Light for Nepenthes cuttings.

[Richard Hole]

Hi

For Nepenthes cuttings grown in a ventilated terrarium, do you think just the Solarweave white plastic that blocks out 50% light and sun would be enough or do you suggest that I also have a 70% shade cloth in addition to that? I plan to grow the cuttings in a terrarium made from a fish tank. It will have water below the level of the pots to provide humidity and it will have about half an inch gap at the top for ventilation. The pots will sit on a shelf above about 2 inches of water. As the plants are not sitting in the water I may have to water them every couple of weeks from the top.

I live in the tropics on the Atherton Tableland's at 757 meters altitude near Cairns.

Your help is appreciated,
Regards Richard.

[arvin555]

Hi Richard,

Just a suggestion, please try to post a photo of your setup so that people will have a better idea of how you plan to do it. Also what species do you plan to make cuttings from?

I imagine that your current system is okay for cutting, I am not too sure but heck no need for a shade cloth I imagine. Most of my cuttings have water trays under them to make sure that the medium is always moist, Shawn has actually been doing water rootings of his cuttings with success, but the rate of success might be dependent on the species.

TTFN
Arvin

[markjacob]

Hello,
I read that honey is good as a rooting hormone to strike some cuttings. Has anyone tried it on Nepenthes and if so did it work well?

[marvin1997]

Well I tried once with Vfts but they they dried because I didn't water them but you can still try! Sometimes I put honey on the roots of neps when repotting and well I don't noticed any negative effect

[Robert]

Richard, your method may work but i have never try. I root cuttings with moist sphagnum moss, water when the media dried up. keep under cool shade and it works.

[Richard Hole]

Hi Markjacob and others that are interested,

Thanks for your interest in trying to strike Nepenthes with honey. It is amazing that I asked an almost identical question earlier. For a start I thought it was me that wrote your question.

At https://forum.petpitcher.net/showthread.php?t=3301 I asked
"On another note, has anyone found that honey is good to strike Nepenthes cuttings? I asked about this a while back."
On an earlier thread at https://forum.petpitcher.net/showthread.php?t=3029 I asked
"I have read and heard that some cuttings can be struck by using honey as a root hormone by rubbing a small amount of it on the node where the roots would grow from. See http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf23099231.tip.html
Could this work for Nepenthes?"

I had some feedback about this on the above links. However, I have not found anyone who tried honey for Nepenthes yet. However, a few days ago I tried it on some of my Nepenthes Alata cuttings. I will let you know how it goes.

I also posted the question at http://www.cpukforum.com/forum/lofiv...hp/t34654.html a while back and received some feedback.

Also, please see my recent question where I ask how much the potting mix should be compacted for Nepenthes. The answers could help us save potting mix. See https://forum.petpitcher.net/showthre...5627#post25627 .

Robert, I would be interested to know how much you compact your sphagnum moss for the Nepenthes cuttings.

Your help is appreciated
Regards Richard.

[Robert]

Hi Richard, for most neps species/hybrids i use pelite and sphagnum moss, and i don't push or squeeze while placing them into the pot, only press down softly. Over a period of time watering tend to make the media compact which i usually loosen the media along the sides of the pot.

[Richard Hole]

Hi Robert and those interested,

Thanks for your feedback. If you put the potting mix into the container in as loos manner as possible, approximately what percentage of the original volume would you reduce the volume to?

Also, have you tried pure sphagnum moss which I was thinking of using as it would save time making a mix up and hold more moisture and save having to water frequently. Also, perlite can be hazardous to breath and handle. If you see any disadvantage of using pure sphagnum in a greenhouse where the rain does not reach the plants, please let me know.

Regards Richard.

[Robert]

Originally Posted by Richard Hole

Hi Robert and those interested,

Thanks for your feedback. If you put the potting mix into the container in as loos manner as possible, approximately what percentage of the original volume would you reduce the volume to?

Also, have you tried pure sphagnum moss which I was thinking of using as it would save time making a mix up and hold more moisture and save having to water frequently. Also, perlite can be hazardous to breath and handle. If you see any disadvantage of using pure sphagnum in a greenhouse where the rain does not reach the plants, please let me know.

Regards Richard.

I have to find out if i have plants to repot in relation to their original volume.

I use live sphagnum moss as toppings only. When it dries up only then i water them.

[Vincent]

a really good inorganic soil i use mostly as a whole is vermiculite. It will never rot or decay, is farely light, can hold some water, and i lke it best =D it has pieces of micca, which add for decor...no side effects from the minerals that might be in it. I even grow iffy species like my villosa, diatas, rajah etc. in it, they r actually thriving as of now, very cold nights =l FYI you dont have to pack the soil in the pot <.< pressing it suffices. someone mentioned that water will do that for you on its own. And personally, sphag sucks as a top dressing. I you do use it, use it 4 potting media, then put something on top that wont rot, u will be better off