FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hey all,

My Nepenthes Ventrata that I got last summer literally exploded in growth and started vining like crazy, and now I can't really move it in and out of the house easily! I was wondering about how to propagate the vines. I read some guides on it and I have a general understanding, but I was wondering if anyone has any tips on what I should do.

There's a TON of basal shoots growing from the pot itself with little pitchers, so I'm not too afraid of chopping off the vines.

Do the growing tips of the vine continue growing after you chop them off along with a growth node? Or do they stop growing from the original tip and grow a new basal shoot from a growth point?

I read that sections with 2 nodes tend to strike more easily, is that true?

Is it ok to use plastic takeout containers with moss placed in it, then seal the container, or is it better to use pots and plastic bags?

Should I cut the leaves in half at all?

Picture of the Nepenthes:

I do my cuttings outside in open air in the summer when the humidity sets in. Two nodes one under media one above. To be honest ventrata is tough, it will mostly be fine in lower humidity.

last July when o took cuttings VS Now

Nikson, I think optique is "spot on" with saying that ventrata is tough. I received a single 12" piece of ventrata last year from Panman (thanks Panman!). After suggesting that he suggested that I might cut the cutting in half...I did. I planted both cuttings, a tip piece and a lower piece cut on both ends, into a 4" pot filled with a peat moss and perlite mix that was heavier on the perlite for extra drainage. I sat this down into a gallon zip-lock bag and wet it good so that some water was standing in the bottom of the bag...maybe 1/8 of a cup...enough to keep everything good and moist/wet. I started out with the zip-lock opened just a crack...maybe one or two inches. I sat the bag several feet away from a large window in our garage...not bright light at all. I completely opened the bag every couple of days for an air exchange. Every week or so I'd crack the bag open a little bit more and a little bit more until the bag was completely open. After growth was evident and had been going on for several weeks I removed the plant and set the pot in an empty hanging basket.

I'm not sure about the node-count, but for some reason I made sure there were at least two nodes above and below ground.

I made the mistake of moving it to a spot that got 2-3 hours of direct sun and though the plant grew it didn't not put on pitchers. I moved it over beneath a tree where at the most it received mottled lighting and it started putting on pitchers.

I had to move the plant inside for the winter and 've since been struggling trying to get a good humidity level (I guess that's what it is) as the pitchers seem to be drying out. I've moved it back outside and with the cloudy semi-cool weather it appears to be putting new pitchers on.

I guess it's all a learning process. But, going back to the beginning of my message, ventratas have got to be tough. I had a Lady Luck that I got from Chef (thanks Chef!), but unfortunately it just "failed to thrive" and turned to mush (interpret that last part as..."I killed it").

Apparently you know how to grow them once they're growing/rooted...moreso than I do!!!! Best wishes with your cuttings!!!

Nikson wrote: ↑Mon Mar 25, 2024 8:44 pmDo the growing tips of the vine continue growing after you chop them off along with a growth node? Or do they stop growing from the original tip and grow a new basal shoot from a growth point?

Typically all growth ceases until the plant has actually rooted. Once the cutting takes root, then growth resumes from the original growing point to also known as the apical meristem. However, it is possible that you might also get new growths from any of the unactivated nodes along the stem.

Nikson wrote: ↑Mon Mar 25, 2024 8:44 pmI read that sections with 2 nodes tend to strike more easily, is that true?

Whether to node cutting route more “easily” or not … I don’t know that I’d put it quite that way. Rather, burying two gives you twice as much chance of roots developing then if you only have one.

Nikson wrote: ↑Mon Mar 25, 2024 8:44 pmIs it ok to use plastic takeout containers with moss placed in it, then seal the container, or is it better to use pots and plastic bags?

I typically do the latter in what is typically known as the sphag-n-bag method. Although I very often will have not just sphag, but the actual media that I’m going to grow it in. And in my case, that’s typically a mix of orchid bark/coconut husk chunks and sphag, sometimes a little bit of peat. That way once I know it’s rooted I don’t have to worry about repotting it for a little while. I have not tried ventrata since I don’t own one, but I have found that doing so has worked well with Maxima and some poi dogs.

Nikson wrote: ↑Mon Mar 25, 2024 8:44 pmShould I cut the leaves in half at all?

That is up to you. I will say that I do so most times. Part of it is that I don’t like having the leaves in contact with the plastic bag as I find that they often will get a bacterial rot because of all of those moisture remaining in contact with the leaves, as well as a lack of air circulation where it’s pressed against the plastic bag. Also, cutting the leaves in half greatly reduces transpiration. This can be extremely important since, if the plant has yet to root, it has no way of taking up much additional water. Cutting the leaves reduces water loss until it is a chance to root.

The easiest way for rooting a ventrata, is to cut the vine and strip off the lower leaves so that you have a section of about 4 inches without leaves and 2 or 3 leaves above that. Sit the vine in a jar of water, and let it do its thing. I had ventrata cuttings growing happily in a jar of water for over 8 months before I finally decided to do something with them.

Awesome, thanks guys for the really detailed writeups! I had no idea you could water propagate ventrata, I'll have to give that a shot haha.

It doesn't make any sense. It will live for months in a jar of water but if you pot it and set it in a tray of water it will rot.

Panman wrote:It doesn't make any sense. It will live for months in a jar of water but if you pot it and set it in a tray of water it will rot.

Secret nepenthes techniques we will never understand.

Also, when you put it in water do you bag it up? Or do you just toss them in there and just leave them alone next to a window?

I just stuck it in water and gave it bright light.

Panman wrote:It doesn't make any sense. It will live for months in a jar of water but if you pot it and set it in a tray of water it will rot.

Well, probably do the amount of oxygen that it’s getting or not. Keep in mind that the structure of water roots is far different than that of soil roots or air roots(in the case of epiphytes). When you pot up a plant that you’ve rooted in water, the water roots typically all die and so the plant has to go through an entire new adjustment period of forming new roots this time roots that are built for soil. It’s actually one of the reasons I’ve gone away from starting pretty much any plant in water unless it’s something I plan on just growing in water. Instead, I find it typically better to start the plant in natural media because then the roots that are formed they don’t need a new adjustment.

Nikson wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2024 11:34 pm Also, when you put it in water do you bag it up? Or do you just toss them in there and just leave them alone next to a window?

If you’re talking the back method, I don’t leave the media super wet nor do I put any water in the bag with it. Instead, I’m make sure the media is damp and then I seal the bag up and I just check it once every week or two to see that it is still damp and if it’s drying out, I’ll spritz it with some water just to moisten it but I don’t leave a lot of water in there often that causes more problems than it’s worth.

DragonsEye wrote:Keep in mind that the structure of water roots is far different than that of soil roots or air roots(in the case of epiphytes).

I did not know this. Thank you!

DragonsEye, I definitely did not know that, either! Thanks for sharing!!!