I say leave it alone. In my experience, many of the pitchers on a shipped or new plant end up dying anyways. Just grow the plant properly and it will fill the pitchers and produce more by itself in a relatively short time.

I like to think about how that plant evolved too. The pitchers have lids, so diretly filling Nep pitchers with water is not entirely natural - though some do open pretty wide. Clearly filling pitchers of many sarrs and heliamphora would be quite natural by this way of thinking.

Thanx for the advise!!

Ye I notice my N. Ventricosa keeps its lid quite low, but open enough for prey to climb into, yet the Judith Finn and Sanguinea have their lids almost upright.
I would image under heavy rain that these lids would not offer much protection in keeping the water out.

Thanx once again

Sheldon

I am just amazed at N x Judith Finn. Remarkably striking plant. As you say, the pitchers open wide...and that incredible red peristome! My only problem is that mine is starting to get pretty darn big. I've got a rather large growing chamber (about 5' tall), but I'm going to have to get the plant climbing or something. Then the lighting gets a little trickier, as there is a kind of shelving layers within the chamber. I dont know, they are wire shelves so I could probably train the plant to grow up and through them.

Hey joe

I'm growing all of mine indoors in pots (no chambers), the Ventricosa, Sanguinea and J Finn seem very tough, they are doing well in the 40% humidity in this room.
You could always cut your one down to stop vining and then grow the cutting you take into new plants?
I should image these plants should grab onto the shelving quite easily if you try and train them.

I looked at the pics that Cooks has as well as others online of young J Finns, it does indeed look like the pics, I was wondering where the red peristome is but red this happens as the plant matures.

Feel free to post pics of your Neps if ya have.

Cheers

Sheldon

I would fill the pitchers with water. They probably won't digest anything, but the plant can use the water in the pitchers if it gets dehydrated, which it might be depending on how your plants were shipped.

My Judith Finn gets red peristome with a little late afternoon sun.

Nice

Thanx so much for the info, I got the same reply from Jacob and Jeff at Cobraplant.com
Since the fresh liquid from a new pitcher is neutral on the PH scale, and then gets acidic via the plant.
I wonder if the plant would make the water acidic as time went on, especially if something fell in the pitcher and movement was sensed.

Cheers

Sheldon

I had the same question when I purchase a nepenthes from Peter Damato If you dont know who Peter is go to his web site www.californiacarnivores.com I emailed peter cause the plant I purchase from him came in with no liquid in them due to shipping.

He adv me to place some distille water in the pitchers as the pitcher still make there own enzymes cuase per peter damato distille water is very neutral.

This was about 3 months ago and the plant is doing extremely well and has caught ants and gnats as well the ptichers are still blooming so in my experience distill watre will be benefitial for catching insectes.

Thank you for the reply!!!! excellent!

This is what I was thinking, since the liquids the plant makes when the pitcher is forming is neutral to start with, surely the distilled water would be made acidic by the plant in the same manner by the released enzymes.

Cheers

Sheldon

Distilled water will no harm the pitchers at any point if anything it will keep the pitchers from drying out. It is my experince and I will take Peter Damatos suggestions any time as he has been growing cp's for 40 years now.

as times goes by the plat repalces the water with its own liquids anyways due to so many ants and gants it will catch.

I still don't see why you would do it. I mean, sure you can - but why? As you say, it doesn't do any harm. I agree with that, but I don't see the plant drawing on liquid from the pitcher to fend off dehydration either. If it is doing that, then you aren't taking care of your neps properly! ;)

I've given pitchers water in the past, and also not given new neps water in the pitchers. The result after a few months is really no difference at all. Given that, there are always more important issues to focus on with my plants than filling up nep pitchers...like trying to get my damn orchid to bloom! ;)

I've been leaving the pitchers on my mail-ordered Nepenthes alone. Some of them blacken or shrivel (I cut them off), but most of them just fill themselves back up again.