Basal shoots

[death66]

hello all, my question: what exactly are basal shoots/rosettes? if you could post pics along with ur info it would be great and much appriciated!!! i would love to fully inderstand them cause i have a few neps and i need to know everything about my babies.

thanx a ton fer any provided help!!!!
XdouglasX

 

[Cindy]

Hope this will help...

Basal shoots grow from the base of the stem. I've removed them on many occasions from my n.gracilis for cuttings.

 

[agustinfranco]

Cindy:

I've found this topic very fascinating. I think i kindly asked somebody to show me this technique not so long ago. Thanks a lot. you don't know how many people you've have helped today.

One thing, please tell us how do you know where to make the cut to release the basal shoot from the main stem?. Do you use a knife, blade, or you just pull the entire basal shoot with your fingers off the stem?. Do you let them grow in water or you pot them in the same media as the parent plant?. I look forward to your reply!!

Agustin

 

[Trent]

Hi Gus,
We do this all the time. Because the shoot has no roots, we pot them up and treat them like cuttings: shady and extreme humidity. Once they start producing "real" pitchers, we grow them with the other Neps. Cindy's gracilis is a little different from typical neps-they tend to produce ground shoots from the root stock a lot more frequently than other species. A large gracilis will produce a carpet of pitchers like ampullaria.

Trent

 

[agustinfranco]

Thanks Trent for the info. But, how do you get it out, by pulling it out or cutting it with a blade?.

Gus

 

[Cindy]

I use a blade to cut it as close to the base as I can. This gracilis is such a ridiculous non-fussy nep (I believe that it's tissue cultured) that I can actually just leave the cutting in water without any fungicide or rooting hormone.

As you can see from the 3rd photo, the older pitchers actually remain green! I have taken at least 20 basal shoots from this plant as cuttings and have given them away to my students. It's the only foolproof nep I have.

 

[D muscipula]

Very useful thread - thank you.

FYI, the N. xCantleyi (gracilis x bicalcarata) does the same thing, although i hadn't realized it until i read this. My rather small plant has a carpet of pitchers. In general, it has the growth habit of gracilis with the darker green and thicker foliage of bical, as well as slightly bigger pitchers. No fangs, unfortunately, or it would rule my collection.

 

[droseradude]

So you just leave it in water and it will root? I just put a nep. tobaica basal shoot in a cup o water. Does superthrive help them root? (I don't have the R/O stuff) Thanx