TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk
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Do Nepenthes basals ususally have roots?
I am in the process of removing basals and they never seem to have roots. I need to downsize my collection but I want to keep some of my faves.
Thanks,
Zero
basals usually dont when they first appear. but give them enough time and they will. In fact with my N. spathulata its three basals seemed almost seperated from the mother all with their own root systems. This could be a species specific trait or just due to the fact that the basals were probably a year or older.
Yup! Basals don't have roots. I would strongly reccomend to leave them on the mother plant root system as long as you can. I cut off a basal from my campanulata stem in january and it took until june for the mother and basal to start growing again. lol! never again.
if you're removing the basal before it can produce roots, you are effectively treating it as a cutting, and it will respond in kind. i, like vraev, would recommend that you allow the basals to establish their own root systems first before removing them.
Zero - yes, basals form roots after awhile when they reach a certain size, atleast thats what they do for me...they generally have to get to a rather good size first though
Whether basals readily root or take months to do so seems to be species specific more than anything else. Many of my highlanders -- Nepenthes hamata, N. lowii, among others -- produce a few basals each year; and they quickly root and continue growing within weeks.
I do agree, though, that keeping the basal on the mother plant until it reaches a "reasonable" size will increase your success rate; however, many of mine appear at some point above the compost level and are unlikely to root on their own without "air layering" . . .
bigbella: thanks for that tip. my sanguinea has had some basals for almost a year and no roots yet. ill try stacking some soil over the base and see what happens
bigbella: thanks for that tip. my sanguinea has had some basals for almost a year and no roots yet. ill try stacking some soil over the base and see what happens
You may want to wrap a bit of sphagnum moss around or near the basal and attach it with twine or a rubber band -- without raising the compost level, unless it's very close to the base; that's always worked for me and further encourages rooting . . .
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