Simple question...

[Pananep]

Hey there, I was wondering if someone could give me some advice here. I have an N. 'Red Leopard' that a friend gave me some time ago as a cutting from the tip of a climbing vine. After a very long wait it has finally put out a basal shoot. Here is a picture...

My question is the following: If I cut off the climbing vine, would this encourage faster and better growth of the basal? I know the plant is probably putting a lot of energy into the climbing vine so it can put out a flower stalk. I don't have any other neps that are even close to flowering any time soon, so hybridizing is out of the question. I was wondering if by cutting the vine it would redirect this energy into basal growth and production of basal pitchers. Also, I know I can get many cuttings from this vine, which I have also been waiting to do.
I also wanted to know if cuttings from this vine will continue to grow as climbing vines or as basal shoots... Anyways, any advice would be very appreciated, thanks!

[arvin555]

I'm no expert because I have only maybe 3 to 4 times experience on this, with Alata and Veitchii species.

1. Yes I do find that the basals do grow faster after I cut the main vine. With the Veitchii the faster growth was more obvious.

2. Most of my Altas I only got 1 cutting fom the main vine because for some reason the main vine would become woody quickly. The Veitchii however I was able to make 4 cuttings, but the bottom most cutting is not doing well now. I figured out of 4 cuttings if I end up with 1 plant then I'm break even, if I end up with 2 plants, then I'm up 1 plant already.

I really didn't want to cut the veitchii main vine because it was the longest vine of my collection, but I was hoping to propagate them so that I can share/trade with fellow CPers in my Country.

TTFN
Arvin

[Aliamyz]

Pananep,
Nep.xRed leapord (ventricosa x maxima) is a very vigorous grower so your cuttings will be just fine.In my experience, my ventrata basal shoots did grow a little faster and the stems get thicker after i cut off the main growing point.
The cuttings, however will not produce lower pitchers but the basal will...!!
Keep us update and good luck!

[Cindy]

Pananep,
When the basal is first produced, it is sustained with food from the main vine. When it is large enough, it will make its own food. Your basal looks big enough to not to have to fight with the main vine for food. Just keep the plant in bright light as much as possible. That will allow the plant to make enough food for both the vine as well as the basal.


From what I see in your pic, your plant is already a upper vine cutting when it is given to you i.e. with green upper pitchers. So the basal shoot produced will started climbing very soon.

If you want to take cuttings of the vine, they are most likely to produce intermediate to upper pitchers than lower pitchers. The cuttings will not go back to producing only lower pitchers.

[arvin555]

Hey I didn't know that about cuttings and pitcher types! Nice info to know! Thanks Cindy. Now my problem is that in some of my nepenthes I love the shape of the lowers than the uppers. So I really should keep most of the original basals.

TTFN
Arvin

[Pananep]

Thanks everybody for your replies/advice. I've been wanting to cut off the main vine for a while now, both for growth of the basal shoot as well as to take some cuttings and gain some experience doing that. The problem is I never get myself to actually go through with it hehe. I'm sure it will happen sometime soon though.
Ok, one more question though... Sun here in Panama is quite intense, my outdoor neps get about 3-4 hours of direct morning sunlight on sunny days with the rest of the day getting bright light. I wanted to know if a nep of larger size like my N. RL woulb fend off fine with direct sunlight all day, which is until about 5-6 PM.
Cindy, thanks for the tip on the cuttings. I remember somebody telling me or reading somewhere before about how cuttings from a climbing vine continue to climb, but that was a while ago and I just wanted to make sure.
Alright then, later!

[Cindy]

Neps would be able to take even full sun if you acclimatise them to it over a period of time i.e. increasing the intensity bit by bit. I have seen plants in the wild and they are just out there in the open. No shade for the entire day and they are thriving with lots of pitchers. The only drawback is the leaves will get the sunspots and won't look as good as when they have more shade. N. x 'Red leopard' is a tough plant so I think it will do very well in brighter light.

But having said that, I am not sure about the ambient humidity in Panama. Where Neps are found naturally, the humidity can be quite high even in the open.