Question

Ventricosa  

Ventricosa 2   I have a ventricosa (Crossed with something I believe) that I purchased from you guys (Sarracenia NW ROCKS! :)) about 4 years ago now.  In the last 3 three months this plant has put on sudden growth, with long distances in between each of the leaves - where leaves were normally growing every couple of inches up each 'stem' they are now growing 4 to 6 inches. I don't feel that this growth is sustainable for the plant as any pitchers that it develops will probably only bend the plant over. As you'll see from the picture these plants are under a pretty strong light source. This is 250W Full spectrum light (It actually operates at a lower capacity than that, as half of the light is broken - I think of it more as 125W). This is the same light source as it has had since I purchased the plant. These plants get the Sarracenia NW Nepethenses soil mix, and are on distilled water only diet with no deviation from that.

SO, my question is- is there a responsible way to trim the stem of this plant so that it will keep growing and leave the plant undamaged? Perhaps if I trim the end it will just create a split at that point? Any help is appreciated!

Sincerely,
Ian Johnson

Answer
Hi Ian,

You just need to cut it back.  The plant will start a new shoot from a dormant node present at each leaf.  The piece you cut can be rooted to make a new plant.  We have information in our volume #3 DVD on how to do that.  One update, however, don't cut the leaves in half, just leave them whole.

When growing Nepenthes, this is just part of the territory.  In nature they are vines, not shrubs.  They climb other foliage and trees to get to the sun.  By cutting them back you can keep them bushy.

FYI, it looks like your big plant on the left is a Nepenthes sanguinea.  They are infamous for developing long vines when they get to this age.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com