Might be a bit soon to reach a conclusion, but I've been given cause to wonder.
Just potted the first of my 3rd generation of Panama Pacifics. By that, I mean I got one plant earlier this year (1st generation,) and was able to start a couple of new plants (2nd generation,) from the viviporous growths on the pads. And now from one of those, I've collected a new plantlet from a pad and planted it. (3rd generation.)
Now, that first plant is in a one gallon pot and would like nothing better than to take over the 4X8 Patio Pond its growing in, and probably would if not for the Daubin at the other end trying to do the same thing. The difference between those two is that the Daubin is determined to start a new plant on every pad it puts out. Without any interferance from me, each node is making a new plant, every one of them can be potted and grown.
That Panama Pacific does have nodes on each pad, but seldom does one put up pads and enough roots to start a new plant. To do that, I usually have to take the pad intact from the parent plant and move it to a pan of water set aside just for that purpose. Then, most all of them develop a plantlet that can be planted.
I took one from that pan and potted it in an 18 oz cup and it grew nicely. Now it is blooming and producing pads with vivip nodes. The nodes on this plant seem to be more more active than the one in the one gallon pot. By that, I mean that if I leave them alone, many of them seem to start the plantlet growing much more often than the one in the one gallon pot. It is from one of these that I planted my first 3rd generation Panama Pacific.
Is it just a plant that's more vaviporously active naturally, or does the fact that it is growing in a much smaller pot play into it?
I'll have more to go on later, as I have more planted in 18oz cups and several planted in smaller 8oz cups. But I'd like to hear if anyone else has seen a difference due to pot size.
Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL
