TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk
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Hi! I would use sphagnum moss instead of peat. I find that peat limits root growth in most nepenthes due to its small particulate size, which means that there is not much oxygen in the medium. If you can't get sphagnum, you can mix peat with larger aggregates like orchid bark, or large perlite, and this will significantly lighten up the medium and allow more air to reach the root system.
As for whether your cuttings are ready to pot up, I'm not sure as I have never done water cuttings myself, but I think I would pot them as soon as new roots start to emerge
As for whether your cuttings are ready to pot up, I'm not sure as I have never done water cuttings myself, but I think I would pot them as soon as new roots start to emerge
Dave S.
NECPS President
I would wait until you had enough roots so that if if a few break during planting, it is no big deal. I would not recommend straight peat moss as potting media as I support the idea of a light mix with air near the roots of nepenthe plants. You could mix the peat will LFS, silica sand, cypress bark, etc. to make it more nepenthes friendly.
I have kept nep cuttings in water for many months with no issues. If you see that your plant is on the decline, then make a change.
I have kept nep cuttings in water for many months with no issues. If you see that your plant is on the decline, then make a change.
You can root Nepenthes cuttings in soil from the start, so I don't really see any problem with transferring them now. As long as they don't get humidity shock or dry out it should be ok.
Also, I would advise against planting Nepenthes in pure peat moss, it tends to give them root rot due to poor aeration and drainage.
Also, I would advise against planting Nepenthes in pure peat moss, it tends to give them root rot due to poor aeration and drainage.
First, as long as the water you have them in doesn't go stagnant and start accumulating bacteria, the cutting can stay in the water almost indefinitely. I have a cutting of "N. thorelii" X aristolochioides I took last October and stuffed in a jar, and its still in the same jar, and its a mass of roots and has just flowered.
Transitioning a cutting from water to a soil medium can be tricky with some plants, but I've found that once a Nepenthes cutting has roots at least an inch long, they are fairly resistant to disturbance and can be handled rather casually in potting into soil; try not to break the brittle roots, but don't worry too much if you damage some in the process. As the others have said, do not use Peat Moss - use Sphagnum instead. Peat is far too dense and will often result in catastrophic root loss from rotting. It simply holds too much water and very little air. (Nepenthes like moisture at the roots but they also need air in the medium!)
Transitioning a cutting from water to a soil medium can be tricky with some plants, but I've found that once a Nepenthes cutting has roots at least an inch long, they are fairly resistant to disturbance and can be handled rather casually in potting into soil; try not to break the brittle roots, but don't worry too much if you damage some in the process. As the others have said, do not use Peat Moss - use Sphagnum instead. Peat is far too dense and will often result in catastrophic root loss from rotting. It simply holds too much water and very little air. (Nepenthes like moisture at the roots but they also need air in the medium!)
I have a cutting I've been trying to root for a long time. I used a rooting gel I bought from a plant store.. But nothing!
Should I switch it to plain RO water? Or should I just plant it??
Certain rooting chemicals can do the exact opposite of what they are supposed to do when it comes to carnivorous plants, from what I have heard. I guess better to just not use chemicals at all when most of them will actually stunt root growth
Dave S.
NECPS President
I would cut your older leaves back to maybe 1/3 of their length. It looks like your leaves are putting too much stress on the cutting. I agree with the suggestion to change out the water as well. If you are trying to root it via a woody stem, you may have better luck by cutting it again where the stem is green, but still keep some node space (distance between leaves) for roots to emerge. If find that cuttings are difficult to strike when the stem looks like that. It has also been my experience that some nepenthes species/hybrids are easy to root via water, while others are not. The fact that your leaves are green is still a good sign.
