Tendrils

[Nepenthesis]

My N. x Ventrata came with some old pitcher and others are browning. Should I cut the tendril? Should I let them naturally fall off?

Also, can leaves produce more than one pitcher in their life time? For example, in a year from now when the plant pitchers again, will the leaf produce another tendril with another pitcher?

And another newbish question... Do Nepenthes pitcher year-round, or do they only pitcher in certain seasons? Or is it different for different neps?

 

[Whimgrinder]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrd356J2d0g

A leaf produces one pitcher at its tip when the tendril elongates. It never produces another on the same leaf. When the pitcher dies, that's it.

 

[Rokosauros]

They pitcher year round (unless affected by growing factors). I would only trim the pitcher away when it has fully dried up. Sometimes, the top half of the pitcher dries up while the bottom half remains alive. This shows that the pitcher is still functioning to digest it's prey (it won't catch insects anymore though). The pitchers won't naturally fall off either.

And yes, as Paul mentioned, a leaf will only produce one tendril with one pitcher at it's end. There are some weird mutations where 2 tendrils and pitchers form from 1 leaf at one go, but this is extremely rare and is not consistent.

 

[Nepenthesis]

Thanks guys, that answered all of my questions perfectly!