Expert: Christopher Littrell - 5/19/2010

Question
QUESTION: I got a nepenthes the other day and it has 2 flower stems and it looks as thay are seed pods not flowers any more what do you think i should do? And it has lots of vines should i cut them and root them and if so how should do that?

ANSWER: Hello Jose,

Nepenthes produce a number of small flowers with four petals each on each flower scape. They do rather look like pods even when the flowers are opened. If the Nepenthes is female and has been pollinated, it will produce seeds. When the seed pods are ready to be harvested they will turn brown and dry out. Just wait until the pods are dead and dry and clip the scape off after it begins dying back, then break them open over a white sheet of paper to collect the seeds on the paper.

It is according to what species of Nepenthes you have, but in most cases, you can take clippings like you would from an Ivy. The vines can be clipped back to 8-12 inch sections, as you wish, and then placed in an opaque vase of distilled water. They may root after a month or two and can then be potted like a normal plant. Make sure each vine section has several good leaves and that the pitchers are removed. They will brown back quite a bit, but produce new vine buds above each leaf after a few weeks. If you pot the resulting clippings low enough, the new vine buds will be close to ground level and the browned clipping sections can be cut back around it to leave only the living new vine.

Christopher

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello my nepenthes is a nepenthes alata and i cut open one of the "flowers" and it looks like there are seeds but there small and one other thing after the seeds dry up does the vine die?

Answer
Hello Jose,

The flower scape will die back, but the vines will continue to grow and produce leaves and pitchers.

If the pods are dried out already, and if the seeds have dried, then they are ready to harvest. If not, leave them alone until you see them beginning to dry out so much that the pods almost begin to open themselves. At that point, they are ready to harvest and sow.

Christopher