fretting about dividing young hamatas

[carbonetc]

I've had some AW hamatas (unknown clone) for almost a year. What I received was four of them all in a clump. I was afraid to disturb them so soon after shipping so I let them grow as is. They're quite robust and pitchering happily, but I haven't forgotten how delicate they can be. Photo below:

Every day I'm reminded that I need to pot these up separately, but I'm sure it's just a mess of roots down below. How should I go about separating these things without setting them back six months (or worse)? What would you guys do?

 

[utricularia]

I would just be careful to pull them apart. Not sure what else you can do. I would jump on that personally. Looks like one might be getting chocked out there.

Beautiful neps!

 

[mato]

Personally, I have found hamata to be somewhat hardy and a species that is not prone to shock when being repotted or having its roots disturbed. That being said, if you're lucky, the plants will only be entangled at the roots and you can simply separate them. However, if you received the plants as a clump from Wistuba, they will likely be connected at the same shoot system, something similar to basals, and will need to be cut. To do this, simply use a very sharp blade, like a new razor or box cutter, and sever each one by cutting as close to the main stem as possible, without damaging the stem itself. It's safer to submerge the plant underwater while making the cuts, so as to avoid embolism. Afterwards, simply treat each one as a cutting until they root, which shouldn't be long. The main growth can simply be repotted as usual.

Hope this helps!

 

[mylesG]

i love the look of the clump! id be tempted to just leave them be unless you are trading some off

 

[vdub804]

Personally, I have found hamata to be somewhat hardy and a species that is not prone to shock when being repotted or having its roots disturbed. That being said, if you're lucky, the plants will only be entangled at the roots and you can simply separate them. However, if you received the plants as a clump from Wistuba, they will likely be connected at the same shoot system, something similar to basals, and will need to be cut. To do this, simply use a very sharp blade, like a new razor or box cutter, and sever each one by cutting as close to the main stem as possible, without damaging the stem itself. It's safer to submerge the plant underwater while making the cuts, so as to avoid embolism. Afterwards, simply treat each one as a cutting until they root, which shouldn't be long. The main growth can simply be repotted as usual.

Hope this helps!

Great advice!!! one of my rajahs is like this with 4 growth points I'll try this out when it's time to repot.

 

[richjam1986]

I had this exact situation when I ordered a hamata from AW. I cut the extra plantlet off, dipped the stem in rooting hormone, and it established just fine as a cutting. The plant I cut it from did fine as well.

Cutting the stem is much better than pulling it apart, in my opinion, because by pulling it apart you will do more tissue damage. Just make sure the scissors or blade you are using are sterilized so you don't transfer any diseases.

edit: I've found that dividing clumps up gives each plant a greater capacity to grow to its full potential. Instead of trying to provide energy and nutrients for multiple growth points (which can also shade eachother), the plant can focus resources on one growth point and grows better overall. Again, just my opinion...

 

[carbonetc]

The surgery is over with. It turns out the plant barely had any roots at all, even after all this time. Two of the new plants now have zero roots. Let's hope a plant can't sulk over root disturbance when it has no roots to disturb.