Caring for the predatory liana nepentes

To grow a predatory plant in an apartment is really to surprise the whole world. The most patient and attentive growers choose nepentes. The already difficult care of this exotic liana is complicated by the search for a flying "fertilizer", but an incredible miracle appears in the house - a garland of jugs.

The wild-growing exotic liana is widespread in the tropical regions of East Asia, especially on the island of Kalimantan, a lot of variegated vessels. The plant got its official botanical name from ancient Greek mythology from "nepenth" - the herb of oblivion, and among flower growers it is also known under the names "monkey cup", "Asian jug".

Vine appearance

Nepentes, or a pitcher, looks very outlandish: a low basal rosette of elongated leathery leaves of a rich green color forms long lignified or grassy pagons, climbing tens of meters up the tree trunks to the sun.

The second type of leaves has a colorful structure: the lower part near the petiole is flattened and wide, it plays the role of a photosynthetic organ, and then the leaf blade becomes thinner, turning into a tendril that wraps around the trunk or branch of a tree. At its end, a trap-vessel for hunting for insects is formed, similar to a bright flower measuring from 2.5 to 30 cm in various species. "Jugs" are painted in variegated shades, they are red, light green with purple spots, milky white with crimson stains, cherry-brown in light stripes.

On the outer side of the vessel, in some species, a series of denticles stretches longitudinally; the entrance to the jug is usually thickened and bordered with grooved claws directed inward, and also covered with a leaf-lid. A victim caught in this natural container gets stuck in sticky nectar and has no chance of getting out.

Nondescript, petal greenish-brown flowers of nepentes, male and female, are formed on the same plant and are collected in paniculate or racemose inflorescences at the ends of the shoots. Appear in most species from May to August. The fruit is a multichamber capsule with small seeds.

Notable types of nepentes

In the genus Nepenthes of the monotypic family, the Nepentaeae, there are 7 plant species, and about 250 hybrids of predatory pitchers are in uncertainty regarding their classification. Only a few of them are recommended for growing at home, which have a fairly compact size:

• alata, or winged - with bright light green jugs with a scarlet speck;
• Madagascar - with crimson vessels;
• raflesi - with pale green jugs with longitudinal red stripes;
• graceful - with green cylindrical vessels with red or dark emerald specks;
• large - with yellow-green jugs;
• Attenborough - with bright light green vessels in a uniform dashed grid;
• two-spur - one of the most attractive types with jugs of different colors - orange, green or scarlet.

Planting nepentes indoors

Transplantation of adult plants is carried out, if necessary, in February-March. Young, newly rooted seedlings are replanted annually. On the eve of transplantation, long shoots are cut to the lower well-developed bud. The root system of nepentes is fragile, so they try to disturb it as little as possible during the transplant process.Often the plant is transferred into a larger vessel, filling the space between the earthen lump and the walls with fresh substrate.

As flower containers for growing nepentes, plastic or ceramic pots with drainage holes at the bottom are used, as well as orchid baskets and hanging pots.

The soil mixture is acidic with a pH of 3.5 to 4.5. The best option is to purchase a special soil for carnivorous plants at a flower shop. However, every florist is quite capable of independently preparing a soil mixture for planting a pitcher.

The main components of the substrate for nepentes:

• 3 volumes of leafy land;
• 2 volumes of peat;
• 1 volume of sand.

The following version of the soil mixture is also possible:

• 2 volumes of high-moor peat;
• 2 volumes of perlite;
• 1 volume of vermiculite.

The ingredients are mixed and some charcoal is added. A drainage layer of expanded clay is poured at the bottom. Sphagnum is placed on top of the substrate to retain moisture.

Care of the pitcher

The peculiarities of caring for nepentes at home are, first of all, in a special method of feeding, as well as in the need to maintain a humid microclimate in the room.

• Lighting and temperature

A permanent growing place for nepentes, as for most carnivorous plants, is chosen light, next to windows oriented to the south or east. The plant should be protected from the scorching rays of the sun. In the off-season, nepentes needs to arrange good lighting for at least 16 hours throughout the day.

Temperature preferences differ from species to species. Nepentes are conventionally divided into two groups: naturally growing in mountainous areas and in lowlands. The latter are more thermophilic, and prolonged drops in temperature lead to their death. The temperature range for growing them in the warm season is 22-27 degrees Celsius, in winter - 18-20, but not less than 16 degrees above zero. For "mountain" species, respectively, summer temperatures - 18-21, winter - 12-15 degrees.

The rest period in nepentes at home is forced and is associated with a decrease in daylight hours and low humidity due to the operation of the heating system.

• Watering and air humidity

Indoor nepentes is more demanding on air humidity, but it also will not tolerate drying out of the substrate. Some growers claim that nepentes in an apartment can only be kept in a small room greenhouse or florarium. However, experts object and believe that the hybrids bred by the breeders are quite adapted to the microclimate of an ordinary apartment - it is enough to place a moisture source next to the plant and spray it regularly.

In hot summer weather, nepentes are watered abundantly, giving preference to the collected rain moisture, or well defending tap water. They try to prevent neither drying out nor waterlogging of the substrate. To maintain the required air humidity, pots with nepentes are placed on pallets with wet pebbles or expanded clay, and are also regularly sprayed. In winter, water with caution, especially at temperatures below 16 degrees Celsius, and a small amount of irrigation water.

Advice

In dry air during the heating season, the jugs are monitored - if they lose turgor, water is poured into 1/3 of the volume.

Fertilizers for nepentes: common and not quite

Feeding a pitcher pot is significantly different from fertilizing other indoor crops. In nature, a carnivorous plant gets its own food on its own. Many growers do not fertilize the soil, but feed their pet, supplying it once a month with half-living mosquitoes or flies, putting it in jugs, but not in all - half of the total number of those requiring food. The other half are fed the next month.

Each jug retains the ability to digest a certain amount of food, after which it loses the function of a "stomach" for the plant and remains as a decoration.If you put food in such a "spent" vessel, it will rot under the influence of a decomposing insect and die.

During the period when it is not possible to get live food for the plant, nepentes is fed once a month with a complex mineral fertilizer, diluted in a dose that is three times lower than that indicated on the package by the manufacturer.

Reproduction of nepentes: simple ways

It is easy to grow a pitcher from seeds, the difficulty lies in obtaining planting material. Nepentes seeds remain viable for 2-3 weeks and are rarely found on the market. If you still manage to get them, sowing is carried out without delay in wet and disinfected sphagnum (it is recommended to hold it for 2-3 minutes in the microwave).

Seeds are distributed evenly and sparsely on the surface of the moss, and moisture is regularly sprayed over them from a spray bottle. Containers with crops are covered with plastic wrap and maintain high humidity and a temperature of at least 20 degrees Celsius. Remember to air daily. The emerging seedlings are grown and gradually adapted to the conditions of the apartment over several weeks. Only grown plants are loaded into independent containers.

Propagation of nepentes by cuttings is an easier way than seed. After shortening the pagon, fragments with three leaves are selected, and the topmost leaf is pinched off from the apical cuttings. Before planting, the shoot is immersed for half an hour in Kornevin, then the cut is sprinkled with crushed charcoal.

The substrate for germinating cuttings is made up of the following components:

• 3 volumes of coconut fiber;
• 2 volumes of sphagnum moss;
• 5 volumes of peat;
• a small amount of vermiculite.

The cuttings are buried 5 mm into the substrate and covered with polyethylene or glass on top, periodically ventilated and regularly moistened, kept in a bright place at a temperature of at least 23 degrees Celsius. After a couple of weeks, spill the substrate with a solution of "Zircon": 2-3 drops in a glass of distilled water. Rooting takes place for 1.5-2.5 months. New specimens are transplanted into a substrate for adult plants no earlier than a year later.

During transplantation, it is allowed to divide the bush into several parts, but with this method of propagation, you should be extremely careful with the roots so as not to damage them. It is better to divide the bush by lowering the earthen lump into warm, settled water so that the root system painlessly gets rid of the softened substrate.

Diseases and pests of nepentes

In the process of caring for a jug, problems often arise.

• Brown or red spots on foliage indicate fungal infection. The plant is treated with fungicides, which, unfortunately, it does not tolerate well.
• A blackened stem and shriveled leaves are a sign of waterlogging. Nepentes is unlikely to be saved, but it is worth trying to root more cuttings.
• Yellowed leaves remind the exotic owner that it's time to arrange feeding.
• Brownish-red spots on foliage appear as a result of burns under the scorching rays of the sun.
• From a lack of lighting, nepentes stretches out and stops forming jugs.

The insectivorous plant, paradoxical as it sounds, also suffers from pests - aphids and mealybugs.

An unusual liana requires specific care that differs from the traditional agricultural technology of indoor plants, but it brings an unsurpassed effect of tropical exoticism to the interior.