Nepenthes cuttings.

[Richard Hole]

Hi


For Nepenthes cuttings with 3 nodes, would it be a good idea to have two nodes below the ground and only one node just above ground level? For the nodes below the ground I would cut the leaves of and also slice some of the outer tissue off the stem. I thought if only one node is above the ground the plants would be more compact above the ground.


Also, would it be a good idea to soak the cuttings in a 10% bleach solution for about 10 minutes to sterilize them? I read this suggestion for Nepenthes and other cuttings. After they are soaked in the bleach solution they could then be soaked in water for a couple of minutes. Perhaps there are other chemicals that are better and safer to use then bleach. Do you know of any that are affordable or mix well with water?

Your help is appreciated
Regards Richard.

[Aliamyz]

Unless it's a rare cutting then you can try all the method you've mentioned.For normal cuttings,you can just put them in water for a week or two and then plant it in the medium.

I use this method and it seems to work.Cutting the outer layer of the part will encourage to root fast.

[paphioboy]

Sounds reasonable. I think they'll thrive. you can just dip the cut ends with fungicide, no need to soak the whole cutting in bleach..

[David]

I would think that it is better to have only one node of the cutting in the media. I have tried placing the cuttings deeper in the media when I root them and realised later that the second node have gave out an offshoot in the media and the poor think is all twisted as it could not push out through the media.

[shawnintland]

David, I tend to agree...and disagree! I've had that problem too, but I also have a lot of multi-node 'cutting' plants that sprouted only way up high and they always look top-heavy until the next transplanting when I bury them deeper. I haven't really noticed if the rooting rate is higher or lower when I use longer cuttings, has anyone else?

[Richard Hole]

Hi


When there is a very short distance between nodes, the only node below the soil may only be about an inch below the surface. Should that be all right or if nodes are very close together would it be better to have two nodes below the soil?

On another note, has anyone found that honey is good to strike Nepenthes cuttings? I asked about this a while back.


Your help is appreciated
Regards Richard.

[David]

Yes shawn is right. Not all the time the lower nodes give out offshoots. If the species or cutting has nodes that are close to each other, then by all means just stick the cutting deeper in the media.

Sorry, I have not tried rooting Nepenthes cuttings with honey.

[arvin555]

I am under the impression that species that have very short internodes do not do well as cuttings, has anyone noticed this? Veitchii for example? Truncata, etc. Though for Truncata a friend of mine has done cutting sucesfully, I just have no guts to try it out.

No one commented about the bleach thing, I guess no one amongst us actually did consider disinfecting, well specially if you are going to stick it in potting mix that will be full of microorganisms anyway. Isoprophyl Alcohol is another alternative to bleach, another is hydrogen peroxide... but to clarify, I do not know if any will help or kill the cutting.

TTFN
Arvin

[shawnintland]

No real experience trying it, but I think honey is known as a good anti-bacterial agent. I used to use a rooting powder with anti-biotic in it but then realized I had about the same success rate without it! I agree with Arvin that your media will be full of microorganisms anyway so it probably doesn't matter unless your cutters/knife gets a 'nasty' on it and you spread it to the other cuttings.
~Shawn

[shawnintland]

Water rooting - side

Water rooting - top

Water rooting - bottom

Media rooted - miranda

Media rooted - mixed

Media rooted - gracilis

Media rooting - various

Media rooting - amp?

Water rooted gracilis - early on

Water rooted gracilis - later on

All cuttings photos here;
https://forum.petpitcher.net/album.php?albumid=67


~Shawn