My Nepenthes have been doing great over this winter, but two of them have been doing a bit *too* well.
My ventrata, grown as a houseplant, lost most its pitchers (possibly from the shock of moving to a lower humidity level), but then started producing a vine and two basal shoots. Both basals have been producing small pitchers, but the vine has been going nuts, and is close to 3 feet long. No pitchers have formed along the vine, but it constantly puts out nice, big new leaves as it gets longer.
My tobaica, grown in what used to be my spare shower, has exploded. Before I moved it, it had 4 growing points, but was rather "bushy". Since then, pitcher production has virtually halted as each vine has grown enormously, all over 3 feet long, one of which has become woody at the base. There are no new basals, though.
So, I'm thinking of taking cuttings, and I've read up on how to do so, but I had a few more general questions.
1) What stimulates Nepenthes to start vining? My ventrata only had 6" traps, and my tobaica's traps never got bigger than 3", yet both started vining while I've seen other people's plants that are much bigger but aren't vining.
2) If I cut these plants back, and growth renews in the form of basal shoots, will the pitchers get bigger before they start vining again?
3) How badly would cutting back the vines shock the plants? Can I expect no growth for a while, or will they immediately pour effort into basal shoots?
4) Should I wait until there's a new basal on the Tobaica before cutting it back? If so, is there a way to stimulate the formation of new basals at the level of the pot, rather than higher up?
Thanks!
Mokele
My ventrata, grown as a houseplant, lost most its pitchers (possibly from the shock of moving to a lower humidity level), but then started producing a vine and two basal shoots. Both basals have been producing small pitchers, but the vine has been going nuts, and is close to 3 feet long. No pitchers have formed along the vine, but it constantly puts out nice, big new leaves as it gets longer.
My tobaica, grown in what used to be my spare shower, has exploded. Before I moved it, it had 4 growing points, but was rather "bushy". Since then, pitcher production has virtually halted as each vine has grown enormously, all over 3 feet long, one of which has become woody at the base. There are no new basals, though.
So, I'm thinking of taking cuttings, and I've read up on how to do so, but I had a few more general questions.
1) What stimulates Nepenthes to start vining? My ventrata only had 6" traps, and my tobaica's traps never got bigger than 3", yet both started vining while I've seen other people's plants that are much bigger but aren't vining.
2) If I cut these plants back, and growth renews in the form of basal shoots, will the pitchers get bigger before they start vining again?
3) How badly would cutting back the vines shock the plants? Can I expect no growth for a while, or will they immediately pour effort into basal shoots?
4) Should I wait until there's a new basal on the Tobaica before cutting it back? If so, is there a way to stimulate the formation of new basals at the level of the pot, rather than higher up?
Thanks!
Mokele