Pitchering signs?

[Mannannan]

Well ofcourse swelling of the pitcher bud(s), but are there any prior to that?

This might be a bumb question, but the reason I ask is that on one of my neps, some of the tendrils are going very red.

I believe it is an alata or ventrata, I'll have to wait until the first pitcher opens up, should only be a couple days away now.

Would you say that reddening of the tendrils, along with darkening of the bud is a sign of pitcher development starting?

I'll be sure to post pics as soon as the new pitcher opens...

Thanks /Quensel

 

[Clint]

tendril being red is a sign of good light. when you get excessive amounts of light your leaves might start to turn from green to copper/brown/bronze/red

 

[lol]

Also, the size of the pitcher is usualy purportional to the length of the tendril. For example, in my conditions my N. fusca pitchers are always equal to the length of the tendril. So thats a 1:1 ratio.

 

[elgecko]

What I have noticed for a N. ventrata, (let's hope I can explain this and make sense) is that is seems to take 4 leaves to make a complete circle around the stem. After you get over 8 leaves (2 rotations around the plant) the lower 4 leaves will start to pitcher. The tendrils will start to hook back toward the leaf and form a loop before inflating.

If you look at this picture you will see a pitcher on the right starting to inflate after the loop. Look to the tendril directly to left and you can see it starting to loop.

 

[Mannannan]

Awesome ventrata there!!

Mine may not be ventrata after all, the pitcher forming is much more slender than the ones on yours... not 'bulbous' towards the bottom at all...

Thing is, only 2 pitchers are reddening, out of 5, and they all get the same amount of sunlight.

If the tendril/pitcher size ratio is true, I'm in for a HUGE pitcher on one of my unknown hybrids (the one in the ID forum).
The tendril to one of the swelling pitchers is well over a foot long and about 1/4 inch thick

Thanks /Quensel

 

[Nflytrap]

IME(very little, 6 leaved cutting) the pitchers wil get the bulbous shape right before they open. I don't think the tendril/leaf thing applies to ventrata at all. I also noticed that even while the pitcher is swelling the tendril still grows(and may loop in circles and do other weird stuff).

Elgecoko: I'm under the impression that leaves only make pitchers once? Or is that a measure of time for tendrils to develop. If so, I think you may be close.

 

[swords]

Tendrils are not the same in length as the pitchers, this may be true in a few species but it isn't true for all species. For instance; N. hamata's lower pitchers have 5-8 cm tendrils and 15-20 cm pitchers and my N. rajah has tendrils some 30-45 cm in length and pitchers 10-12 cm high with each leaf the tendrils on the rajah are longer and longer. N. macfarlanei and N. lowii also send out quite long tendrils before pitchering and do not relate to the size of the pitcher.

Anyway, as for the signs of pitchering that I look for, I watch for the tendril to get long and make a hook or "J" shape, which happens after it reaches it's maximum length. Then the bud at the hooked up end will slowly swell for a week or two then suddenly get much larger each night for another week or two before it opens. After it opens it's another few days to a week before the pitcher is fully expanded and set. But I always feed as soon as they are open enough to get a cricket it.

 

[Clint]

are there any pros/cons to feeding a pitcher as soon as it opens?