What about me?

[monkeyman]

About three months ago I bought a Nep at my local lowe's.
It looked the same as the rest in their little terrariums.
But I recently looked at it and the pitchers had all died off
and the leaves were papery and shriveling up. I don't think this little nep is going to survive but before it dies I would like to know what type it is. (sorry,I don't have a digital camera)
The largest leaves are 3"x1",
very thin and slightly hairy.
The pitchers were 1 1/2" tall, green and thin with a squat bottom.
Anything else you need to know about it just ask.

p.s. I think the problem is with the roots. i.e. the shriveling leaves and dieing pitchers. Probably a fungus. Also if you have an idea on how I can save it, i'm all ears.

thanks,
mike

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Mike, if your sure the roots are gone, try rooting a stem cutting.  Just cut the stem off above the roots and treat it as a stem cutting.
I have a N. ventricosa that the stem got broken on when it fell off my porch rail.  I trimmed the end then put a couple of short, shallow, verticle cuts around it.  I dipped it in Rootone and put it in water.  It took about 2½ to 3 monthes to root.  I stuck it in some LFS as soon as I saw roots forming.  It's doing great right now.  It's in my terrarium pic in the in the right corner in front of Bambi in the terrarium furum.  It is still in the small dish I rooted it in.

There are variations of this method.  If you look through the other threads in this forum you will find a lot of them and pick up a few more tips.

Hopefully someone who has more experience doing cuttings can help.

Again, I would only do this if the roots are gone and there is no other alternative to save the plant.

 

[nepenthes gracilis]

Steve, I think the reason it took so long to root is because when you put it in the water you most likely washed the rootone off and away from the slits in the stem. It most liekly would have rooted in much less time therefore.

Mike, take the LARGEST cutting you can make. Cut it from the soil level if the stem is still green there. After you cut it cut all leaves in half regardless if they have pitchers on them, this will keep the cutting hydrated. Next, take a sterilized knife and slit 2-3 cuts in the stem at the base where you cut it and be sure to get them deep to penetrate the cellulose layer as the roots wil form from the second layer, (you can see this if you look after you cut it to see what I mean). After you've done all that dip in rooting hormone and make a LARGE hole in some moss insert the cutting and push the moss around it. The large hole is so the rooting hormone won't be rubbed off. Next place all in a ziplock baggie and put in very bright light.

 

[monkeyman]

Do you think I could still save it with a funguside bath?
If so, how much funguside should I use per quart?
I would rather only use the rerooting method as a very last resort.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[monkeyman]

Forget the rerooting, I checked on my nep this morning and it looked great. The leaves weren't limp and papery like before, so I put it in my new terrarium. Now I'm not really sure what made the leaves droop like that. Temperature flux mabey?
Anyway I'm happy.

Mike

 

[nepenthes gracilis]

Most likely it was a very high temperature jump and/or a severe drop in relative humidity (RH) If your RH did fluncuate more than 20% most likley it would have shown some noticable changes.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Glad you didn't have to reroot it as that is most successful with a healthy plant. Glad your Nep is OK