Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 19:43:31 PST From: "Zachary Kaufman" <zkaufman@hotmail.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg199$foo@default> Subject: Nepenthes madagascariensis
I too have had a lot of difficulty with this plant. Originally, I
was growing N. madagascariensis in a long-fiber sphagnum/orchid bark/
perlite/lava rock mix. The plant kept getting bigger and bigger,
but at the same time, each new leaf produced was a lighter shade of
green. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I tried it in
various environments, but could never seem to please it. Finally,
when it was on death's doorstep, I decided to transplant it to new
media. It certainly was done for in its current state.
When I removed the plant from the pot and began washing away the
media I got a heck of a surprise. The base of the stem was not at all
what I had expected. It looked as if the madagascariensis had losts
its root system, re-rooted and then lost its root system again. I
decided to try a different media. I cut into the plant's stem in
several places with a knife to aid rooting and potted up, burrying
most of the stem in a 50/50 peat/perlite mix.
The N. madagascariensis recovered, but seeing that its not in the
most ideal of conditions currently [light and humidity starved], its
kind of hard to pass any sort of judgement on the growth potential of
this plant. I certainly can't account for why its root system would
collapse. It wasn't kept overly wet. Is this a common problem with
this plant?
--Zachary--
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