D. dilatato petiolaris

[Cindy]

From a 3-inch pot, I have repotted the plant in a 5-inch pot. And now it's in a 8 inch pot.  

The roots keep coming out of the bottom of the pot. There are about 5-7 plants together in the middle. Instead of having to repot it in another even larger pot a couple of months down the road, can I separate the plants and pot them individually?  

Is the plant sensitive to being separated into many smaller parts?

Or should I just leave it and take leaf cuttings instead?

 

[RL7836]

Hi Cindy, Seems that you're making the plant happy with whatever you're doing!

Hopefully, some more experienced growers will jump in and provide their input....

I would recommend dividing the plant. While they can be fussy, if you provide some interim higher humidity (small clear cup over the division works for me) for a few weeks until it gets established - the plants should be fine. If you haven't divided them before, consider only doing one or two of the growth points to build your confidence. As with most plants, try to get some roots with the growth point, but even if you don't - pot it up anyway - it should still take. If any leaves fall off while dividing (& they probably will), use them for leaf propagation efforts.

Based on my recent experiences, I'm going back to the drawing board with leaf cuttings. I used info from personal emails and posts from both forums for the past few years to create the 'ideal' propagation chamber. Took over 60 leaf cuttings/pullings about 5 weeks ago and have managed a total of zero strikes. My success was better with my previous sub-optimal chamber!

Others have managed good success with this method - I've just got to do some more homework...

Good luck with your efforts - let us know how they turn out.

 

[Cindy]

Thanks, Ron. It's just that I tried removing one growth point but it refused to budge. The roots were one whole clump in the centre so I gave up.

I'll try some leaf cuttings.

Btw, does this plant reproduce from roots as well?

 

[JanW]

For leaf cuttings, pull the leaf with the complete base out of the center of the plant. Then put it in a ziplock bag with destilled/deionised water (or RO or rain water) and put in a warm bright place. Strike rates are great! I use the cover of my terrarium as the warm place as there is much excess heat. But the nights are cool. If you find a place which is warm 24 hours a day it will work better and quicker.

The plant in my avatar is a small D. dilatato-petiolaris cutting some months after propagation. (Plant is from Triffid Park, mislabeled as D.petiolaris 'all red'...

 

[RL7836]

Quote[/b] (Cindy @ Aug. 30 2005,4:45)]Btw, does this plant reproduce from roots as well?

My few experiments w/ root cuttings failed quite miserably. Also, I don't recall anyone recommending root cuttings from my searches thru posts on the 2 forums...

Quote[/b] ]I use the cover of my terrarium as the warm place as there is much excess heat.

Jan,
What type of light do the cuttings receive up there?

 

[JanW]

Quote[/b] (RL7836 @ Aug. 30 2005,11:07)]Jan,
What type of light do the cuttings receive up there?

Just some daylight. I don't think light is important as the new plants will just get their energy from the old leaf. Temperature is a more critical factor: the warmer, the better.

 

[clayton]

basically, i think it's best to seperate the plants by division, CPs are not as fragile as you think it is, in fact i just ensure the ball of soil under the roots are propers lossen and i use my hands and split the chunk up. Pus not forgetting, if too many are growing closely together, it may attract fungus infection due to poor ventilation within the dying leaves...

I've manage to get a plant and i have more than 20 plants in 6 months! Yes... the bigger the pot, the better for the plant. I never really believe in leave cutting coz my sucess rate is low, and i don't know why. For me, roots and division works best so far and it's the fastest way of getting a mature plant.

This is my experience i have. I hope it does help

Regards

 

[JanW]

Roots are good to propagate D. capensis or D. adelae but I REALLY doubt that its a good method to propagate any plants of the petiolaris complex!!

If you seperate your plants, take some leaf cuttings and try.

 

[Juan-Carlos]

If you have success with the leaf cuttings I'd love to trade you or something.  I lost all of the ones I bought from triffid :/ Most arrived dead and the other slowly withered away! Including the lanata I was soooo looking forward to!

Oh well *shrugs*

-Jc

 

[homer]

Earlier this year, I posted a message stating I was going to try propogating Woolies this summer. Well, they refuse to flower at the same time, so cross pollination is not on the immediate horizon. So, I pulled some leaf cuttings earlier this week. I'm keeping them warm 24/7, so now its the waiting game. I'll post a message when and if I get any strikes.

-Homer

 

[Cindy]

J-C, you are not alone. My D.lanata arrived dead too from Triffid. But because the plants were collected from a friend who ordered other plants as well, I wasn't sure if I could let Triffid know about it. I've taken some leaf cuttings, will let you know if new plants appear.