my pitcher plant has a strange growth on it?

Question

its a small pitcher plant, i just got it and i just put two 2' cool white flourescent lights on it and the old traps are dieing back and one very tall spike has grown up, it dwarfs the old traps and it doesnt look like a pitcher at all because its very flat(thin) and has a small hook at the top. it seems to grow about a half inch a day. im thrilled at the success of the plant but i dont want to mistake it for a flower stem because all other growth has ceased and i dont want it to flower.

Answer 1

It is not a flower. That is a leaf. The pitchers grow that way when they don't get enough light. I know, I've had plenty of them. Try putting the plant closer to the light or visa versa. A grow light fluorescent bulb (or 2) might help. There is some debate as to which is the better spectrum of light so buy what you can find. Walmart actually has some decent prices on them. Major hardware stores carry them too. A nursery doesn't always have the best price but may have the best bulbs. Long narrow growth is the plants effort to reach for the light. It is weird the way the throat of the pitcher grows so narrow. Plants will always drop the leaves that are not adapted to the current lighting situation and grow new ones that can more appropriately absorb the change in lighting. Since this leaf is still growing, it will be able to adapt to any light that you change soon. If the lighting is not changed, but the humidity and water are optimal, the plant can last 6 months to 2 years depending on how much energy it had stored up. Those skinny pitchers will not capture any bugs and the plant will need a minimum of 1 bug a year to survive. It may take some trial and error to get close to an appropriate lighting situation.