What is my N. platychila doing?

[carbonetc]

The last month or two of new growth has been odd. It's surrounded by plants that are growing normally. The root system is just fine as far as I can tell. Any ideas what's going on here?

(larger image)

 

[swords]

Growing in too warm of conditions would be my first assumption since that is how HL Nepenthes often look when nights are not cool enough. If you can start cooling the temps down it can still fix itself.

 

[Dexenthes]

I've only seen growth like that one time and it was in a highland plant that wasn't getting sufficient enough night time temperature drops. If the other plants you are growing are highlanders and are growing fine then the temperature drop must not be the issue. If night-time temperatures are fine and the substrate you are using is working well for your other plants then my only other guess is some kind of fungus which could be restricting that growth point.

I don't know. Wait for other inputs as well.

 

[carbonetc]

Interesting, I thought platychila was a solid intermediate. I'll repot and attempt to cool it down for my first steps. Does anyone find that platychila prefers one media combination over another?

 

[mato]

Platychila is typically not very picky about temperature drops; "intermediate" conditions would be best. To me, that means 80s in the day and 60s at night.

As far as media, it's not picky about that either, but you can usually infer that hirsute plants will like things a bit on the dry side, since the pubescence often slow down transpiration.

Check very closely for any pests. The leaf in the bottom-center of the photo almost looks like it was chewed on.

 

[kevnep]

A similar thing happened to one of my plants the only thing you can do is spray it and wait

 

[carbonetc]

I couldn't find any sign of pests, but I treated with systemic insecticide and fungicide. I also repotted to inspect the roots (which are fine) and put it in a drier spot. We'll see what happens.

 

[richjam1986]

Non-ideal temperatures can cause this, as well as some pests, as has been mentioned. Keep in mind that some pests are VERY small and can be very difficult to spot with the naked eye (e.g. mites, thrips). Hopefully spraying your plant with a systemic insecticide/miticide/fungicide will fix the problem.

Something that hasn't been mentioned is viruses. Plant viruses can cause abnormal growth and unfortunately they can be very difficult if not impossible to treat. I've had very similar trouble with my N. spectabilis and I think I've ruled out everything else except a virus, which is very frustrating. I hope this isn't the case with your plant.

 

[Whimgrinder]

The only time I have seen a Nepenthes do that was when it wasn't getting a significant drop in temperature at night. Many species sulk like this if there isn't at least a twenty degree differential between day high and night low. Do you have a clear idea of the range of temps?

 

[carbonetc]

The temperature range is 75-ish in the day to 65-ish at night. Since I thought platychila was an intermediate I wasn't targeting cooler nights. Sounds like I need to start giving it the highland treatment.