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roots from stem?

Ok, so I've been growing Nepenthes for a while now, but every time I repot, I never stick any of the brown stem beneath the surface. So I have nice green growth hovering on top of a brown stem. If I repot them and put the stem under soil, will it sprout roots so i can then trim off the old roots and have a low growing plant again? Thanks
 
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You mean to tell me no one knows?
:0o:
 
When i got my rajah's like this in august i put the whole stem under the soil, they are still alive but i have no clue if there are new roots higher up.


 
I was hesitant to answer, because I'm not really an expert, but here goes. I think that, while they definitely can produce roots from the stem, they usually don't. Unlike plants such as tomatoes, which produce copious root nodes from any part of the stem that senses moisture or darkness, Nepenthes mostly grow new roots from tissue underneath the outer "bark" layer. (I've also been told that the side nodes just above each leaf can turn into roots, but I haven't seen a lot of research or anecdotal evidence to support that.) So, I imagine that growing new roots spontaneously is pretty rare. Many growers recommend shaving the outer layer off, or cutting shallow, vertical slits into it, when making cuttings in order to encourage the formation of new roots.
If you want a low-growing plant, it would be a safer bet to take a cutting from the still-green parts of the stem and attempt to root it. If the plant is mature enough, with a little luck the rootstock should produce new basal nodes. Some plants are reluctant to produce basals though, and will resume growing from a node near the cut part of the vine. At the very least, the cutting will remain short for a time.
Another idea, if your vine is long enough, is to allow it to grow hanging over the edge of the pot, so that the tip of the vine is lower than the rootstock. This will trick the plant hormonally into producing new nodes, as if it were cut.
~Joe
 
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I agree with seedjar.

Although I am not experienced enough to give a definitive answer of any kind I would say that burying too much of the stem has potential for problems. In some cases with other plants I've grown, if the stem is too far under the soil and there is enough light present, there is the chance that it will sprout a growth point that is mostly under ground which can slow the overall growth of the plant. Plus, also if the root mass is deeper in the soil, then it will need to be repotted sooner than later assuming that it doesn't sprout root growth out of the buried stem, which is a possibility.

Overall if you're looking for shorter plants just clip the main growth point and enjoy the bushy basals. :)
 
I'm just curious because you see these beautiful big neps that are low growing and have adult pitchers. If they left it keep growing it would be a huge plant by now. So basically, once the stem gets so high, if I dont like it any more, I should take a cutting and that will start the cycle of stem growth over, on the new cutting, and it will remain at the same maturity and maintain pitcher size? I just got rid of a massive Miranda, had no room for it. It had a stem about the diameter of a penny. It was a low growing bushy plant. You mean to tell me that came from a cutting? Adult pitchers and flowers form a plant that was maybe a foot tall.
 
The stuff thats left in the pot usually makes the low growing bushy plants, not the cuttings.
Its because the new growth allrdy has a huge rootball to get energy from instead of heaving to start from zero like cuttings or seedlings.
 
Ok, so I've been growing neps for a while now, but every time I repot, I never stick any of the brown stem beneath the surface. So I have nice green growth hovering on top of a brown stem. If I repot them and put the stem under soil, will it sprout roots so i can then trim off the old roots and have a low growing plant again? Thanks

Last year I received several rooted cuttings that had long brown stems so I planted them as deep as I could to try to hide the stems as much as possible. I unpotted several of them today to pack them up and send them on their way to a new home. What I found was that about 50% of them had sprouted new root growth from the buried stem. However, since they were all different I couldn't really draw any conclusion on which types of neps seem to root more than others. I hope this helps to shed a little light on the subject.
 
Adding a little rooting hormone along the stem probably couldn't hurt. I have a little Nepenthes aristolochiodies that I did this too when i repotted it. I'm not sure if it helped, to be honest, but I'm sure it didn't hurt.
 
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Well, rather than disturbing the roots again, I'm gonna leave it and see how they like it. I emailed Peter D' Amato to see what his response would be. Here is his answer.

"If happy and mature, nepenthes generally produce shoots near the base of the plant as the stem grows and turns brown in it's lower parts. If it's not doing this, the stem may not be long enough, or it needs applications of foliar fertilizers such as maxsea. Never cut away a grow point on a stem until you have new shoots at the bottom. (See my book The Savage Garden for all these points). Also some nepenthes are naturally bushy, others may not be so leafy."

I emailed him back to see if leaving the stem under soil would have any negative effects. I will post his response when he gets back to me.
 
  • #11
I've been able to get relatively mature plants from cuttings as well as from the emergence of basal nodes myself. I think it all depends on how mature and healthy the plant is overall before you cut. Likewise I don't always wait for basals before taking cuttings - I'm confident enough in my ability rooting cuttings that I'm not worried about losing the rootstock if it doesn't produce new growth. But those are good cautions - I'm probably more of an exception to the rule. I've generally waited at least two to three years before attempting cuttings, and only propagate plants that have been growing consistently and vigorously. Cutting from a vine that still has plenty of green stem and healthy leaves beneath the cut is relatively safe; it's when you cut all of the green parts off and only leave brown, woody stem that you're really risking losing the rootstock. The plant needs to be able to photosynthesize in order to recover, otherwise it will just be working with the energy it has stored in the stem, which will almost certainly limit the size of the new nodes it produces and result in setbacks. I think Peter's answer may be a relatively conservative one.
~Joe
 
  • #12
...it's when you cut all of the green parts off and only leave brown, woody stem that you're really risking losing the rootstock. The plant needs to be able to photosynthesize in order to recover, otherwise it will just be working with the energy it has stored in the stem, which will almost certainly limit the size of the new nodes it produces and result in setbacks...


Throwing in my two cents: Interestingly enough, i cut off the top of my Nepenthes talengensis because I wanted to root it closer to the ground (In and among some live LFS, you see) and when i repotted the rootstock, it had a very healthy root system, and the brown woody stem promptly sent out two new meristems. Keep in mind that this plant hasnt pitchered in i dont know how long, its just been photosynthesizing.
 
  • #13
Peter responded today. Here is what he had to say;

"I don't think burying the brown lower stems will harm the plant, however usually when new shoots appear it's just at the soil surface, so hopefully the plant will adjust to this......Seeya. Peter at..."
 
  • #14
Throwing in my two cents: Interestingly enough, i cut off the top of my Nepenthes talengensis because I wanted to root it closer to the ground (In and among some live LFS, you see) and when i repotted the rootstock, it had a very healthy root system, and the brown woody stem promptly sent out two new meristems. Keep in mind that this plant hasnt pitchered in i dont know how long, its just been photosynthesizing.

I've often observed this as well, which is why I don't believe that you must wait for basals before topping a plant as Peter says. However, it depends a lot on how healthy the plant is, what its root structure is like, how it likes the conditions you're providing, etc. I think the biggest problem is that a lot of beginners are impatient because Nepenthes can be particularly slow growers, and they'll cut when their plant isn't ready. Truly mature Nepenthes are quite resilient in my experience, but to start out with plants available at nurseries, which are really still babies in most cases, you might think they're all made of glass.
~Joe
 
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