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hi everyone,

I was wondering how I can reproduce my nephenthes,sundews and v. flytraps. I want to stop buying CP's and just grow my own from plants I already have.

Thanks,
-Aaron
 
well, for all cp's, you can wait untill they flower, then you can get seed, or you can propogate them, for nepenthes How to Make Nepenthes Cuttings

   One of the most commonly used methods for the propagation of Nepenthes is to make and root cuttings from them.  Doing this not only makes extra plants for use as back-ups or trade material, but also solves the problem of what to do when your Nepenthes goes rampantly into vine, taking over your entire growing area. In the following series of photographs and text accompaniment, I will show you how I do it.   It is not the only way, but it is a very successful way and differs if at all from other methods only in minor details such as soil mix for rooting or the type of rooting hormones used.


STEP ONE: It goes with out saying that you should assemble and clean the necessary tools first.  A sharp pair of pruning shears or scissors, a razor knife or similar sharp knife, the rooting hormone to be used, the pots and soil mix (pre-mixed) are what will be needed.  Tags and a waterproof pencil also to label what you cut.   Nepenthes often look very similar when they are reduced to cut up bits.  



STEP TWO: Select out the piece of vine to be removed from the parent plant and make a clean, diagonal cut between two nodes to separate the vine from the plant.  It helps to count the nodes first so you can get an idea of how many cuttings you will get.  I do three node cuttings, some folks do as few as one node, other as many as four.  A three node cutting is where each separate bit of material has three nodes on it.  The nodes are located in the stem, near the base of the leaf. All cuts should be diagonal cuts so as to expose as much surface area of the cut to the rooting hormone.  Here in this sequence we see exactly this.  Note the diagonal cut.




STEP THREE:    Here is shown a section of vine, cut into three node pieces.  I generally remove traps, and sometimes flower spikes as well.  The top node I discount if it is still new and small.  If it is large, it counts as one.I always soak the bottom cut ends in water to which a decent slug of superthrive has been added.  




STEP FOUR:   Here I am making the small cuts length-ways with  a sharp knife into the stem at the bottom end of the cutting.  I am not cutting all the way through the stem, just the outer layer.  The purpose is to increase the area exposed t the hormone.  Note the location of the node, which is the bit of growth protruding from the stem above the leaf base.  




STEP FIVE:  Here we see the cutting, ready to be put into the pot of soil mix.  In this case I am using live sphagnum moss.  I usually use rockwool cubes. I had run out of them however.  








STEP SIX:  The pots of cuttings, ready to be placed in the rooting chamber.  Most folks I know use a large aquarium, with a heater placed inside or underneath.  Water is added to the inside to keep up the humidity.Currently I am using a large bench, which has had a rim built around it and a frame over top.  Over this is draped a layer of 4mil clear plastic ploy film.  Inside is a nursery grade heating pad with trays of water on top.  The pots of cuttings will sit in these trays.  Note, one set of cuttings has the leaves cropped.  There are two schools of thought about leaf cropping when doing cuttings.  The idea for it is to reduce transpiration from the leaves, conserving energy for use in rooting.  The idea against it is that the hormones responsible for rooting are produced in the leaves.   I have done many cuttings both ways and can honestly say I have not noticed if either practice produces better results.

             Then for sarracenias, you take a pitcher, cut it at the base with razor blade or very small sharp scissors, make sure that you get part of the white rhizome in  order for the roots to grow then stick it into a veryu humid area, with warm temps, i use a 50/50 peat and perlite for this method. For Pinguiculas, you can take one of the leafs, and stick it into whatever mixture you use, do not use wrong soils!, and thats all i feal like typing, hope it helps,
                           Kevin

Thank-you Cacade Carnivores for info on nep cuttings
 
hmmmm the pictures didnt show, well just ignore the person saying "and here is a picture of me making the cut......."Sorry,
Kevin
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Nice account Kevin! Hopefully some day my Neps will become of a size to be able to do this, and I have saved the report for that time.

Hopefully all the Nep growers out there will start a-hackin'! There can never be too many Neps!
 
thanks Tamlin, i hope it helps anybody wondering how to make cuttings of neps, (i wish the pictures showed up!!!!
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),
Kevin
 
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