gardenofeden Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 (edited) I don't have much luck with taking cuttings of Nepenthes, but I do find air layering works well for me. So here is a brief photo guide on how to do it: The reason for layering can often be to increase the number of plants, but for me it is to stop the plants outgrowing the terrarium where they live, and having spare plants as a result is a bonus which I can then swap for other specimens. Choose the stem you want to layer. Cut off a leaf at the point where you want to do a layer, as in this photo: Nepenthes air layering 01 by gardenofeden67, on Flickr Then make an angled cut upwards through where the leaf attached to the stem using a clean sharp knife, as so: Nepenthes air layering 02 by gardenofeden67, on Flickr Press a few stems of Sphagnum into the cut. This is to keep the cut open and stop it from healing up. I have tried doing notches before, but find this "wedged cut" works much better. Some people like to use hormone rooting powder, although it never seems to work for me. There has been a recent suggestion that rooting powder may work better on layerings done towards the top of vine because of the particular hormone balance near the shoot tips... I tend to do mine towards the bottom of the vine, which may explain why hormones do not help: Nepenthes air layering 03 by gardenofeden67, on Flickr Next wrap some damp Sphagnum moss around the cut. You do not need very much, a ping-pong ball size is as much as you will ever need and usually much less than this. Wrap a piece of clear plastic (e.g. cling film) around this Sphagnum, and secure top and bottom with ties. Leave the top tie slightly loose to allow water in, you do not want the moss to dry out. You may need to water the moss occasionally with a syringe or pipette to keep it damp: Nepenthes air layering 04) by gardenofeden67, on Flickr Several weeks later, you may see roots growing under the plastic, Nepenthes roots are black. In this picture you can see Nepenthes roots growing in the crease of the plastic at the bottom of the wrapping. When you see the roots, you know the layering has rooted and you can cut it off: [/url] Nepenthes air layering 05 by gardenofeden67, on Flickr And here is the finished article with roots sprouting ready to be potted up. The stem has already been cut.: Nepenthes air layering 06 by gardenofeden67, on Flickr Any handy hints or useful pearls of wisdom please do share... Edited March 4, 2012 by gardenofeden 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endparenthesis Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 Might be a little late, but this is where I got my air-layering info: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extensi...r/airlayer.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SarraceniaScott Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Thanks for posting that. I have some cuttings from my N x coccinea which haven't really taken off. They're still green, but it's been weeks, and no trace of new growth. I tried this method with one of my Nepenthes... we'll see if I have better luck this way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesara Posted February 11, 2005 Report Share Posted February 11, 2005 Hi Stephen What a great little post.never tried it, but you seem to have great success with it Bye for now julian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter22 Posted March 6, 2005 Report Share Posted March 6, 2005 Wow, that is really neat! Do you always get 100% sucess with this? And is the rooting process as fast as cuttings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenofeden Posted March 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2005 Wow, that is really neat! Do you always get 100% sucess with this? And is the rooting process as fast as cuttings? about 80%, sometimes the stems heal up without rooting. as for cuttings, don't do many so can't compare really, about the same perhaps.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Federico Posted March 6, 2005 Report Share Posted March 6, 2005 Stephen, very interesting article. I have to try it with my N. albomarginata. So... you do have a spare of N. ampullaria Cantley's Red, isn't true??? You you want to sell it, just call!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie D Posted March 6, 2005 Report Share Posted March 6, 2005 Thanks for that great guide, Stephen. I've just layered my N. x gentle on its two main stems (2 different layerings, in other words). Fiddly old job though, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Federico Posted March 6, 2005 Report Share Posted March 6, 2005 Just done this job to my N. albomarginata! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue_paul Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 sound call i might try it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jürgen Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 Stephen good job !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edita Posted July 16, 2006 Report Share Posted July 16, 2006 Hello! I would like to do the same with my Neps but they don't have any upper part of the steam without pitchers. Can I airlayer it with them? And second...what if I don't have steams of Sphagnum, can I use something else?? thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
droseradude Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Hey, Great guide by the way. I did it on my amp. What do you mean by several weeks though? Like, a month? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenofeden Posted July 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Hello!I would like to do the same with my Neps but they don't have any upper part of the steam without pitchers. Can I airlayer it with them? And second...what if I don't have steams of Sphagnum, can I use something else?? thank you you can airlayer any stem. any dap compost will do, vermiculite or similar may work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenofeden Posted July 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Hey,Great guide by the way. I did it on my amp. What do you mean by several weeks though? Like, a month? like 7-8 weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phissionkorps Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 I used your guide and tryed my own little spin on it. When slicing the stem, I went further "in", pretty much in the middle of the stem, and I made the cut at a very shallow angle (probably about 5° from the horizontal), about 1" long. I also dusted the sphagnum that went in the cut with rooting hormone. This did not speed up the rooting process any, though it did create wayyy more roots. A side effect of this though, was that the roots were only about 1" long, though there were probably 30 +/- of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prozac Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 Hmmmm could you not just cut the stem off and plant it in pure Sphagnum moss? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aidan Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 That's called a 'cutting'... Run a forum search and you will find many threads on the subject. Air layering is an alternative method of multiplying Nepenthes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prozac Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 lmao hit me with a big stick for being so stupid!!!!! i cant believe im such an idiot, i must be tired cos it is late, Yep thats my excuse and im stickin to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phissionkorps Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 Prozac, this way, the plant itself already has roots, but new roots are gorwn out of where the cut is made. It takes shorter, due to the cut area still having some sort of vascular system still attached. Also, if you make a cutting and it dies...sucks for you. If you make an airlayering (sp?) and it doesnt work, all that happens is the stem heals up and the plant continues as it was Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glider14 Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 i tried this on my nep and it worked wonderfully. i tried it on its woody stem too. ALex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenofeden Posted October 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 glad it worked for you! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taywf1234 Posted August 1, 2007 Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 How old does your nep need to be, to air layer it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aidan Posted August 1, 2007 Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 No specific age. The plant simply has to be large enough to handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Daa Shaaman Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 I love photos they talk a 1000 words and the info is very useful , it will work great too , with instead sphagnum moss you can use Jiffy 7 peat pellets , no hormone needed , take care....... Sincerely ........................//////////////////////// Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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