FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hello all!

I've been pretty worried about my nepenthes for the last few months and was hoping you could help me to either put my mind at ease or take care of it better!

I've had this plant for a couple of years; I bought it when it was quite small--and also quite unhappy--from a grocery store (of all places). It recovered well and has been happily and rapidly producing foliage, pitchers included, since then. But just a few months ago, I started noticing some browning of the leaves and stem, from the bottom, up. I really want it to be normal aging (the stem getting more woody and such), but the leaves (on the affected stems) are steadily yellowing, often with light black/brown splotches, until they die. I have had to cut a lot of dead leaves off over only a few short months (see the image of the brown stem for reference: I've trimmed off at least 6-10 leaves in 2 months). Is this seasonal? My nepenthes lives under a strong fluorescent, but it has been much darker (and colder) the last few months here in rainy B.C., so it is getting less natural light.

I'm confused because a lot of the foliage looks hearty and healthy, but a lot is also suffering (harder to tell in the photos since I've been cleaning it up as it dies). And the growing tips continue to produce new foliage, even on the stems that are dying off/receding fairly rapidly. The bottom of a stem will look terrible, with yellow/brown floppy leaves, and the tip will still be happy as a clam!

My best guess (though I'm no CP genius, which is why I'm asking you!) is that perhaps the roots have a wee bit of rot? I try to water (distilled only) a couple of times a week to keep the soil moist, but I also try not to let it ever sit in water. That said, it's not impossible that I forgot to check/dump the tray at some point in time, because... well... life. I also mist it regularly (twice a day), but only from quite far away because I don't want any water build-up on/in the leaves.

If anyone has any ideas, or if you've seen something similar, I'd really super appreciate any input! I love this darling nepenthes and it's got me all worried! Thank you in advance!

I have a small nepenthes indoors and i didnt think they needed any fertilising as VFTs, seems they do ^^

Some of my leaves are going yellow and i found this interesting video, so i might try it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0NCURBftZ8

Aha just found this on this forum that backs the video up.
feeding-nepenthes-coffee-t2376.html

http://www.sunbelleexotics.com/Sunbelle ... ecrets.htm This link has info about using diluted Orchid fertiliser.

To me it just looks like normal leaf aging, your plant will be fine.

Jaws wrote:I have a small nepenthes indoors and i didnt think they needed any fertilising as VFTs, seems they do ^^

Some of my leaves are going yellow and i found this interesting video, so i might try it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0NCURBftZ8

Aha just found this on this forum that backs the video up.
feeding-nepenthes-coffee-t2376.html

http://www.sunbelleexotics.com/Sunbelle ... ecrets.htm This link has info about using diluted Orchid fertiliser.

That's something to think about, thanks Jaws!
Your comment also got me thinking that maybe it hasn't been eating enough--I haven't adjusted it's feeding (5-6 freeze-dried bloodworms a month-ish) since it was a tiny plant. Now that it is so large, I bet it needs a lot more than that! Especially in the winter when there are considerably less house pests around as well. Going to do some research on this.

Your plant is fine! All nepenthes leaves grow yellow as they grow old. I've personally noticed this happens faster in lower light levels. As long as the new leaves are still green, your plant will be perfectly alright!

Yay! Thank you all so much for your replies! It's super relieving to hear that it is probably just normal aging!

Here is one last (better) picture of the progression of the yellowing (I had trimmed the dead growth a bit too recently upon posting about it). The blackening of the leaves is what has had me so worried. I'm accustomed to seeing yellowing/dying leaves on plants, but the blackening made me think perhaps there was some root-rot occurring.
By the sounds of things though, even if the plant is struggling a bit, I can safely assume that it is going to be okay! Thanks for putting my mind at ease, folks.

UPDATE:

Okay, now this is happening... and I know better than to ignore it. This is the growing tip on one of the two vining branches.
What to do? My plant has a number of basal rosettes; is it safe to cut back this particular branch? Would that even help?

Sorry for the constant advice-seeking...

is it because of its too cold? grow point dying is not a good

when was last time you change and repot media

and dont be afraid to get the leaf wet when watering - nepenthes love wet leaf

i saw something like web on some of the leaves

FNGUS wrote:is it because of its too cold? grow point dying is not a good

when was last time you change and repot media

and dont be afraid to get the leaf wet when watering - nepenthes love wet leaf

i saw something like web on some of the leaves

It has been chilly lately--it's very winter here right now. But I keep the baseboard heater about two feet away on at all times, so it's usually about 20 degrees celsius (~70 F).

I haven't repotted the media since I got the plant a couple of years ago. I was planning on doing so this coming spring.

I do mist the plant quite regularly, but I'm very careful not to letter water build up in the growing tips. I usually mist the tiny nook where the plant is instead of misting the plant itself. Or mist a few feet above the plant.

The stuff that looks like web on the leaves is just dust. It is incredibly windy where I live and my building is quite old, so it builds up on everything!