FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hello friends,

You're probably sick and tired about hearing about this plant, my N. aristolochioides x ventricosa, but after several months the poor thing seems to be ill. No pitchers for months and now the leaf growth has seemed to have come to a stop.

Thinking it over and trying to figure out what I might've done to this plant differently, I believe it was due to the use of hydrogen peroxide. It's the only thing differently I've done with this plant, and I also learned over on the orchid board that it's use isn't recommended.

From Ray on the OrchidBoard:

3% H2O2 is basically worthless as a disinfectant. The stabilizer in it is so weak that it completely decomposes within seconds of application, leaving behind a pool of water in which pathogens can multiply. Does it damage the few root hairs orchids have? Maybe, but I doubt it's significant due to the transient nature of the peroxide.

Some growers claim it is a good oxygenator of potting media. Yes, it releases oxygen as it decomposes, but that too is transient, and using a water breaker and watering heavily probably does as much benefit.

I've made the mistake of trying to "clean" the plant off by squirting it with H2O2.

So is there anything I can do to help it come back?

alecStewart1 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 02, 2023 9:46 pm So is there anything I can do to help it come back?

Time.

As I'm sure you know and appreciate, it's incredibly difficult to diagnose an issue based on a few photos. There is so much background info that is helpful/needed, including light levels, water ppm, watering schedule, humidity . . .

But, without giving you a deposition to get some answers, I'll tell you want I see, and what are some ways you can look into helping it along.

The leaves look stressed, but not terribly so. So I'd make sure you stop changing variables on it, and give it time to recover, then reassess. If you keep changing too many variables too quickly, it'll stress it out more. So don't repot it, don't change the light level, don't change the watering schedule. Give it time, take notes, and reassess.

If you're concerned about the lack of pitchers, it can sometimes be from a number of more "common" issues. You can go through the list and see which one you think is triggering:
1. Stress (won't go too far into this one, hopefully you get the point).
2. Too little light. If the plant isn't getting enough light, it won't want to grow quickly, as it lacks the energy to grow, so it doesn't need the food. You can usually get a good indication on light levels based on the color of the leaves though. The lighter the color, the less light it's getting. Pale green means low light. Rich dark green means more light. Red/blotchy means too much light. Each nepenthes has different preferences for light levels though (I have a hamata that likes to be sunburned, while I have another that likes to be kept in the shade).
3. Too little humidity. If the plant isn't getting enough humidity it will try to pull moisture and humidity in from the leaves. Which means it'll terminate pitcher production.
4. Too little food. This one is a little odd, but occasionally a nepenthes will toss off pitchers. If it gets fed, it turns the energy into new growth, starts going, and tosses off more pitchers to get more food to feed the additional growth. If it tosses off a pitcher, and doesn't get fed, occasionally it'll slow down it's own growth, terminate the pitcher, and not try again. As there is less growth to fuel, it doesn't need new pitchers. This one is rare in my opinion.
5. PPM or nutrient burn. If some minerals are left over in your water, or in the media, sometimes it'll burn the growth points for the pitchers. You can usually tell this is happening in other areas though, as the plant starts getting leaf burn, looking pathetic, wilting, and so forth.

If I had to guess, I'd say it's the first one. In which case the only thing that will help it is time. Some nepenthes get over their temper tantrums faster than others. I've had some that get over it in a month, and others that it took 8 months for it to consider not pouting anymore. So give it time. If after a sufficient amount of time you don't see changes, I'd go down that list, checking one variable at a time.

specialkayme wrote: ↑Fri Oct 06, 2023 12:49 pm If I had to guess, I'd say it's the first one. In which case the only thing that will help it is time.

Hey, specialkayme. Both fortunately and unfortunately, I found the issue with the plant by inspecting it some more.

It's been going through a slow root/crown rot.

I went to check the roots just to be sure, because I got a gut feeling, and noticed there were a few browner mushy bits around the crowns and the "hairs" on the roots were falling off even when I just gently moved some sphagnum out of the way to get a better look at the roots. I got the plant out and all that was left for the roots were the tougher woody bits, all of the "hairs" had fallen off without me even touching the roots. ("Hairs" is a good way to put it as they just fells off like if someone was losing hair.)

I gently cleaned off what I could on the roots and bases, cleaned out the pot, got a root cutting of one of the better looking basal growths and got a smaller pot for it, let both sit in some diluted SuperThrive as I got fresher sphagnum and perlite ready, and now both the root cutting and mother plant are in fresh medium in bag therapy.

I think I caught it soon enough, but of course the poor things are going to be set back some more. I think dousing it with the 3% Hydrogen Peroxide and doing so too often is what started the rotting process.

alecStewart1 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 06, 2023 4:09 pm I went to check the roots just to be sure, because I got a gut feeling

Lol, so you did the exact opposite of what I recommended.

Hope for the best, but if you need to tear apart it's root mass based on a hunch, you might be better off starting over with a new plant.

specialkayme wrote: ↑Fri Oct 06, 2023 10:57 pm Lol, so you did the exact opposite of what I recommended.

Hope for the best, but if you need to tear apart it's root mass based on a hunch

No there wasn't any "tearing apart." Before moving the plant in anyway I pulled back some of the moss on the top that was around the plant, not it's roots, and noticed the mushy browning around the crown first, then a got a smidge deeper past the top and noticed root "hairs" were coming off with just moving some moss to peek at the roots.

I may have killed it, or maybe it was already too far gone, but at least this Nep has been the only one I've had actual issues with.