Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 13:35:48 -0700 From: Steve Hinkson <sphinkson@worldnet.att.net> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2770$foo@default> Subject: Nepenthes cuttings
Steve:
Is your giant vine one of the Nepenthes that's hanging? I have found
that pitcher production
is often light related. When my plants won't pitcher, or the pitchers
are smallish, it's usually because in my quest for increased humidity,
I've reduced their light level too much. I live in the desert, and the
outdoor realitive humidity runs 8 to 10% in summer, but I have good
pitchers usually in summer too, and with a uv index of 10, they're
highly colored. If I don't mist, however, they brown at the tops when
the humitity is so very low.
As to your cuttings, grow them in the brightest light you can without
cooking them (no direct sun while enclosed) I improved my cutting
success rate when i began to "wound" the stem before adding the rooting
hormone. I just recut the cutting, and remove a bit of the "skin"
exposing the cambium about 1/3 inch up the stem, then dust with a light
coat of powder.
Straight perlite, or sphaginum work best for rooting.
Interestingly, someone here mentioned using clear containers to root
cuttings, so you can see the new roots when they form. I hadn't done
that, but I will. I have always used orchid seedling pots (clay with
holes or slots cut in the sides) and used new growth to determine root
status.
We're having a record "cold" summer, here, too. Normal is 107 for July,
and we've had more than 18 days below 100.
Hope I helped, a bit,
Steve
-- Drop by and see me at : http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/6811Hi:
I've had some good results with Nepenthes lately. A few weeks ago, I hooked hangers to all my Nepenthes pots and hung them from my greenhouse
ceiling, where it is much brighter. To my surprise, they are all doing better. And, at least two Nepenthes have gone from an all-around green color to showing some red now. One new pitcher is almost all red.
I'm going to be hooking up an overhead misting system to turn on four times a day for a minute or so each time. That should help out with the
lack of humidity the plants get in the greenhouse. One of the problems has been that the greenhouse cooling fan sucks the air out of the greenhouse, along with the moisture.
Another thing I've noticed about feeding them tubifex worm cubes...they do put out decent growth with this kind of food. However, feeding them insects tends to make them grow faster and bigger than tubifex.
I still have a large Nepenthes with its six-foot vine, lots of basal growth, and no pitchers. It simply refuses to pitcher. So, I'm planning to cut up the main vine, which should make about 15 to 20 cuttings. I'm sure somebody has done this before. I have the book "Carnivorous Plants of the World" which tells how to do it. My only question is, once the cuttings are made, planted, and baggied...do I grow them in low, moderate, or high light conditions? Who has had success with this?
---Steve Klitzing
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