FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I have a N. gaya that was doing good like a month ago. But the last month it turned very pale and pitchers are starting to die off. It is planted in an unknown substrate, probably coconut coir, peat and something else. I didn’t change anything in the care, but it receives more and more direct sunlight through a window and heats up the black pot. Also the pitchers get bleached from the sun. Is the sun and heat the problem or something else?

How much have you been watering it?

I let it go kinda limp before watering it, but the substrate goes kinda hydrophobic so I have to water it again after hours so it can absorb more water. So in conclusion I water it twice when it goes limp.

I'm no nepenthes expert, but letting a plant "go kinda limp" doesn't sound like it would be healthy for the plant. This is the first link that appears when I do a google search for "nepenthes gaya care": https://www.blueridgeexotics.com/produc ... at%20night.

I am not sure of the issue but that looks really weird. Day one i potted mine is NZ LFSM and when the top gets crusty i water it.

that is cement dust from road work.

Barlapipas 6 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 16, 2023 10:33 am I have a N. gaya that was doing good like a month ago. But the last month it turned very pale and pitchers are starting to die off. It is planted in an unknown substrate, probably coconut coir, peat and something else. I didn’t change anything in the care, but it receives more and more direct sunlight through a window and heats up the black pot. Also the pitchers get bleached from the sun. Is the sun and heat the problem or something else?

Going back here to your first post... It appears that you've had this plant for close to four months now and it did look good when you first got it. It does look a lot worse. This is a link to the thread you posted when you first got it and shows the plant in really good condition...
nepenthes-gaya-care-t57830.html

It seems that if it was under-watered that there would be more brittle, brown leaf margins than what I see, but an overall yellowing makes me think that that (under-watering) is what is going on. Overwatering, from what you've shared, isn't the issue. You mentioned "heat"...neps don't really like heat. My little ventrata that I got started from a cutting refused to put on a pitcher through the heat of our summer...it's finally trying to put a few on since it has cooled down. The heat coming in through the window may be the culprit in turning your's pale...that, plus the drought it has experienced (allowing it to go limp). If it is drying out really quick then you might just need a shallow saucer under it ...you definitely don't want it going dry.

Respectfully, nix the using a saucer. That can easily lead to root rot and cause more problems than it solves. I agree that letting the plant look like it is drying out before watering it is not a good thing. Once the plant reaches that stage, it is stressed. The repeated stress of these drying cycles will lead to the death of the plant. A good general test for watering Nepenthes is to press your finger on the surface of the media. If the finger comes away wet, don't water. If your finger is dry, or very slightly moist, then water. The media will dry out before the plant shows any signs of a problem, which is why you need to check the media for moisture.

Bar6, follow Panman's recommendations on "no saucer"! My little ventrata came from him and he's forgotten more than I've ever known about neps (and carnivorous plants in general! ).

My reading comprehension isn't doing so well, me thinks! I read where you watered and then came back and watered again as you actually had to water twice a day due to the heat where the plant is. I see that you were making sure the soil was saturated. If you are watering enough that water drains out are you letting the drain water go to waste...simply run out the bottom of the pot and the pot isn't sitting in it?

@Panman, how often do you water a small(ish) nep inside of a low-70F and ~55%RH room? I may have been letting my ventrata stay on the dry side too much.

I probably water them every 2 or 3 days. I check them daily and once it has dried out water it again. I never really saturate the soil.

Intheswamp wrote:he's forgotten more than I've ever known about neps

My reputation exceeds me. What I know about Neps comes from almost killing (and succeeding at one) very hardy intermediate varieties.

Well, so far I'm betting hitting .500. The Lady Luck just didn't have much...luck. The ventrata is making it's first sizeable (sizeable to me, it's really only a little over an inch long! ) pitcher. I think the heat did keep it from producing pitchers earlier. There are actually two cuttings in the pot...do I call them "them" or "it"...you know, these pronouns are getting tough!!!

I was not aware that you should not let Neps sit in a saucer. The 2 I have seem to do OK.

No I don’t put it in a tray at all. The main problem is probably the heat because I have a nepenthes brigsiana in the same place and it is just starting to turn yellowish. I haven’t let it go limp, I water it when the top soil is almost dry, it is planted it pure sphagnum moss in a small pot. What should I do to reduce the heat? Should I place them somewhere with less direct sunlight?

Well, if the pots heating up is the problem you could either wrap them in aluminum foil or some other reflective covering or even simply stand a sheet of cardboard up to block the sun from hitting the pot. It seems though if the pot is heating up that much that the plant itself is heating up, too. Anyway you can simply move it out of the direct solar radiation? Could the air temperature in the area that you're keeping these plants be getting too hot? I found my little ventrata did better when I moved it out of full sun/heat. I hung it in full, bright shade.

It seems that you are keeping the water about right, so we'll rule that out...I'm thinking that light or heat or both are the culprits.