Nepenthes gracilis

[elgecko]

I just received a Nepenthes Gracilis I won on e-bay. It arrived in bad shape. The plant was out of the soil and banged up pretty good. I placed it back into its pot. I have not grow this species yet, or seen 1 before. Something that has me a bit concerned is that the bottom stem of the plant is brown with no leaves for about 4". The upper 2" has leaves and a few pitches. I looked at several sites that mentioned Nepenthes Gracilis, and I read 1 which said something about a woody stem. Does Nepenthes Gracilis stem get woody, and that's why it's brown?
Any other ideas or tips you have on growing this nep would be greatly appreciated.

 

[eplants02]

Just put Nep. G in a hot and humid condition. It should perk up in no time.

Oh by the way, Nep. G does form woody stems.

 

[NickHubbell]

The older stems of Nepenthes gracilis do get somewhat woody. As the leaves die back, the stem goes from green to brown. This is normal and expected of the plant. Keeping the plant between 75° and 95°F with humidity levels above 70% have worked well for me.

Your plant should easily recover. Nepenthes gracilis also roots easy in water. I suspect this easy rooting to allow a plant that has been dislocated from the soil to easily reistablish itself in a new growing medium without terribly shocking the plant.