New to Nepenthes- having issues!

[gemmateal]

I grew nepenthes a long time ago (5 years?), but my plants ended up being large leafy plants that produced no pitchers. Whats the fun in that? I realize now that there were three of four things I could have done differently to help my plants thrive, but I never stopped loving nepenthes!... So I did my homework, and tried to make sure I had everything in order for a perfect little terrarium. I recently purchased a terrarium, and bought a florescent plant light and plexi glass lid to replicate the environment nepenthe's need. I bought a total of four plants online (went kindof crazy with ebay). One is Nepenthes Spathulata x Aristolochides, one is a basic Alata or Ventricosa (the kind sometimes available at Home Depot), one is nepenthes petiolata x burkei, and the last one that i'm waiting on in the mail is a nepenthes Ampullaria. The three ive received so far all looked great, each had at least 3 pitchers growing.. They were shipped bare root, so I repotted them in a soil mix of about 1.5 parts long fibered spagnum, one part perlite, one part orchid bark, one part peat moss (pretty airy). I then gave each a really good watering. I have been watering them about once every few days because the top of the soil never really dries out, and they are kept in trays which have stones on the bottom for good drainage. The humidity is kept at least 65% but sometimes even up to 80% or 90% when I mist it (once a day). The florescent light is about 10 inches from the plants, and they receive sunlight from a window as well. The temp is about 75-78 at night and 80-85 in the day. Now that you have the background information, I need to quickly figure out WHY MY PITCHERS ARE SHRIVELLING?   on one plant 2/4 have begun to shrivel, on another 1/3 are shrivelling, and on the last 1/4 are shrivelling. It begins at the lid- a little browning- then slowly works down. I want to nip this problem in the bud before any more beautiful pitchers bite the dust! I have considered the following possibilities:
-Under or over watering?
-not enough of a temp drop at night, maybe they need cooler nights?
-Maybe the plants are just shocked from the shipment and repotting?
-I have not used any fertilizer, maybe I need to?
-Fungus?

Please give me your suggestions, I only want the best for my plants! -Gemma

[Carolyn]

Hi Gemma,

A couple of thoughts-

1. Re: pitchers - I don't think it's necessarily bad that the pitchers shrivel at first. In my somewhat limited experience (only been growing Nepenthes for a little over two years, not very long) every time I bring a new plant home, the pitchers shrivel. It seems like they're just a bit shocked and need time to acclimate. I let them alone (i.e. don't cut them off so as not to cause further shock) and they eventually start to pitcher again. Some definitely recover much more quickly than others, you kind of just have to be patient.
2. Why a terrarium? Any chance at all that you might have a suitable window or two? I've discovered that my plants do just fine on my front porch. It depends on where you live, of course, but unless you are trying to grow uber fussy lowlanders it seems like a terrarium is an unnecessary hassle and just invites all sorts of problems.
3. Re: fertilizer - I wouldn't. Others can chime in if they have different ideas, but I think your best bet is to let your new plants rest and acclimate. The less fussing you do with them, the better. Don't despair about losing the initial pitchers, just be patient with the little guys and they'll come back around with new pitchers for you.

:)Carolyn

[coline]

True about losing the pitchers when buying plants, I have bought plants from a store here, long time ago, but they did conserve the pitchers, but shipped plants did loss them, the 2 species I got, now growing back, but currently with a non good looking condition.

[paulbarden]

All but the ampullaria are highland types, so your night temperature is FAR too warm. The temperature drop should go down into the fifties, or at least the low sixties for highland types. (Although the Ventrata is going to be more tolerant than the other two)