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Breaking the law, breaking the law!

I've moved about half of all my highlander cuttings into the lowland chamber to see how they react in regards to being warm for the rooting/establishing phase. I think the 45*F winter nights are a bit harsh for the cuttings. Only the aristolochioides are showing signs of establishing (the 50% who've made it this far - about 4 weeks) everything else still alive and green seems to be in limbo.

Cool growing orchid divisions/backbulbs establish much faster in warmer temps than they need so I figured I should play with the neps a bit. If it works I will of course move them back into proper highland temps once the roots develop. Anyone else tried rooting your highland cuttings in warmer temps?
 
Very interesting, keep us updated!
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (swords @ Feb. 19 2006,6:42)]Only the aristolochioides are showing signs of establishing (the 50% who've made it this far - about 4 weeks) everything else still alive and green seems to be in limbo.

Cool growing orchid divisions/backbulbs establish much faster in warmer temps than they need so I figured I should play with the neps a bit. If it works I will of course move them back into proper highland temps once the roots develop. Anyone else tried rooting your highland cuttings in warmer temps?
You've actually managed to root/keep alive a rootless cutting of N. aristolochioides? Give yourself a pat on the back! I've heard its impossible or incredibly low success rate. The only thing I've ever done for highland cutting is give them a bit of bottom heat.
 
ive got a rooted cutting of an aristo from neps. he never mentioned them being difficult. and i sliced off one growing tip(there were 3) and placed it in the LFS and it seems to have rooted. are the tip cuttings suppsed to be difficult or just the mid stem cuttings?
 
It is the mid stem cuttings I've had the biggest losses on for both the aristo and the hamata. Which is very curious cos the dormant nodes on the hamata already all had started producing the initial pseudoleafs back when they were still on the plant. The tip cuttings have all done well but the mid-stems on most of them which haven't yet blackened or grown (they just sit there) so I'm hoping after being put in the warm chamber they'll be inspired to start up.

I first tried this with my N. reinwardtiana highland red simply cos I didn't have room for another tray of cuttings in the HL tank back when I did them all. It's probly not a strict highlander plant but cheap enough to try it on and I notice the other day that it's sprouted the dormant nodes so I got the idea to try with these others.

FYI: The best rooting plant of all my highlanders is the aristolochioides x thorelii even in the cold! This thing could be the new Ventrata, someone out there ought to put theirs on a windowsill and see what it does!
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Well, I've rooted several highland species and hybrids in a tank with bottom heat. I've experimented with leaving the heat on all night or turning it off at night. The only plant that didn't like the all night heat was muluensis. Also hookeriana and gracilis don't seem to mind cooling at night either. Among the highlanders are: diatas, spathulata, tobaica, spectabilis, ventricosa, carunculata.

I tried aristo x thorelii in a north facing garden window. It didn't pitcher for me until I moved it outside under brighter light, (50% shade cloth with a little direct sunlight). It started pitchering profusely even with less humidity and colder temps it keeps growing strong, so as long as you give it good light, this cross will grow well. I'm not sure how it would do without the night time temperature drop, but I've heard it doesn't need it.
 
Last year, I rooted three out of three cuttings of N. aristolochioides. This was accomplished by simply placing the cuttings in live sphagnum moss in the same environment in which I grow this species. Then, I just left them alone, and a few months later they had plenty of new growth and were doing fine. Based on this experience, I don't consider this species to be difficult, but I can imagine that if one were to try this in an environment that is too warm (N. aristolochioides likes it pretty cool, I've found) that one's efforts might be less than completely successful.
 
I've always rooted cuttings in the same environment as the parent plants. I figure any change in conditions will stress them. I've had no trouble rooting every nep I've made cuttings of so far.

Capslock
 
Thanks for the insights everyone!

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I've always rooted cuttings in the same environment as the parent plants. I figure any change in conditions will stress them. I've had no trouble rooting every nep I've made cuttings of so far.

That's what I've done so far as well and that's why it's perplexing me and made me decide to move them last night. Of course only temporarily to see if it sparks any life in em. Those cuttings who were (visibly) establishing I left in their highland chamber.

How large of aristo cuttings did you do Jeff? In keeping with my normal cutting sequence mine were all single node stem cuttings with leaves trimmed half off, on the tip cuttings I left 3 complete leaves . I've never lost so many. I think 6 or 7 of the aristo stem cuttings and 4 hamata stem cuttings turned black. I usually have a 100% success rate so it's bothering me!
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  • #10
Wow Josh, what a time for things to go bad! I think I'd die if I lost one of those! LOL!

I do two-node cuttings usually, and use pure lfs, and a rooting hormone, though it's worked without that, too.

Capslock
 
  • #11
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]How large of aristo cuttings did you do Jeff?

As I recall, the cuttings consisted of two or three nodes each.

I've had a similar success rate with other fast-growing species, such as N. hamata. Most of them have proven quite easy, indeed.
 
  • #12
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Wow Josh, what a time for things to go bad! I think I'd die if I lost one of those! LOL!

I'm sure it doesn't help that my @$^&*$! landlord shut the heat down to 65*F so the only time my apt gets warm is if the sun happens to be shining on the roof. I'm planning on sending the female a bill for these dead cuttings as well as cataloging any other eastablished plants which might die esp. my lowlanders and orchids. If she thought the heating bill was high...
 
  • #13
[b said:
Quote[/b] (swords @ Feb. 20 2006,3:30)]If she thought the heating bill was high...
Don't you love threatening people with the expense of exotic plants?
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  • #14
Yeah and the liability works too! For some insane reason last week they decided to start replacing windows on this place - in mid Febuary - in MN (-14 -0*F)! I told them there's no way I can have the heat nearly off and let them pull the windows out with all my huge collection of Neps and orchids this time of year. Once they saw the setups and imagined how much they'd have to replace they said "OK, spring sounds good!"
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  • #15
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here is my aristo. 3 growing points, the big healthy one to the left is the cutting i took after recieving the plant
 
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