I often wonder, what makes "my first nepenthes" ... well... my first nepenthes?
Where is the "brain" of a plant anyway?
When my Nepenthes sends up side shoots, are those to be considered new plants, or mature plants -like the parent? I often hear people, including myself, ask how long it will take my N. whateverensis pups to make pitchers as large as their base/mother plant. Are they the same plant?
Not until they are severed and develop their own roots, I would think. So what if I have a mature Nepenthes that suddenly goes into the Brown Crispy stage for some reason. I give it a little TLC.. some superthrive, humidity, whatever. I let it sit for a while... After a few months, viola! a tiny shoot appears at the surface. The plant lived!
Or did it. After all, that shoot could be a fragment of the mother plant, but if so, will it again reach mature status? Will it begin a new life as a juvenille 'Nep?
People talk about dividing crowns. I recall a post in a Cephalotus thread that talked about removing crown divisions from the mother plant, and then repotting. What if you accidentally removed to much... lets say you split the mother plant in half! -Or something along those lines... Did you just kil the plant, or make it go to a Better Place™?
Is it the DNA of the plant that establishes the maturity?
The size of the base/rhizome?
The development of the root system?
What are your opinions, perhaps there is even an answer to this query somewhere...
-Trevor
(okay, nosey, I *did* just lose my very fist Nepenthes to the Brown Crispy stage... I have it sitting in my grow chamber... erm... "meditating" I hope I'll see some green or something one of these months -but is that still the same plant?)
And while your online, don't forget to stop by
http://www.tfdepot.com/search.itml?icQuery=sarracenia
to view the lovely sarracenia liles!
-yes that was sarcastic, that website pisses me off and directly adresses the issue of pitcher plant poaching/vandalism or pitcher harvesting or whatever.
Where is the "brain" of a plant anyway?
When my Nepenthes sends up side shoots, are those to be considered new plants, or mature plants -like the parent? I often hear people, including myself, ask how long it will take my N. whateverensis pups to make pitchers as large as their base/mother plant. Are they the same plant?
Not until they are severed and develop their own roots, I would think. So what if I have a mature Nepenthes that suddenly goes into the Brown Crispy stage for some reason. I give it a little TLC.. some superthrive, humidity, whatever. I let it sit for a while... After a few months, viola! a tiny shoot appears at the surface. The plant lived!
Or did it. After all, that shoot could be a fragment of the mother plant, but if so, will it again reach mature status? Will it begin a new life as a juvenille 'Nep?
People talk about dividing crowns. I recall a post in a Cephalotus thread that talked about removing crown divisions from the mother plant, and then repotting. What if you accidentally removed to much... lets say you split the mother plant in half! -Or something along those lines... Did you just kil the plant, or make it go to a Better Place™?
Is it the DNA of the plant that establishes the maturity?
The size of the base/rhizome?
The development of the root system?
What are your opinions, perhaps there is even an answer to this query somewhere...
-Trevor
(okay, nosey, I *did* just lose my very fist Nepenthes to the Brown Crispy stage... I have it sitting in my grow chamber... erm... "meditating" I hope I'll see some green or something one of these months -but is that still the same plant?)
And while your online, don't forget to stop by
http://www.tfdepot.com/search.itml?icQuery=sarracenia
to view the lovely sarracenia liles!
-yes that was sarcastic, that website pisses me off and directly adresses the issue of pitcher plant poaching/vandalism or pitcher harvesting or whatever.