Nepenthes ventrata, the most widespread carnivorous plant with urns

Nepenthes ventrata grows in the lowland forests of the Philippines. A natural hybrid of Nepenthes alata and Nepenthes ventricosa, it has inherited the former's swollen urns and the latter's ringed peristome. This is the variety most frequently found in the trade.

How to recognize Nepenthes x ventrata?

Nepenthes ventrata is a terrestrial carnivorous plant with a drooping habit. It grows up to two meters high and 80 centimeters wide. In pots, its dimensions are more modest.

The sparse leaves grow in a rosette on a hairy stem. Light green and lanceolate, they have a marked yellow vein, as in nepenthes gaya. A tendril hangs from the tip.

It supports the trap: an urn that can measure up to 20 centimetres. Red or green ascidians are surmounted by an operculum of the same color. Younger ascidians are covered in fine down. But their white or red hairs disappear over time. The entrance to the trap, called the peristome, is wavy and bright red.

When it flowers, Nepenthes ventrata is adorned with clusters of red flowers. These then give rise to the fruit, a leathery capsule.

Like many carnivorous plants, Nepenthes ventrata is not toxic to us or our pets. Only small creatures, such as insects, risk falling into its trap and being dissolved by the digestive fluid.

Our maintenance tips

To produce its urns, your Nepenthes ventrata needs light, heat and humidity. But even when these three parameters are under control, your carnivorous plant will have to adapt to its new growing conditions. You'll probably have to wait a few weeks, even months, before witnessing the birth of the traps.

Watering

The substrate must always be kept moist. Water with non-calcareous water at room temperature. You can use rainwater or demineralized water.

Your Nepenthes ventrata appreciates abundant watering. The amount of water should correspond to the size of the pot.

After watering, drain off any stagnant water in the saucer. It will rot the roots.

Spray

Your Nepenthes x ventrata appreciates a misting of its foliage and fruit. Spray it with non-calcareous water at room temperature. In addition to improving humidity, you'll prevent the appearance of pests.

Repotting

In spring, transfer your Nepenthes x ventrata to a larger pot, so that it can continue to grow.

Get a plastic pot with holes, larger than the previous one. If your Nepenthes ventrata has reached its adult size, there's no need to change containers. Clean the old one and reuse it.

Fill the bottom with a light, draining substrate. You can choose a commercially available potting soil for carnivorous plants. If you want to make your own growing medium, mix 70% sphagnum moss or blond peat with perlite, vermiculite or non-limestone sand.

Plant your Nepenthes ventrata and fill the pot with potting soil. Your plant loves to climb! Install a wooden stake so it can hang its aerial roots and grow straight.

Pack the substrate lightly without suffocating the roots. Rather than using your hands, tap the bottom of your pot against the table two or three times. Mist the soil with non-calcareous water and wait 24 hours before watering.

To improve humidity, place your pot on a saucer filled with moist clay balls. You can also cover the surface of the substrate with live sphagnum moss.

Prune

To encourage the growth of your Nepenthes ventrata, prune regularly.

Cut urns completely dry using a clean pair of scissors or pruning shears.

Shorten the stem if it dries out. Cut off the brown part and keep only the green.

Cutting

Cutting is carried out during the strong growth phase, generally in spring and early summer.

Cut green sections from the main stem. They should have at least three or four leaves.

To enable the plant to concentrate on root production, remove the urns and remove about two-thirds of each leaf. You can also remove the limbs at the base.

Surround the base of your cutting (the lower part) with living sphagnum moss. You can form a ball around the stem or plant your young shoot in a plastic pot-bin lined with sphagnum moss.

Then provide your Nepenthes ventrata with a warm, moist atmosphere. If you don't have a bathroom with a window, grow your cutting in a smothered environment. Place it in a terrarium or in a zipped food bag, which you open for a few minutes each day.

Disease / Threat

Mealybugs

Information

Family	Nepenthaceae - Nepenthaceae
Type	Nepenthes - Nepenthes
Species	Nepenthes ventrata - Nepenthes x ventrata
Lifecycle	Perennial
Foliage	Evergreen
Exposure	Sun
Substrat	Humus soil
Planting method	In pots
Categories	Climber Interior Herbaceous Hanging plants
Tags	Fritillary Soiffarde
Origin	Southeast Asia
Hardiness (USDA)	11b
Leaf color
Flower colors
Fruit color