conjointed twins

[goldtrap2690]

i was looking around the internet for something and i found this :

its is a Nepenthes mirabilis var. greenhorn and it has 2 pitchers on 1 leaf that are stuck together , cool huh ? its not my plant though but this could be added up to that post about plant oddities , just when i thought i saw them all .

 

[Darcie]

Coolness. I love how you can get plants to do funny things by timing a nick to the tip

 

[CPC]

The lovely fused leaves... See what happens when you live close to a nuclear station?!!

I knew we shouldn't have move there...

Hey, don't look at me like that with your 3 eyes...

Happy growing

Joe!

 

[neilsingapore]

I have also seen several locally grown (Singapore) nepenthes (alata hybrids) that grow like this. The pitchers always seem 'deformed' in some way. I can't help wondering whether there is some genetic defect or the result of fertilizer or just having been grown from a cutting of a cutting of a cutting of a cutting,.....etc. You get the idea,..does keep taking cuttings from a plant, growing them, taking numerous new cuttings, growing them somehow cause these defects. Similar to blood relatives/brothers and sisters getting married and the chances of a deformed baby increases dramatically. I'll try to get some photos over the weekend.
Happy growing , Neil,

 

[swords]

Neil,
I've been propagating the same N. ventrata and N. coccineas for a few years now the only detrimental thing I've noticed so far is that before doing a new set of cuttings the vine should be allowed to grow for a while and absorb a lot of new nutrients before being reduced to cuttings again.
An unfed plant that is too soon made into cuttings seems to get "worn out" and the new plants sent out by the nodes seem to be weak because their starter stem sections doesn't seem to have enough nutrients stored up. Of course, feeding any resulting new pitchers will spurt some life into it. But overall there's no problem making cuttings of cuttings of cuttings of cuttings. I'm pretty sure there's still some hybrids floating around that are from around the early 1900s/late 1800s such as x Mastersiana. I've got a cutting from a hybrid made in 1980 (according to the tag) Isamo Kusakobe (Efflugent Koto) x (mirabilis x thorelii) (so basically it's "Efflugent Koto x 2" as each are the same cross crossed again).

Goldtrap, that's one wild pitcher!

 

[Trent]

We have Mastersiana, Dyeriana, Mixta, Morganiana-all cultivars propagated by cuttings going back to the late 1800's and early 1900's and they perform beautifully.
Another important consideration when taking cuttings is to use sterilized tools, otherwise you could be spreading viruses to your cuttings that will then be carried by the plant and spread when cuttings are taken again. Not all viruses kill, some will make your plant "sick", slowing growth rate and weakening resistence to other diseases such as fungus. Imagine how many viruses can infect a desirable cultivar as cuttings are made over a period of decades without taking the proper precautions.
We use single edged razor blades, one per plant.
Josh, the Effulgent Koto is a grex name, so the "male" parent of the cross is most likely from another grex-probably using different clones of mirabilis and thorelii. The Japanese custom is to name the grex: example-thorelii x maxima is N. Rokko and N. Balmy Koto, and a few others, but using different clones for parents.
Trent