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Miracle Baby - N. northiana

Cindy

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16 Dec 2007. This small plant was found to be broken into two.
northiana_cutting2.jpg


northiana_cutting3.jpg


northiana_cutting4.jpg


10 February 2008. The same "cutting" has produced roots and a pitcher! :boogie:
northiana_cutting.jpg


northiana_cutting1.jpg
 
Wonderful! I love seeing recovery of that nature. It shows the true resilience of Nepenthes.

I grew N. northiana for a very long time and it never really did much for me. I don't think my conditions were lowland enough for it.
 
wow...that's amazing! Great job Cindy!
 
It always feels good when you can turn a bad situation around, doesn’t it?
 
Wow, less than 2 months later and its thriving? Excellent growing
 
Wow, that plant is certainly a trooper.
 
I take my hat off to you. This plant is supposed to like it dry. That makes it even more difficult to try and root it. And you seem to have done it in an extremely moist method using live sphagnum!
 
holy! thats wicked! So Cindy..... did u try putting the bottom part of that leafy muffin in some LFS to see if it takes as well? :p
 
Vraev,
The bottom part of the leafy muffin?? You meant the lower portion with roots? I threw that out. :0o:

I want to show everyone that northiana is a toughie!!! :banana2:
 
  • #10
Nice fingerprint! Is that a plain whirl?
 
  • #11
I wouldn't know. Not my fingers 'cos my nails would be painted. Muhahaha... :-))
 
  • #12
yeah cindy! I meant the root portion. lol :) I think u should have tried it. cephs, vft's, sarrs, etc can all be started that way by root cuttings. :)
 
  • #13
vraev, I didn't try because this is not the first time I rooted Neps which are broken into two. All the root portions ended up mouldy very quickly. I doubt they can regenerate, particularly northiana. But maybe those with rhizomous roots like N. mirabilis and N. Viking might work.

What surprised me was that it was the northiana this time. I started without any hope that the plant would survive and expected it to rot from the base up. LSM is really a miracle to rooting such odd bits of Neps. :)
 
  • #14
aaah! good to know that cindy. Thanks. :) hey! you never know until you try eh?? ;)
 
  • #15
Funny this thread was started. I just ordered a northiana. I did some reading on wiki about it and it says the plants grow in open patches on limestone cliffs. That makes be believe it likes a basic mix. Since limestone tends to raise the pH. It also says there is constant seepage of water at the site as well. That leads me to believe it likes to stay moist as well.

Do you have any growing advice for this plant Cindy??
 
  • #16
JB,
I am a newbie in N. northiana as well. But the ones I have are doing well in a loose mix of pumice and LFS, as well as in burnt red clay. I water daily until water runs out of the drainage holes.

There is limestone in some pots but the plants are new and have not pitchered in my conditions yet. The only one with a pitcher is the one in this thread! :-))

N. campanulata does well for me so I try to replicate similar media and conditions for N. northiana, since both species are found in areas with limestone.
 
  • #17
So how do you grow your campanulata because I have one of those coming with the northiana.

Keep an eye out on your nothiana then since it is new. The LFS is basic when it starts, but as it breaks down it acidifies. The burnt red clay and pumice are neutral, but the LFS will acidify over time. I am going to plant both of these plants in seedling orchid bark with crushed oyster shells to keep it basic like the limestone cliffs.

What do you grow your camps in??

Also wiki said the northiana grows in a place that has constane water seepage. Is the camp from the same type of area?? Constant water?

I think this is something we need to look into more. It is paid attention to by paph growers, but I have yet to see anyone reference the pH of the soil of the nepenthes. I would suspect some slow growers may do better in a more basic soil. Your not going to get that with peat and LFS.
 
  • #18
I have N. campanulata in several different mixes.
1. perlite and LFS with diatomite
2. some sort of expanded clay (neutral, meant for orchids I was told) and LFS
3. perlite and LFS with coral chips
4. some sort of expanded clay (neutral) and LFS with limestone chips

The media sometimes dry out until the surface LFS is crispy to touch. So I assume that root region is barely moist inbetween watering. I have killed them due to overwatering and wet media before, and I learnt the hard way that this species do not mind the occasional drying out. My ambient humidity is above 45% and averages around 65%.

So far, my best-looking N. campanulata plants are under florescent lights at my balcony. They are on a rack and not in a terrarium so they receive good ventilation. In December last year, I placed a new plant at the balcony to receive sunlight instead. Now, it is beginning to produce pitchers.

I believe the needs for northiana is similar although I don't have enough experience with the species yet.
 
  • #20
Hope your new plants do well for you. :)
 
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