Hello everyone, I don't know if anyone can help me with this one ( perhaps @PeterS or @longk ) . I have a Ctenanthe Oppenheimerii Tricolor which is around 5' high and 4' wide, this last year or so it has been growing leaves in a fan shape from the top of existing leaf stalks. Now, although it looks good they're starting to bend the stalks down and I'm afraid of them snapping or breaking off. My question is, is it ok for me to cut these off and treat as cuttings. If so are there any specific needs ? PS,,,, the title should say " behaving " but I can't change it now.
Yeah it gets sprayed everyday. It was only about 8" high when I bought it now it's over 5'. I just wondered if you'd ever grown any cuttings from them. I can't find any information about propagation, everywhere I look just says to split the clump which I'm gonna do later on as it's totally filled an 18" plastic garden tub.
Sorry KFF - I don't know this plant at all. I have had a Google and see that it grows from a rhizome and the most usual method of division is to divide the rhizome - ie the whole plant. However one site did say that you can take stem cuttings. It's in the Maranta family, and again one site said that you can take stem cuttings of Maranta. Where are you growing it? I grow stuff in a conservatory, and I am aware that the still air can make plants go floppy. Meaning that if the same plant were grown outside (assuming it was warm enough) it would be exposed to wind and would grow shorter and sturdier. You sound as though you have enough material, so really you don't have much to lose by cutting off a stem and trying to propagate from it. I don't know the plant, and I don't know how the leaves arise, but a lot of things in the Ginger family, that Maranta and Ctenanthe are part of, produce leaves from inside an existing leaf stalk. So that what looks like a stem is not really a traditional stem with growing points (nodes), but merely leaves within leaves. I suspect division would be the best form of propagation, but the essence of gardening is to have a go and learn from the experience. Best of luck. Being tropical, I suspect that any cutting, and indeed the plant itself, needs a lot of heat and humidity (as LongK said). I gather they are quite happy in the shade.
Thanks Peter, It's not floppy as such. I was just worried about the weight of a new plant growing on top of a thin 5' high leaf stalk. You're right about how they grow, it's a bit like a Strelitzia where one leaf grows out of another, but it doesn't actually grow a stem ( like the Maranta for example ), the main fan stays at ground level.
I've done a quick sketch to show you what I mean..... Normal growth Latest growth You can see the new fans growing from the top of the leaf stems ( shaded in grey ). I may cut one off to see what happens and if it roots but I don't want to cut too many in case it's getting ready to flower. I'm not desperate in rooting any more as I can always split the clump, done this before with other Ctenanthes and Calatheas with success.
Spider plants have a similar growth don`t they - with baby plants growing in a similar way. Nothing ventured, nothing gained good luck, let us know if you succeed.
