Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Recently one of my ventricosas has been looking like this. The last pitcher started drying up even before it finished opening. I had been giving it enough water so I assumed it was looking scorched because of too much light. After putting it in a darker spot it's still looking terrible.


https://forum.petpitcher.net/attachme...1&d=1218853975


https://forum.petpitcher.net/attachme...1&d=1218853975

What concerns me the most is these brown patches under the leaves.
Over 65% of the underside of the leaves are covered in these patches.

https://forum.petpitcher.net/attachme...1&d=1218853975


It sorta looks like the stomata might be burnt but the humidity has been in the 70's so I don't think it's that. Any suggestions or ideas anyone has would be great.

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Yes i can see that alright.The new leaf is also very small compare to others.
Don't change the place too much.!
Cut off the infected leaves(or it will dry up by itself soon)

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

I would but I'm just not quite sure what it is. It would only be a benifit to cut the worst leaves off if it was a bacterial or fungus infection, and it dosen't look like it's either of those. And if it's a virus infection then the plant is doomed anyway.

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Well I took a closer look at the plant and now I know what it is. I saw that some of the little specks were moving around, so I'm assuming that they're some sort of mites. They're orange-colored and a lot smaller than any other mites I've seen before, which is probably why I missed them when I examined the plant earlier.

I'm keeping the plant isolated in a plastic bag for now. I'll take the plant out of the pot later and wash it before planting it in some fresh soil. I'm hoping that will take care of the problem.

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Good luck......!!

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

The media looks fresh and good to me.

Some of my plants also look like that when they do not get enough sunlight, the media is wet for too long between waterings and the conditions is too humid. Did you use any fertiliser on the plant? Was the media new?


I think you should cut of all the infected leaves like what Aliamyz said. Leave that one leave that is healthy. It would be good to check the roots too to see if anything is wrong. Maybe repot and let the media dry out a little in between watering.

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Eeek, I gave up planting roses due to spider mites and false spider mites. Must I give up neps as well?!!!

Would orthonex work if it is sprayed on a cool day and then flushed off an hour or so later to prevent the plant from burning. And repeated 3 to five days later in 3 cycles? Orthonex has the habit of burning leaves on a hot dry day.

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

The media was what came with the plant when I bought it about a month ago, and I haven't fertillized my neps. Actually it looked like it was getting too much light at first; my other ventricosa is in a darker spot and doing fine.

I think I will cut off the infected leaves when I transplant it, thanks for the advice.

The media that it was in before was an orchid bark and coconut fiber mix. I'll include some LFS in the new medium, and maybe that will be better for the plant. (I read somewhere that mites actually like warm, dry conditions) I might also put a bit of rooting powder on the roots to help it recover faster.

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Haha, poweramp, you posted before I had even finished my post. Yeah I really hate mites. Almost lost my sanguinea to them last year. The only think is that these mites are different than any I've seen before, and they're attacking the plant differently than others. I think I'll just transplant it and cut off the bad leaves though, I don't want to have to go out and get some orthonex just to have to risk the plant getting burned by it. If the mites dont go away after my first attempt I will try that though, thanks.

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

This is just a suggestion. Try soaking the whole plant underwater for a few hours, if those things are alive, hopefully they will drown in a few hourse of soaking. Our neps can take a few hours of being fully underwater. Try this several time if possible and see if the small things start decreasing. Another alterative is to do the dish washing soap method, for me it's the dish washing spoap sud method. Apply dish washing soap foam on or under the leaves where the organisms are, wait a few minutes maybe 10 mins. and then rinse. Do again as necessary.

I've soaked a whole ventricosa because of mealy worms on it's roots, and used soap sud method on drosera flowerstalks and leaves of chili plants.

TTFN
Arvin

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Hope it goes well for your ventricosa :smile:. In the tropics, mites just don't bother whether it is dry or humid. They just march on and consume your plants whole. You can almost hear your roses scream for help.

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Thanks Arvin, I will try submerging it a couple times before I transplant it. I guess that's a better plan than just washing it. :smile:


Maybe the types of mites around here are different?


Thanks again everyone. I will take car of the ventricosa later today. Hopefully it will be free of mites after that.

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Soaking the plant might kill the parent mites/pests but there might be eggs hidden in the plant or media that will hatch later and give you the same problem. Perhaps you can try submerging the plant in water for 24-48 hours. I've tried that before and it does not harm to the plant. But better still if you soak it in water mixed with insecticide.

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Hi everyone im new here im from carnivorous plants from the topics AKA pitcher-plants.com.My vent to has some problem because im not growing them in highland conditions im growing them in lowland conditions cant afford a terrarium.Hope your plant will do well.Oh yah 1 thing anyone from KL here knows where to get good neps i go to HEE nursery in sg buloh but i cant find enough variety.They sell amps,ventrata,miranda,rafflesiana,hookeriana,trunc ata and sometimes i see bicals and N veitchii x fusca i have all of those except amp and bical. Im trying to get a bical but they sell their bical for RM150 to ex for me.I bought N veitchii x fusca for RM58 anyone know where else to get more variety???Internet booking???

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

You can try http://www.dapat.net/moblog.aspx?member=4ZEPLANT . Owner, Fauzi is a nice guy. His nursery is at Ampang. Weekend, he have a store at Subang parade. Please drop him a call before pay him a visit.

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Thanks casey for the help appreciated it.You know where is HEE nursery rit in sg buloh??If u know oh...the N veitchii x fusca there they sell the veitchii side lowland or highland cos i growing them now all in lowland condition if the veitchii parent lowland then i can grow them in lowland conditions 1 of my buddies said

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

veitchii and fusca are good temperature tolerators so no need to worry about that.
ventricosa is also one of the easiest one that can take LL and HL conditions.
You can get many variety from Fauzi alright...he's a nice guy.
BTW,
Welcome to our forum.

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Ok aliamyz i guess i dont need to do anything special to any of my plants but i currently put ice bottles around my vent hoping that it might help a little my vent jus came out with 2 basal shoots each has 3 leaves and 1 pitcher next few pitchers still developing.And bical really worth that much wan ah RM 150 very expensive lol making my wallet thinner and thinner im just 13 so cant grow my plants in top conditions but i'll try to do what i can do.Now my next 2 plants i wanna get is a N viking and N bicalcarata.I have to much time already everytime can on computer looking around both forums.

Ken

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Hi there Ken,

Just to add to what KC said. Fauzi also opens at Subang Parade during weekdays. If you want to see his nursery, you'll need to call him for an appointment. Or else you can ask him to bring the species you want to his stall in Subang Parade.

You really do not need to place ice bottles beside your ventricosa. They'll grow relatively well in our lowland conditions. According to C'hien Lee, vent are the most tolerant of the highlands to grow in lowland conditions.

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

I've heard that there is LL form of ventricosa.is that true?
Bicalcarata you can get it from Fauzi..
viking..neofarm!
Good luck...

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Marigold:Hope ur nep is in a better condition now.It is good practise to spray some protection every 1-2 weeks even tough the plant is healthy and without any pest.

You dont need to use poison chemical pesticides.You can use water mix with oil(you can use cooking oil leftovers which we normally throw away;no need to use new oil),water mix with soap,water mix with neem oil etc. Spray below the leaves because these is the vunerable area.Once the leave below is damaged,it is exposed to all sort of dieases which is not acctually from the pests it self.

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Thanx for the tips man..hope it helps in the future!

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

I'm back. Thanks for the advice everyone. I washed off the ventricosa and soaked it a couple times for several hours each time. (I used some soap on it, too) I have it planted in new media and so far it looks like it's doing ok.

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

I also did some research on trichoderma fungi. I really think it would help my venticosa heal faster. Does anyone here use trichoderma on their plants or know where to get any?

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Nop...sorry but you can still google it though!

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Sadly the ventricosa has died... :crying:

It's probably a sign though that I shouldn't buy more than one pot of each species. I don't know.

I'll be keeping the soil moist anyway in case it wants to regrow from the roots.

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Hi marigold

Its just sad to hear that your nep has probally gone to nepenthes heaven.......but just continue to do what you do and your nep might just might come back to life :p

Re: Whats wrong with my ventricosa?
 

Eh, it was a young TC plant, and it was probably weak trying to acclimate to my conditions.