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I want to take cuttings

seedjar

Let's positive thinking!
Hey there, I want to take cuttings from my Neps for a few folks, but it seems like the ones I want to chop have caught on and started to grow more compact than ever. There pretty much isn't any internode - the leaves emerge from one another with no stalk exposed. There's certainly enough plant matter to yeild cuttings, but I don't think I can get in close enough to get a clean cut. I've also read that cuttings shouldn't be taken until new buds are emerging.
So, I surmise that I need to wait until those plants start climbing. My question is, is there some way to speed this up? I hear that red light encourages long stems, but I don't have the resources to go out and get a new light just to induce a certain growth pattern on a few plants. Are there any other tricks? I thought about moving my plants away from the light until they start to stretch, but I have a feeling that doing so would slow down growth more than it would encourage the growth I'm looking for.
Thanks.
~Joe
 
The "Red light stretching" isn't the kind of stretching you want. That is just the plant making last ditch efforts to reach for a quality light source. It is usually spindly, weak growth but stretched out. You'd see it if you put your Nep under a incandescent bulb but it would eventually cause irreversible damage to your plant. 'Good Things Come To Those Who Wait' same thing goes for people waiting on a cutting.

Joe
 
Heh, I had a feeling that was the answer. I'll guess I'll just have to start talking to it or leaving music on or something. :p
Thanks
~Joe
 
Just wait for it to grow a stem. You could theoretically cut it even though the internodes are still in rossette stage. What species is it? If its a hybrid or a common plant, you should get a stem shortly. Also on cutting when a bud forms, thats nonsense. You can cut a plant as long as there are still leaves left on the stem when you've finished cutting it. If there are still leafes, the plant can still photosynthesize and won't have any trouble making a new auxillary bud sprout.
 
The plant I'm fretting over is N. pilosa x. vietchii. It seems pretty vigorous, and I've heard good things about vietchii as a parent in hybrids. I just don't want to take any chances with it, as I owe a cutting to someone and I don't want to make them wait any longer than necessary.
~Joe
 
veitchii has hybrid vigour. Well, best thing I can say is, you can't rush a Nepenthes.
smile_m_32.gif
 
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