FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I'm hoping you folks can help me out as I have only been growing for a few months. My question involves the intermediate/highland nepenthes I am growing. They seem to be getting some pale yellowing of the leaves with some reddening, which I know would seem to indicate too much light.The leaves all start pitchers and, while most of them do form pitchers, in some instances they have withered and dried out before really starting to enlarge.

Here are the conditions I am growing them in:

Medium: long fiber sphagnum +/- perlite

Water: distilled, watered when top of the moss feels dry

Temps: daytime 78-82 F, nocturnal ten degrees F cooler (I know this might be a little warm but temps will drop come fall/winter here

Humidity: 45-65%

Lights: I have a four foot T5HO fixture with 8 bulbs. Four of the bulbs are wide spectrum 6400K and four are 3000K. Initially the lights were about 12 or 13 inches from the plants and then I moved them to about 16 inches below because of the symptoms I described above. Based on the inverse square law I believe (from an inverse square calculator) that this should have decreased the light 'intensity' by about 30%. Did this about two or three weeks ago and perhaps its a little better but it seems like that is a fair distance from the leaves as most guides I have seen suggest much closer. But the eight bulbs is perhaps a lot.

Looking for any recommendations....keep as I am?, remove four bulbs? increase the distance?, remove the 3000K and replace with the 6400? My sense is that things are not quite optimal? Or is something other than the light? Could it be that because I have been buying plants as time goes on many are just a month or so under these conditions and they are still acclimating? Recommendations are welcome.
Thanks so much!

Usually yellow leaves mean over watering (found out the hard way) but if you could it would be better to see a picture of the plant in question.

Nightbreed wrote:Usually yellow leaves mean over watering (found out the hard way) but if you could it would be better to see a picture of the plant in question.

Interesting, I thought it was light because n some plants the leaves are also turning reddish. I have been letting them dry down until the surface of the sphagnum is dry (of course that means the center is prob still wet). Would overwatering also cause withering of some of the forming pitchers? It's frustrating because it seems like almost anything can cause almost anything

Howard

When I over watered mine the pitchers withered. Sent a message to hollyhock (who I got the plant from) and she told me it was over watering. At first I thought she was wrong as I had only watered it when the top was dry but I stopped getting more yellow leaves when I stopped watering. I guess like you said it's weter under the surface than I thought. But I only have 2 napenthes so I don't have the greatest experience. Just basing my guess on what happen with mine. I lost the leaves that turned yellow but the growth point still looks good. Slowly recovering.

Nightbreed wrote:Usually yellow leaves mean over watering (found out the hard way) but if you could it would be better to see a picture of the plant in question.

Going to see if I can figure out how to post some pics of what I mean from my phone.