A few months back I read a CPN article by Joe Mazrimas on rooting
Nepenthes in water (Volume 24, Number 4). It intrigued me, so I thought
I'd give it a try.
I took a cutting from my N. ventricosa on March 2. I put it in a clear
plastic cup filled to the rim with distilled water and placed it in my
heated propagator. No rooting hormones or fungicides of any kind were
used, I just put the fresh cutting straight into the cup, the cut was
exposed to air for less than a minute. All the leaves except the last
two were trimmed as well (it was a small cutting so I only had to trim
two leaves, the remaining parts of the leaves served as convenient arms
that held the cutting in place in the cup at a constant angle and
depth).
The propagator's top and sides are clear so I was able to observe what was
happening in the cup without removing the top. It received bright light all
day and direct sunlight in the afternoon, but since the humidity inside it is
so high there are water droplets all over the surface of the propagator and I
think these acted as a type of shading. The only maintenance I've given the
cutting is to top off the water in the cup when it evaporated. Well here's
the update as of this morning, the cutting has four roots, two are an inch
long, one is half an inch, and the newest one is a quarter of an inch. It's a
success!
Not only do I like the fact that I can observe the root development
without disturbing the plant with this method, but it is much faster
than any conventional soil method I've used with Nepenthes cuttings, and
so far it's 100% successful but that's probably beginner's luck. :-)
It seems so straight forward that it can't possibly work but give it a
try, you might be happily surprised by the results, I know I was. Good
luck.
Regards,
Demetrios