Q/A #97 - Nepenthes Leaves Getting Smaller?

June 11, 2023

Q/A #97 - Nepenthes Leaves Getting Smaller?

QUESTION:
I've had a Nepenthes sanguinea for about 8 months. My plant is growing in an east facing window with about 2 hours of direct sun and the rest of the day bright filtered light. A mix of sphagnum moss and perlite. Bottled distilled water. No fertilizers. Repotted it last week. My plant has started growing smaller leaves. I’ve had it in the same conditions the whole 8 months it always did the best out of all my tropical plants, but out of nowhere it started to grow very small leaves. What's going on?
(Submitted in June 2021.)


RESPONSE BY JEFF DALLAS:
They don't really appear to be getting smaller to me. That's a new shoot coming up. In horticulture, we call these basal shoots because they sprout up near the base of the plant. These new shoots will have smaller leaves at first. As the shoot grows, leaves will get as large as the other leaves on the main vine. So, your plant is actually growing larger!



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