How to encourage basal/side shoots on Nepenthes?

[jsehorn]

I have some experience with Nepenthes, but I wouldn't call myself an expert. This is my N x coccinea that I just got. As you can see, it has a long, tall woody stem with a cluster of just a few leaves at the tip. How can I encourage it to fill out a little bit? I know pruning Nepenthes can encourage side shoots, but there's really not enough green stem to prune without removing all of the leaves, which seems like a bad idea. If I just nip the apex, would that encourage shoots further down along the vine, or would it just form a new apex at the tip and keep growing how it's growing now?

The plant is new, so I'm not going to do anything to it for a few months to let it adjust to my growing conditions, but what do you guys think?

[jsehorn]

I mean, I know this is an orchid forum, but Nepenthes and orchids grow well together, so I know there are people here who grow Nepenthes also.

[katrina]

I hope you didn't pay too much for that. It's not a very strong division. IME, pitchers w/only one growth take waaaaaaaaay too long to bounce back. I definitely wouldn't snip the end since it has very little in the way of leaves right now.

If I had known you were looking to add Pitchers I would've sent you mine a couple of months ago. I got rid of my last 2 MONSTERS. The one was almost longer than I am tall and I was tired of all the space it was consuming. My rhipsalis have gotten larger and larger and they won out in the space wars of my grow space.

[jsehorn]

No, I didn't pay much for it, and Peter told me what condition it was in, but I specifically wanted N x coccinea. I've been looking for that one for a long time.

[jpyerry]

I definitely would not prune that plant. N x coccinea is not one I've heard of, I looked it up and from what I found it is a complex hybrid that grows best in lowland conditions. The best I can tell you, is give it good lowland conditions, the highest humidity you can muster, temps that are in 70F-90F range, and good diffused light, mine grow well in lighting similar to what I give my Cattleyas or Oncidiums. I have found that Neps can take a while to adjust to new conditions, but once they do and the conditions are right, they will really take off. My N. Ventrata, was really growing quite anemically for months, but then I put it in the right conditions and after about a month adjustment period, it just took off, it went from being about a foot tall to almost 4 feet tall in about 6 months and is developing basal rosettes all the time.

So, just give it the best conditions you can muster for its cultivation requirements and then be patient, so long as you meet its needs, it will probably bounce back and you will have more plant than you know what to do with.

Justin

[Andrew]

You can encourage side and basal shooting by (carefully) bending the vine down so that the growing tip hangs below the pot. The helps disrupt apical dominance allowing the lateral buds to grow. IME the buds take longer to start growing using this method than if you were to cut the stem but you don't risk losing the plant. Either way don't expect instant results, especially on a small plant.

I have heard of people using keiki paste to increase side shooting but I don't have personal experience using it.

[JungleMel]

Originally Posted by Andrew

You can encourage side and basal shooting by (carefully) bending the vine down so that the growing tip hangs below the pot. The helps disrupt apical dominance allowing the lateral buds to grow. IME the buds take longer to start growing using this method than if you were to cut the stem but you don't risk losing the plant. Either way don't expect instant results, especially on a small plant.

Agreed. This is probably the safest choice. You could also cut the growth point. Don't cut far down the stalk, just cut below where the newest leaf is growing out. This will force it to grow from elsewhere, but it may grow basals from anywhere along the stem. If you grow under lights, let it hit the light and burn itself. I've had this accidentally happen a few times and this is always the result, LOL!

[SilverShaded]

They usually grow basals when the stem is long enough that the growth inhibiying hormones from the growing tip dont reach the base anymore, thats usually around 1 foot in lengh, but each species/hybrid is different. I've never felt the need to bend over a stem to get basals, they just happen anyway. If the stem is long enough to bend over basals are usually on the their way. Good lighting sometimes helps.