FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I bought several plants from a well-known seller who was importing them. Some came from Thai Plants and others from Borneo Exotics. The bicalcarata I got that were sourced from TP, have some damage, right out of the bag from shipping to me.
The one from BE did not.
Can some of the Nepenthes bicalcarata experts out there take a look and give option on what this could be? It’s been 3 weeks since the first photo was taken and thing still look the same for the two plants. Someone hinted maybe a pathogen, but this is one that has me stumped.

Shipping shock?

Upon arrival:
Now, three weeks later:

It does look like shipping shock to me. Bical leaf tends to turn black when grow condition changes.

Were they shipped bare-root? Might take a while to settle down if so. Since the leaves are mostly green and the growth tip healthy after 3 weeks, I think they are recovering.

Bical is an easy plant under ultra-lowland swampy condition, i.e., temperature around 30C, high RH, moist to wet media.

I'm assuming this bical was from Red Barn Carnivores? If so, I'd contact them about it. It seems as if this is a common issue with their imports. It looks pretty beat up after arrival. Like Tzestan said, bical leaves tend to go black at the edges when it's stressed. I'd keep it as warm and humid as possible and hope for a recovery.

no, not the buyer I got it from. I prefer not to identify it since the other 20+ plants I got from him were always fine. This is the first time I got in on one of those pre-sales where you pay a bit less for them, and they are shipped to you from when he gets them in from the import. I think I will never do that again, and wait for things to harden off for the sellers. It's not worth the aggravation.

That’s totally normal for bical. Anytime you change it’s location and conditions they do that. Mine does it if I let the humidity drop too low in my grow tent. Only takes a day or so and the tips and edges will turn black. As long as the growth point and emerging leaf is green you are good. Just keep it hot and humid and it should recover fine.

Thank you. That’s what I plan to do.

Supercazzola wrote:I bought several plants from a well-known seller who was importing them. Some came from Thai Plants and others from Borneo Exotics. The bicalcarata I got that were sourced from TP, have some damage, right out of the bag from shipping to me.
The one from BE did not.
Can some of the Nepenthes bicalcarata experts out there take a look and give option on what this could be? It’s been 3 weeks since the first photo was taken and thing still look the same for the two plants. Someone hinted maybe a pathogen, but this is one that has me stumped.

Shipping shock?

Upon arrival:

59648976-B7C5-4A70-8390-DFBB291E9904.jpeg

Now, three weeks later:

30881659-4E20-45E0-ABB4-D915EBF6C4F0.jpeg

B7AD7244-753E-4B6C-B903-B97AEE6DBA05.jpeg

I think we may have gotten bicals from the same seller! The heating pack didn't seem to do much and the plants were ice cold when they arrived. My bical arrived looking like your "3 weeks later" pic, but it hasn't gotten any worse since then so I assume it's still alive and just slowly recovering.

what is weird is mine shipped from FL to FL so no chance of any cold weather here. It definitely happened on the trip into the USA, to the seller. I don't want to specify who. but if you direct message me, I would see if it is the same.

Supercazzola wrote:what is weird is mine shipped from FL to FL so no chance of any cold weather here. It definitely happened on the trip into the USA, to the seller. I don't want to specify who. but if you direct message me, I would see if it is the same.

From what you've said it's almost definitely the same seller. I still think they're a good seller, especially if the damage likely happened during the shipping to the US, but I do wish people shipping LL neps would ship them potted, which greatly helps with insulation, and also make sure that the box is taped up along all the openings. A little plastic pot and enough sphag to keep the nep roots snug can make a world of difference. Hell I'd pay an extra couple dollars for that, especially if I'm already paying $5 for a heat pack.

I've had Florae orders (potted and the box is all taped up) that took 8 days to get to me during a sub-zero blizzard and all the neps were still warm when I got it, and then orders without potting/tape that were ice cold after only 2-days when the temps are 30+ out.