Question

Drops of clear stuff  

Soil   Hi,

    What is the clear drops of liquid on my nepenthes leaves. When I touched it it was sticky and when I licked it, it was sweet. Also should I replace the soil that it's in and whats the white stuff?

Answer
Hi Eric,

The drops are nectar that Nepenthes make to attract ants and other insects.  However, it can also indicate early stages of either a Thrip or scale attack.  It would be good to get a hand lens and look carefully to see if you see any tiny, long-bodies insects, or little raised bumps on the undersides of leaves.  The two most common scale insects that Nepenthes get are soft brown scale which just look like little brown raised bumps that squish when you push on them, or white hibiscus scale that look like powdery white bumps in groups.  If you find any of these pests, you'll need to spray for them, and treat any other Nepenthes or houseplants you have.

The soil in this pot is coarse peat moss which big nurseries use sometimes.  It's simply sphagnum that hasn't broken down all the way into peat moss.  It looks fairly fresh, so there's no hurry on transplanting.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.growcarnivorousplants.com