Forcing divisions

[wallsg7]

I recently had a purpurea delivered in poor condition due to it being flattened in transit.I wasnt even sure it would survive but i planted it and hoped.
Due to only one root remaining intact and the pitchers all bent out of place,i was left with no choice but to plant the tuber sideways instead of right way up.
To my pleasant surprise the plant not only survived but quickly went on to throw up several divisions.Could this be a way of inducing more divisions more quickly from a plant?If so this is a very exciting discovery-especialy if you have a rare or beautiful plant and are looking to increase stocks.
Also i know from being a gardener that planting certain bulbs sideways also has a similar effect by inducing the growth of bublets.
If this trick works every time it would be good news for everyone.

All the best

[Alexis]

It maybe just coincidence, or that particular plant is very healthy and keen to divide. Rhizome notching encourages new growth point apparently, so maybe your method has a similar effect! You'll have to try it with another purpurea clone to find out what the deal is!

[wallsg7]

I will definately be trying this out on some of my other favorite sarras once the time is right.This purpurea of mine has put out three new divisions in the time its taken to grow three new leaves!Ive never had a sarra do that before.

All the best

[wadave]

I've stumbled across something that may be of interest;

I've found by pulling off old leaves instead of cutting the rhyzome the plant likes to throw out large numbers of new side shoots.

I little while ago I bought a bunch of sarra's, some of which had very large rhyzomes so I thought I would give notching a go. There were a few plants I didn't notch but as I was repotting I noticed the old leaves came off rather easily by pulling them.

At the end of the growing season I noticed the notched plants had indeed put out a few side shoots but the plants with the exposed rhyzomes had produced far more. I've done it with the same results several times and now I do it with all my sarras.

My method is as follows:

The direction of pull should be across the rhyzome, this reduces the force required to remove the leaf. Sometimes you will find the leaf will come away very easily other times you will find it doesn't want to budge.

If you find you have to start using quite a bit of force, leave the leaf for another week or so and try again.

It can vary between the leaf being totally brown and it still not want to come off and there still being some live tissue nearest the rhyzome and it be very easy to remove. By all means cut the old pitcher short if you don't like to see old brown traps but leave enough to give you something to grip later.

The leaf will let you know when it's time to come off without doing any damage.

Removing leaves this way exposes the top of the rhyzome to light and air to stimulate the latent buds which exist at the base of leaves on almost any plant.

This woud be a way to induce a more rapid production of divisions without running the risk of loosing your favourite plant.

I've also noticed the stronger and healthier the plant the more offshoots it puts out. And because you are not removing a slice of the rhyzome the added bonus is you are not running the risk of mould or rot.

Some thing to ponder or try?

Dave.

[wallsg7]

I will certainly be trying it dave-thanks for the tip

[wadave]

I forgot to mention that this method requires a bit more delicacy with purpurea and psittacina due to the more vertical growth habbit of thier rhyzomes.

Plus they tend to have a tighter growth habbit so it is a little more difficult to get your fingers in there, especially when the plant gets larger.

Dave.

[wallsg7]

Thinkin about it dave your solution makes perfect sense with my discovery.This purp that i planted sideways -(i had to -as its leaves had been flattened in transit),suddenly produced new growth points.Each of those leaves (which later produced new growth points)had their base pulled from the tuber in transit.Therefore i think between us we have stumbled across a brilliant new plan to force divisions in sarras.
With so many members surely this can be proven or disproved fairly quickly.

[pitcherfreak]

Since growth of side buds is probably controlled by auxin changing the orientation of a vertical tuber may well alter the movement of auxin from the terminal bud to the auxillary buds and increase their ability to grow. Very interesting to know. Is their any chance that the terminal bud was damaged it could cause side shooting too.

[Dave Evans]

Dear Wallsg7,

Yeah, that will affect the way auxin moves through the stem and that have the effect of makes the plant more likely to branch sideways. This is rather similar to encouraging a Nepenthes with one long branch to grow a basal rosette by bending the stem so it droops over the side of the pot. Same principal.

Exposing the older part of the rhizome to light is a little more different. The dormant buds in between the leaves are getting activated by light now reaching them. Since each one will growing into an apical meristem, each of these will grow into a separate plant.

[astaroth1990]

I've tested pulling the old leaves out about a month ago, as suggested here, and it most certainly works! I can already see the first pitchers growing out of the new grow points! It's wonderful!