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Pruning n. ampullaria

I need to prune the main stem on one of my N. ampullarias as it is growing out of the terrraium (it found the only open hole and grew through it). My worry is that if I prune the vine the basal rosettes will begin to lengthen and I want to keep them in their "carpet" stage.

Is there a way to prune the ampullaria vine and leave "just enough" on that it doesn't activate the basal rosettes?
 
Actualy, I believe (and they say it in the Savage Garden) that pruning it just makes more offshoots with ground pitchers pop up. Some may start to vine, but it will probably be a good balance of vining and rosetted offshoots. But if you really want to cut it, I really wouldn't mind a cutting
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! Seriously
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. And I like the new layout of your website by the way.
 
I thought all rosettes started climbing after 6months to 1yr of growth anyway?
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And hey, I'd be up for a cutting too!
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SF
 
Third, on pruning =s cuttings. I have a spotted and a red amp. I plan on cutting either in a few months or in the Spring.

Why do some sources say to only do cuttings in the Spring and Summer?

swords,

You want to stop the little plants from growing bigger? Just treat them badly. Low light and low humidity should do the trick.
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Seriously, I want all my little basal rosette plants to grow into bigger plants and make their own little rosettes when I cut them. I do not know how to make them grow more slowly without affecting the whole plant. Based on my limited experience, if you cut it (on a large plant under good conditons) something else will grow.
 
Sometimes, it's a side growth off the main stem. Others, it's a new little plant at the bottom. The side growths will make cuttings some day. Or, the new little plants will. It's a win-win. On one Miranda that looked pretty cruddy when I got it, I made cuttings at three points to clean it up. Then, two side (here, up) growths shot out of the main stems. Also, four basal growths shot up.

I posted pics a couple months ago (or thereabouts) of the little basal leaves breaking the surface at two points. Now, the first one has several pitchers that have opened -- little tiny Miranda pitchers that I've never seen before. A baby plant from the adult for baby pictures, eh, of the adult. That's pretty cool, self-cloning that is.
 
Speaking of cloning, I also wouldnt mind a cutting of a red ampullaria when you cut it, Beagle
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. But seriously, It should look all right, and continue to grow bigger if you cut it. I personally dont see the problem, as due to the nature of the species itself, most of the little offshoots should stay in a rosetted stage...
 
Swords:

Let me know how it goes. I am getting ready to move my collection from the second floor to the first floor of my home. My N. ampullaria is getting too big for the growing area and will need cut back. I do have a small sideshoot that has produced about 4 small pitchers (1-2 inches) with the main stem producing pitchers about 3-4 inches tall. This main stem will be the one that I will cut.

I will keep you posted on the progress of the plant once it is done. I expect to do this in about a week.

The reason my collection is moving downstairs is that my old room is becoming the "Girls Room". Meaning, my wife is painting it pink and moving in.
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Thanks folks!
Snowy, the N. ampullaria basal shoots will not elongate as long as the main vine goes unremoved. I don't know how much/if I can remove any of it without causing the shoots to begin to elongate. In the wild N. ampullaria's main shoot climbs over plants but is said to not pitcher much on the main stem and the plamt develops a large network of runners/stolons that create a new plant around the base and eventually even some distance from the main plant (as does N. bicalcarata). Confined in a pot this makes a very nice display of a mound of pitchers! Yes, most other species' basal shoots eventually do elongate but N. ampullaria is exceptional by the rosettes not elongating unless the main vine is disturbed. It's hypothesized reason for the carpet like rosette development is due to possible feeding on the deterius that falls out of the forest canopy, twigs, leaves, dead flowers, dying bugs and animal feces.

I want to have a pot of full of the N. ampullaria basal shoots because the pitchers to leaf ratio of these rosettes are wonderful, about a 2-3" pitcher on a 1" leaf instead of a 2-3" pitcher on a 6-12" leaf! My hairy green N. amps are in 6" diameter pots (dearly needing repotting too) and have quite dense rosette growth (one pot has 20 rosettes or starts of rosettes at last count) with the main vine snaking several feet.

I wonder if the basal shoots will elongate if I were to only remove the whole vine, not if I only cut off a foot or two off the end of the main vine?
 
Hmm, well all I haveto say is, to the all the people who are cutting their ampullaria, PLEASE feel free to donate their scraps to Nathaniel. Very much apreciated
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  • #10
Please stop bugging people for cuttings. If and when they take cuttings and have extras to give away they will post in the trading form.

Tony
 
  • #11
I knew that was coming
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. You guys can be so up tight
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.
 
  • #12
Well, would you like people begging and hanging over your every mention of a cutting?
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Tony is correct in saying something about it.

SF
 
  • #13
Thanks for the information on the growing characteristics of amps and bicalcarata, swords. I had no idea that that sort of development varied much from plant to plant. I had noticed what I thought was "slow" vertical growth in the amp rosettes.

My spec is behind your spec in the whole process, so I'd be interested in what your plant does, once you decide what to do.

It's possible that only one will elongate. I would not put it past the smart little plants. Seriously. The growth that comes from cutting nepenthes seems pretty strategic sometimes. When I made cuttings, only the plants with room around the base made rosettes, while the rest shot 'side' growths upwards out of existing stems.
 
  • #14
I'm not uptight! ;p 4 out of 7 replys with people asking for cuttings is a bit much. Besides.. I took my geritol today so there
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I suspect that if you remove the growing tip (even if it is just the very tip) then one of the basal rosettes will elongate. You might even see the same effect if you push the stem down into the terrarium level with the pot surface.
Tony
 
  • #15
Geze, dont get upset
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. I'm not trying to start a fight or anything. Besides, my opinion on the matter isnt that strong.
 
  • #16
Hi Josh,

I had a discussion with Christian about the growth of N. ampullaria some time ago. We agreed that the basal offshots with big pitchers and small 'leafes' only start to emerge when the plant already has a big rosette needed for photosynthesis. I believe this is an adaption to the very dim light in habitat. Only a climbing stem will reach the canopy and get very high light levels for photosynthesis. So the basal offshots are not that useful for photosynthesis - but they are very useful for catching food (insects and everything else falling down from above).

I have not tried it out myself, but I won'tbe surprised if N. ampullaria starts enlarging its basal rosettes after pruning. The plant needs to do its photosynthesis somewhere.

Cheers Joachim

P.S.: Christian is quite busy at the moment with his plants and doesn't look into PFT regularly. You might consider contacting him by Email and ask for his experience.
 
  • #17
At the New England CP show i was talking to Thomas of Dangerous Plants, and he said he has great luck getting basal rosettes to form on amps by letting them dry out just to the point the leaves start to wilt on the edge. Says it has worked every time for him, and he is just trying to get up his courage to try it on his red amp.

So, even if your basal rosette grows, you know how to trigger a new one to form.

I'm excited to finally have an amp of my own (thanks again, WildBill), considering it was the first nepenthes i remember seeing (in a National Geographic decades ago), and very nearly the first CP, at that. It is a cutting, and has developed the first new pitcher. I'm curious what kind of lighting you all give your amps. Is a single fluorescent tube a few inches away enough, or does it need more? I've heard both ways - that they like low light, and that they like a lot of light. I want basal rosettes!!!!

Second question: how extensive (and deep) is the root system? I noticed while repotting my N. alata and by observation of some N. gracilis that the first has a very limited root system, while the second has a very extensive one. Does it tend to be lowlands that have more roots?

Sorry to take the thread off topic....
 
  • #18
D muscipula,

In my opinion, all lowland neps I've seen like several hours or more of direct sunlight each day, preferably not in Florida afternoons. The more light they get the more the leaves look healthy and the pitchers look colorful -- and they grow faster -- until it is too much light and the leaves brown and die.

When I get a tripod for my camera I'll show some good before and after leaves when the light got a massive increase.

Rafflesiana, bicalcarata, spec., and red ampullaria (plus almost everything else: northiana notably excepted) are all growing nice leaves and pitchers under lots of natural sunlight. Again, not in our Florida afternoons. The tricolor is a tough little hombre. It seemed to keep growing in shipping. I have a new pitcher that looks nice and red (yellow, and dark red), but I really need some way to steady the camera.
 
  • #19
D muscipula -

I had the parent plant in a terrarium under 2 shoplights (4 bulbs, 2 old growlight bulbs, 2 warm bulbs). The crown was maybe 4 to 6 inches below the lights:

CPtank.jpg




On the way to the show, the cramped plant sort of 'unsprung' and wouldn't fit back in the tank after I got home. Last night I repotted it and also took 4 basal cuttings. Let's hope they root too.

WildBill
 
  • #20
Thanks Bill and Beagle.  It seems there are more who would say "more light is better" than the opposite.  As soon as i magically become a handyman overnight, i'll make the 4-bulb hood for the terrarium that i've been planning.  In the meantime, it will have to do with three assorted small fluorescents and about 30 minutes of setting sun.

I'm curious how John grows his- it always looks quite nice.

Tricolor == Mmmm, mmm, good!

Me == jealous
 
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