Does new basal = smaller pitchers on the old shoot?

[jonnyq]

Hey folks, quick question, if anyone's got the time...

I've got a N. spectabilis x ventricosa that I picked up at clearance at the last NECPS which has been thriving, and putting out fairly large pitchers.

Recently, a second basal emerged and has progressed to the point where it's put out a lower pitcher...

(sorry for the poor macro lighting)

Another thing that has happened, though, is that the original basal put out a much smaller pitcher than usual...

Is this decrease in size a normal result of the expansion of the plant into a second shoot, or is it the natural result of a decrease in daylight as the summer draws to an end? (Or am I doing something wrong?)

 

[mass]

The new growth point does take energy from the main one. So all of that energy that was once put into the main growth's pitchers, is now being shared with the new basal. Same idea when a flower stalk emerges.

 

[Halt]

Yeah basals do take energy from the main plant, however, if the main plant is making uppers the basals will create lowers.

 

[jimscott]

Here's an example of a basal:

 

[mikefallen13]

I had this happen to my 'red dragon' (before it died) pitcher size reduced greatly as the basal grew but when the basal reached a fairly good size the pitcher size slowly increased back to their previous size so just give it some time and the pitchers size will probably return to normal