Question

Pitcher1  

Pitcher2   Hi Christopher.

I noticed you answered a similar question in 2008, but it looks like you had another question and, I just can't tell.  Is my nepethes dying?  I have two plants in the same pot.  It took a fall about 6 months ago when my husband was doing some work near it.  The pitchers all broke and no new ones came.  I moved the plant to a north facing window and voilla, I'm getting a bunch of new pitchers.  However, on the plant that is producing the new pitchers, I just noticed that the stem is turning brown and woody in the middle. Everything else is just fine.  And like I said, producing brand new pitchers.  Is this normal?

Answer
Hello Laurie,

The brown section of stem is oddly placed. While this does seem to indicate that a section of the plant is dying off, it may not necessarily mean the entire plant is dying. What may occur is the upper stem that is still green may remain alive for months. Some Nepenthes can experience die off of sections, even losing contact with their roots, and become almost a true epiphyte. In this case, you may be able to clip the live section back and let it root for a couple of months in a vase of water like you would with an ivy clipping.