Ventrata question

[JB_OrchidGuy]

I just picked up another ventrata from my OS meating and this sucker is HUGE. I want to trim it up a little. It has about Multiple growth points to it, and it flowered on about 6 stems too. Its a monster. I took about 3 or 4 cuttings from it as soon as I got it from growth points that haven't flowered, but I was wondering if taking a cutting from a growth point that has a spent flower stalk will take or not. I was also going to try some vine cuttings too. This is an extra plant, and picked up just for trade stock. 2 dallar raffle ticket for a monster ventrata why not. There isn;t many pitchers on it, but I know its a ventrata because the one I have is from the same plant.

Now this is kinda strange too. I know that nepenthes are either male or female. This was the only nepenthes this lady owned. She is a friend of mine. And this ventrata flowered, and now it looks like its full of seed capsules. I know it couldn;t have selfed could it? I thought they were either male or female. So they shouldn'tt have been able to self to make capsules right? Some areas you can tell the flowers just witheres and dropped like I would have suspected, but others I swear look like seed pods. I need to take a picture and post, but for now just take my word its large. I have seen larger leaves on a ventrata in pictures, but this thing filled a rectangle laundry basket, and is over flowing its 12" hanging pot. Thanks for any help.

 

[seedjar]

It could have set seed if there are male and female plants in the same pot. Who's to say all those points are from the same individual? It could be making sterile seed, too, but I don't think that Neps do that. Nice find, in any case - I'm looking forward to pictures. I wish we had a CP club up here in the Northwest, but apparently all the master growers around here are secret garden ninja; spoken of but rarely seen.
Peace,
~Joe

 

[JB_OrchidGuy]

Well, joe if I am not mistaken this entire pot is from one cutting, but I duno I didn;t see it in the begining. And I didn't get it from a cp club. I got it from my Orchid society meeting.

They put all kinds of goodies on the raffle table. There was some aloe there today too, and some other plant I didn't recognize. I hope to get the pictures up soon. I might have time today.

 

[Clint]

if she grew a male plant of any nepenthes species it could have pollinated it.

i dont see why a cutting with a spent flower stalk wouldn't take.

 

[JB_OrchidGuy]

Well to my knoledge this was her only plant.  Here are some pictures and pictures od the seed pods, but there was no male around to my knoledge unless someone in the neghborhood grows and no one knows and it was a male something or other.  Could be sterile too.  Here are the pictures.

There were a total of 5 spent flower spikes and 4 of them are loaded with the capsules.

 

[jorick]

That's a huge ventrata !!!

And indeed that looks like seed pots to me. Nice job !

 

[CopcarFC]

Wow that thing is huge!

I'll take some of those seeds off your hands

 

[Clint]

wow

 

[glider14]

wow...

thats all i have to say

 

[CopcarFC]

Hold on, so when a Ventrada gets big it stops pitchering? Do Ventradas have uppers?

 

[SnowyFalcon]

My bet is that the humidity wasn't quite right in its growing environment to stimulate active pitcher production. And ventratas do indeed have uppers, although they do not differ too dramatically from the lowers.

 

[JB_OrchidGuy]

I know the gal that was growing it grew it outside and we have had a masive heatwave here lately, but its also humid down here in Ga. I will let the seed go and gladdly pass them out to whoever wants them, but I don't think they will do anything. Like I said this was her only nepenthes. I duno how it could have gotten pollinated, or what it was pollinated with. When should the seed be harvested??

My friend, who has limited CP experience, thinks it might have stopped pitchering because of the 5 spikes. I duno though. I am going to thin it out a little and take a bunch of cuttings from it and see if I can get it to pitcher again. I really think the 100+ temps are what caused it to stop pitchering. My other ventrata is putting out pitchers with half lids or deformed lids because of the masive heatwave. The big plant was growing in full sun for a few hours a way on the edge of an awning. I moved mine back under the shade cloth and it seems to be doing better. So I think the lack of pitchers is ebcause of the masive heat here lately. There are some picthers I just didn;t take closeup of them, but most of them are half dead, and need to be trimmed off.

 

[CopcarFC]

Well, I have a Ventrada growing indoors under lights and the one really big vine (4') refuses to pitcher while the smaller vines picher every time. I've always wondered why it stopped.

 

[JB_OrchidGuy]

Interesting. I duno.

 

[jorick]

Quote[/b] (CopcarFC @ Aug. 08 2006,7:49)]Well, I have a Ventrada growing indoors under lights and the one really big vine (4') refuses to pitcher while the smaller vines picher every time.  I've always wondered why it stopped.

I've seen the same thing with my ventrata. Maybe the tendrils need to twist around somtething to produce pitchers. I just read this in n other topic here about the hamata... It could be the same thing.

 

[JB_OrchidGuy]

That might be a good point. Maybe the plant knows it can't climb with a combersome pitcher on the end of its leaf so it refuses to pitcher if it is just flapping in the wind trying to climb someplace. Ya know that seems to make perfect sence since the plants instinct would be to go up, and if its tendrals don;t have something to grab onto to go up then its not going to make a heavy pitcher it can't support on its own. Pitchers with water in them can get heavy. I guess you just have to think like a plant sometimes.