>>"umbrella" a few days after they open. That is, the rim pops down so
>>in cross section they are bent outwards from the center. Does anyone know
>>a general cause for this, ie to warm, humidity too low or high etc?
I believe this is normal. All the plants I have that still have juvenile
pitchers display this characteristic, reguardless of species. Some are in warm
(70-75F) while others are in cool window sills (50-65F), all with high
humidity. Adult pitchers appear suddenly and look like what I'd seen in
photographs. What I find to be odd is that it seems like a couple of my plants
alternate. I've got a H. minor that has put out two adult pitchers, but they
alternated with two "umbrella" style pitchers with thin, straight tubes. I
have a hybrid that only had adult pitchers until the other day (although in
this case it might be a new crown). For me, H. heterodoxa x nutans took
several months longer than other varieties of a similar age, to produce an
adult pitcher - but what an odd pitcher it is!
I successfully rooted a cutting of H. heterodoxa x nutans this winter. I just
snipped a crown, dipped it in rootone and stuck the cutting in a pot of freshly
harvested live spagnum and kept it covered all winter. Only problem was
keeping the moss from over growing it.
James.