My daughter recently bought a tiny Pitcher Plant. I've got in under a grow light, sitting in a saucer that always has a tiny bit of water in it. When the daytime temperature goes above 20 degrees Celcius, I put it outside where I am hoping some tiny ants wander in to it. I am now wondering, is there a way to tell for sure if the plant is getting enough food? Does it give some sign when it is "hungry"? Thinking ahead to winter when it is always indoors, surrounded by a moat of water, how will it get food?
Here are some photos of the Pitcher plant. Inside, I use an old lid from a yogurt container as a saucer, which always has a bit of water in it. Today, it was outside on a bench beside some Bitter Melon plants, right in the middle of an ant highway. When I watch them, they are always going back and forth along the stems of the Bitter Melon, so they find the Pitcher Plant pretty quick. The third photo shows an ant exploring the outside the rim of the pitcher. I've seen several go inside, explore just inside the pitcher, and then come back out. Hopefully, when I'm not watching, the Pitcher Plant is getting some ants, or other insects. Question: is it normal for the tops of the plant to yellow? Or is that a sign that they are getting too much direct sunshine? Or not enough?
These plants still mostly consume CO2 and water as their food. They "eat" insects only if they manage to get some, for obtaining some minerals (the natural habitat of the plant is poor of minerals). But these minerals can be obtained also by roots. And there are special fertilizers, that can be applied directly inside the pitchers. So there is no need to feed the plant with insects.
