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Nepenthes faster cuttings question

  • Thread starter Vidyut
  • Start date
Has anyone tried keeping the pitchers on cuttings instead of trimming them and using them to feed the cutting while they last? And/or foliar feeding? It would take more space obviously, but would it result in faster rooting? Also symbiotic fungii/bacteria at the base of the cutting?

It is monsoon here and humidity hasn't gone lower than 90% in ages. I'm not bagging anything, even TC plants. Might be a good time to experiment since obviously I won't have to worry about getting a large cutting into suitably sized plastic bags... I have a mirabilis var globosa x rafflesiana bush that should probably be tamed at some point. It outgrew its pot when I was busy and I took the whole thing out and put it into a cheap plastic vegetable strainer basket type thingy, Then when I wasn't looking, it occupied that also. There are several vines, that are just sort of heaped on the plant - not staked or anything, not climbing anything, because they kept getting moved to make way for the first-class citizens of the limited space :(

I can cut it down now and let the basals get some light and grow them better in the future, but it doesn't have pitchers because it was really the neglected child when it comes to pampering resources in this summer. I barely managed to keep it watered. If the pitcher feeding experiment is worth doing, I can wait till it makes pitchers and maybe hang the vines properly while at it. Vines aren't too long, I think. Maybe 4-5 feet. But maybe a dozen of them. Not even sure how to stake that. Maybe a tomato cage..

Or I can try and make sense of the basket now. Husband wants me to let it grow and become its own country if it wants and see what it does. As a bribe to push his case forward he says it will probably flower if I treat it even slightly better.

But something needs to be done, clearly. It is a mess. A nepenthes heap.

This is the CP version of an overflowing neglected laundry basket, I guess.
 
I haven't seen any real differences in keeping pitchers on vs off for rooting. And I don't think foliar feeding helps much. What I find encourages rooting is a 'need' for roots. A well draining but still retentive mix like pure perlite seems to help with rootings.
 
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