Question
Hi, i just had a few more questions.  Ok, i have a couple of seed starting areas, and one especially for neps, this includes, 20gallon long tank, 1in of Peat:perlite mix and a top layer of live sphagnum moss, the humidity is high, and there is a heat matt on the bottom of the tank.  there isn't any special lighting, but my n. amp seems to be doing fine with it, even starting to produce its first pitcher.  my questions are...what exactly do nepenthes seedling look like?  i have say 1 growth that i can see that is growing in the sphagnum, to me it looks like a dandelion with almost transparent leaves, this is where i planted n. viking seeds. there is only one, and its been in there almost 2 weeks and hasn't changed size, so should i leave it or take it out?  

also this might be a surprise, but the n.lowii i got from you, for some reason it has dwarfed pitchers, to my guess its lack of light, but that is'nt the surprising part, today i looked at it, and i found what i think is a basal!!!  First off if it is a basal this is my first plant that has ever gotten a basal, secound, its the last plant id expect to produce a basal.  i got this plant from you this summer, and it only has a 3-4 in leaf spand, maybe little smaller.  it came in i think a 4inch pot with one pitcher and i got it cheaper because you were clearing them out, i think it was $12-$14.  As for caring for this basal..when should i remove it?  should i wait until its half the size of the mother plant, considering the mother is'nt that big?  it might even be a sideshoot, as i think i burried the stem in the sphagnum moss, if i do find out it is a sideshoot, rather than a basal, do i leave it?  thanks

Answer
Hi Dustin,

When Nepenthes germinate, the first leaves will be cotyledons, tiny regular seed leaves.  The next leaves that come out will have tiny pitchers at the end of them.  They'll be fairly slow growing at first.  Don't take that seedling out.  It could very likely be a Nepenthes.  A weed would grow much faster.

That basal shoot on the N. lowii is probably a side shoot.  Don't try to remove it.  It's probably not a separate plant.  You would need to do a stem cutting, and the plant is too small to take cuttings off of yet.  Just let the plant grow to a good size, then you could consider doing cuttings.  

Often people compare the basal shoots on Nepenthes to the rhizome clumping that occurs on Sarracenia.  It's not the same thing.  With Sarracenia the clumps often have their own roots and can survive on their own.  Not the case with Nepenthes.


Good Growing!

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