Nepentes - care at home and interesting facts about the plant predator

What kind of flower is it, the care at home and the rules of transplantation, all this must be known to the person who wants to have such an unusual plant in his house. Among all, it is different in that it is predatory and carnivorous. There are several species suitable for self-cultivation.

Predator nepenthes plant - description

In nature, the flower grows on poor soils and to survive, it must feed on insects. For this, there is a jug on each stem, which is filled with rainwater mixed with digestive enzymes. The main characteristics include the following facts:

  1. Nepentes is represented by a creeper and in a shrub form.
  2. The indoor plant of the jug-maker has two variants of leaves: with a convex median vein and the larvae. The size, shape and color of the latter directly depend on the species, and their length is 2.5-30 cm.
  3. The upper edge of the lilies is bent inside and covered with grooves of pink or lilac color. Thanks to special cells, sweet nectar is produced, which attracts insects.
  4. The victims drown in the digestive fluid, and the digestion process lasts 5-8 hours.
  5. The flowers of nepentes are inconspicuous, without petals and with tiny sepals. Fruits are represented by a leathery box, in which small seeds ripen.
  6. To grow non-pentes, care at home should be done with all the rules. He is demanding, so it is better for him to grow in a greenhouse or a "closed tropical window".

Nepentes - Interesting Facts

An unusual predatory plant a few years ago could be seen only in nature or in parks. There are several interesting facts about him:

  1. The name of the non-pentes comes from ancient mythology, where the so-called grass of oblivion was called.
  2. Another name is "hunting cups", and this is due to the fact that the liquid that is in the water lilies can be drunk, but only the upper level. With each pitcher you can get about a gulp of clean water.
  3. Often the liana parasitizes on trees to climb higher to the sun

Nepentes - Species

To date, there are many varieties of this flower miracle, for example, there are about 70 species on the territory of Asia, and there are about 20 on the island of Sumatra. Finding out where the non-pentes is growing, it is necessary to specify such territories as: Kalimantan Island and the Philippines, Australia, New Guinea and the Indochina Peninsula. Different variants are distinguished by their size and other parameters, and in flower nepenthes care is not different.

Nepentes Raja

This is the largest of the existing options, so water lilies can catch not only insects, but lizards and rats. The shoots of the creeper that spreads along the ground can reach up to 6 m in length. Carnivorous plants of the non-pendent Raja have another distinctive feature: petiolate leaves with antennae are on shoots at equal distances from each other. The length of water lilies can reach 50 cm or more, and their color is claret or purple.

Nepentes Attenborough

This species grows in a spreading shrub whose height is approximately 1.5 m. The skin leaves have a very short petiole and they are located alternately. Nepenthes-flytraps have large water-lilies, which can contain up to 1.5 liters of liquid. In length they reach 25 cm, and in diameter 12 cm. In the natural environment, Attenborough grows on the territory of the Philippines.

Nepentes Alata

This species is also called "winged" and it is the most common. It is represented by a bush, in which shoots can reach up to 4 m in length, and they are covered with lanceolate leaves of dark green color. The diameter of the water lilies is 5-8 cm, and they are painted green-red with specks. Jug of Alat - insectivorous plant grows on the territory of the Philippines.

Nepentes Sanguinea

Translated from the Latin language, the name of this species is translated as "blood red". In nature, it grows on the peninsular Malaysia and in the south of Thailand. The insectivorous plant Nepentes Sanguinea has water lilies of different sizes and they can reach a height of 10 to 30 cm. As for the color, it differs from green-yellow to orange-red. Inside the water lilies have spots and two main flowers.

Nepenthes - care

There are several basic points that need to be known to create ideal conditions for a "predator".

  1. If you bought non-pentes, home care means creating an ideal wet environment of 70-90%. If there is no special greenhouse, then you can use several methods. The simplest is frequent spraying with standing water and using a special moisturizer. Place a second pan filled with water under the pot, and place a container with liquid next to it.
  2. In the summer period, nursing involves fertilizing every three weeks. For this purpose, an ordinary floral fertilizer complex is suitable, but consider that the concentration should be less than three times. If you often fertilize the flower, the water lilies may stop forming.
  3. Nepenthes at home requires moderate temperature, but it is worth considering the specific type. Flowers growing in the lowlands need a temperature of 22-26 ° C in a warm time, and 18-20 ° C in a cold one. For mountain species in a warm time, keep 20 ° C, and in a cold - 15 ° C.
  4. It is important to protect the flower from direct sunlight and it is best to keep it on the windowsill on the east side.

Having a home of non-pentes, his care at home will include rules for protecting against possible diseases. If there is not enough light, the water lilies can not be formed at all. To spoil a plant it is possible, if for spraying to take chemical preparations. If instead of the right soil there will be only peat and moss, then chlorosis will develop. There may be such damage:

  1. Mealybug. Saccharous discharge and fungus are visible on the stem. As a result, non-pentes ceases to grow normally. For prevention, it is necessary to regularly carry out such care: inspect the stems and remove the dried leaves. It is proved that if you often wash the leaves, then the killer's defeat is reduced to a minimum. If the problem has arisen, but there are not many worms, they can be removed with a cotton swab, which you need to moisten in 60% alcohol or soapy water. Otherwise, you can purchase a special tool and process from the leaves and shoots every 8-10 days for 6 weeks.
  2. Aphid. The leaves start to turn yellow, and the flowers fall. Another symptom - on the surface of the leaves formed sugary discharge. To prevent aphids from affecting aphids, home care should include periodic airing, maintaining cleanliness and placing the pot in a bright place. The most harmless drug for removing aphids is a green potassium soap, 20 g of which is diluted in 1 liter of water. The resulting product is washed by the plant, covering the ground with a film.

Plant nepenthes - how to pick up the soil?

To the flower grew beautiful and not sick, you need to choose the right soil. Experts, answering the question concerning how to care for nepentes, recommend choosing the soil intended for orchids . You can make a suitable soil with your own hands, which mixes the leaf earth, sand and peat, in a proportion of 3: 1: 2. Still need to add sphagnum and charcoal. To grow a beautiful nepentes, care at home implies the use of soil with low acidity. When transplanting, it is important to change the ground.

How to water nepentes?

The plant requires compliance with some rules in the care, in order to organize the necessary watering at home:

  1. It is best to choose rainwater, but it can be replaced with boiled liquid with the addition of a small amount of salt.
  2. Watering rapacious nepentesy in the summer should be plentiful every 2-3 days. At other times, do it better in a couple of days after the top layer of the earth dries.
  3. Use the lower watering, which will help deliver more moisture to the roots and minimize the risk of fungus.

How to transplant non-pentes?

Carry out a transplant only if necessary, for example, if the roots have grown too much or a fungus has appeared. The diameter of the used dishes should not be less than 14 cm. The plant of the jug should be transplanted at home in the spring. If the bush is all right, it is simply transferred from one vessel to another, and otherwise it is important to clean the root system and rinse it with a distiller. At the end, a solution of Fundazol or Topaz is sprayed onto the leaves.

Nepentes - propagation by cuttings

This is the most popular type of reproduction, which is almost 100% effective at home. Cuttings are cut from the tips of shoots or strongly overgrown stems, making a cut slightly below the leaf plate obliquely. It is important that the shank has three sheet plates, which are cut halfway. The best way to grow non-pitta cuttings and care for them at home is to spend at the end of winter or early spring.

  1. Cuttings first followed by 30 min. place in a growth promoter solution.
  2. For rooting it is recommended to use moss-sphagnum , the fibers of which wind the cut and fix them with a thread. You can plant the cutting in a light soil to a depth of 0.5 cm.
  3. On top of the pot cover the kulk to make a hothouse. It should be ensured that the sun does not fall on it, and the temperature should be about 30 ° C. Cuttings need to be sprayed often, so that humidity is 90%.
  4. After half a month, it is recommended to spray Zircon growth stimulant (2-3 drops per 1 item of water).
  5. The rooting can last up to 1.5 months. If after 10 days the stalk darkened, then it did not start. A transplant can be carried out after a year.

How to grow non-pentes from seeds?

Generative, that is, seed reproduction is a simple process, but only if it is possible to obtain fresh seeds. It is important to consider that the seed material retains its germination capacity for 2-3 weeks, but no more. Do not believe the sellers in stores that offer to buy fresh seeds. To grow a beautiful nepence liana, consider the following rules of landing and care at home:

  1. Seeds should be spread over the surface of sphagnum, which must first be thoroughly washed and disinfected for three minutes in a microwave oven, and then moistened.
  2. It should be put in a plastic container, which should have drainage holes.
  3. Moisten the crops with a finely dispersed sprayer. Place the container in a plastic box, close the transparent cover to create the necessary humidity. Put it in the greenhouse under the phytolamp .
  4. Every day you need to ventilate the crops and measure the humidity (90-100%) and the temperature (20 ° C). When there are sprouts, their adaptation should be stretched for several weeks.