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What did I do wrong?

Hello.
About three weeks ago I decided to take cuttings from my Nepenthes tobaica. I followed the instructions exactly how they appear on Peter D'Amato's book 'The Savage Garden'. I even used a rooting hormone (but not a fungicide). I planted the cuttings in pure vermiculite, covered them with a plastic bag, and placed them in a terrarium with 15 hours of light per day.
I was hoping to get some advice for next time. Thanks.

Here are some pictures to show the results...







 
Unless I'm just not seeing what you are talking about, it just looks like a browned cut to me. When you cut a plant it goes brown after 3 weeks :) I use fungicide on every new seed/cutting/division just in case something does go wrong. I also like to use typical (haha) nepenthes mix for my cuttings.


I don't like to have leaf axils buried.
 
Offhand I would say they look pretty good to me. Are they still growing?

Personally I probably would have planted them in a standard Nepenthes mix as opposed to pure vermiculite.

One friend of mine recommends that you remove the outer layer of tissue from the bottom 2cm of the stem. Another says to make vertical slits through the outer layer about the same length. The reason being is that the new roots come from that area and they have a difficult time penetrating that "bark" or "skin" layer.

Good luck,
Steve
 
Looks like too much water as a potential issue. Fungicide should always be used unless you have sterilized medium using steam or in the microwave for small scale propagation.
 
Thanks for the help.
It can't be appreciated well on the photos, but the growing point (on the cutting that had one) turned black and botrytis appeared on it. Both stems developed cracks on them (as can be seen in the third picture) which turned brown.

Would it be good to remove the plastic bag a couple of hours a day to promote air circulation?
Is it too late for these cuttings, or can I still apply the fungicide and pray?
 
You said it was in a terrarium? If so, there's probably no need for the bag at all. When I take cuttings, I just stick them in a pot next to the parent plant. I would never put a nepenthes in a plastic bag, personally.

Capslock
 
I'd also like to add that 15 days is hardly enough time to expect to see anything where cuttings are concerned.
 
I think that you need to exercise a little more patience when you try to propagate a nepenthes plant. In my experience it takes up to 6 month for the roots to fully develop. Also the stem split is normal, that is where the little black roots will come out .As long as there is something green on your cutting. there is always hope.
Lois
 
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