Baby Pitcher has gone "loopy".

[Junebug]

This Nepanthes "Pitcher Plant" was purchased from Walmart about 5 months ago and since then has tripled in size. It is a fascinating plant. Each leaf ends with a stem and produces an individual pitcher which grows to about 6 inches in length. Water collects in the pitchers and gets mixed with the plant's enzymes. When an unsuspecting insect falls into the pitcher he cannot escape and becomes plant food. Usually the pitcher is formed on the tip of straight stems emerging from the leaf, but this little guy has a loop and then a pitcher.

[isurus79]

Pitchers are sooo cool and they do such a great job of keeping ant populations in check. Ive been looking for one here in Honolulu but to no avail! Gotta keep looking!

[camille1585]

That's cool! I really love Nepanthes. In Lyon there is a one in the city's greenhouses that did something unheard of. A mouse (yes, a mouse) fell into one of the pitchers, and the plant digested the entire thing in a few months. There were scientists constantly watching it, even though it stank so bad!
The pitcher wore itself out digesting it, and once it finished it died.

[Tindomul]

Wow, that must be the great Nepenthes rajah!!! I know that one is capable of "eating" mice. hehe. Great growing Junebug! I am soooooo envious. This is truly a must have for the exotic plant collector.

[Junebug]

Originally Posted by isurus79

Pitchers are sooo cool and they do such a great job of keeping ant populations in check. Ive been looking for one here in Honolulu but to no avail! Gotta keep looking!

Mine is very fond of small wasps. It's very hardy for a tropical plant and seems to be thriving since being planted in Coir. I water and mist the leaves every 3 or 4 days, but it's tolerant if I sometimes forget. It also survived being left out one night when our temperature dropped to 32 degrees. I thought for sure the baby pitchers would die but both the leaves and the pitchers are just fine. You can order them on-line if you can't find them in your local stores. They'd love your climate. Good Luck!

[Sandy4453]

If you're amazed at how big it's already gotten, just wait till the weather warms up a bit, Junebug! These are fun and help keep the plants nearby, clean of insects. Mine got too huge for my growing space and ened up being donated to a neighbor.

Here's a pic of mine.

Enjoy! It looks great in that basket.

[Junebug]

Originally Posted by Sandy4453

If you're amazed at how big it's already gotten, just wait till the weather warms up a bit, Junebug! These are fun and help keep the plants nearby, clean of insects. Mine got too huge for my growing space and ened up being donated to a neighbor.

Here's a pic of mine.

Enjoy! It looks great in that basket.

Thank you. When purchased, mine was healthy, but displayed in a 5" white plastic pot with plastic hanger. Uck! Ugly! Ugly! Ugly! When it began outgrowing the pot I was relieved to transplant it into the Coco Husk lined 12" wire basket. I tried Coir as the potting medium and have been very pleased. The plant has tripled in size. Most of the original pitchers have dried up, but there are probably about 30 or so new ones in various stages of maturity.