Tropical pitcher plants: highland or lowland?

Tropical pitcher plants (Nepenthes) are climbing plants of the Old World tropics, centred on Southeast Asia. The genus is spread from Madagascar to Australia, with its greatest variety on Borneo, Sumatra and the Philippines, and its native range includes Malaysia. Unlike the Venus flytrap, they can be grown all year without a winter dormancy.

The first question to ask about any Nepenthes is where it grows. Species from roughly below 1,200 metres are called lowland; they like steady warmth with little difference between day and night. Species from higher up are highland; they need warm days but cool, humid nights all year, and they tend to struggle long-term in a hot lowland home without night cooling. Check the label or ask the seller before you buy.

Care follows the carnivorous rules: rainwater if you can, bright light, and fairly high humidity, though some easier species such as N. alata adapt to lower humidity. Unlike bog plants, Nepenthes prefer an open, airy mix, such as long-fibre sphagnum with perlite, charcoal or another porous material.

The plant makes two kinds of pitcher: large lower pitchers that sit near the ground, and upper pitchers, usually smaller and differently coloured, that form as the plant matures and climbs. A change in pitcher shape is normal growing up.