnormal coloration is only on the older large traps. The 5 new traps are smaller (comming to the end of the growth season down here), and do not have any abnormal coloration. There is more growth stating to show in the center of the rosett though very slow.

5. No have not made any other changes. I sometimes switch on a small fan to circulate air around it. I beleive its growing in lower humidity in my set up.

Maybe I have the lamp to close and should raise it.
I'll try to post a picture but not sure how to

Cheers
Louis

 

[nepguy]

Hi Louis,

Everything sounds good. If the newer traps aren't showing the odd coloration, and the plant has been in its situation that long, it's probably just the older traps . . . well, getting old. As for raising the light fixture, it might not be necessary. I few inches might give you bigger pitchers, though.

Regards,
Glen

 

[Ausceph]

Thanks again for all your help Glen.

Cheers
Louis