Re: Utricularia

John Taylor [The Banshee] (rphjt@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU)
Mon, 28 Jun 93 09:48:52 +0000

>>Hello, I've been growing some tropical epiphytic Utric's in a peat-bark mix
>>in a terrarium according to some recommendations I got from someone (I can't
>>remember who), but the little ones aren't too thrilled from what I can see.
>>If anyone has had some success w/ U. longifolia, U. calcifida or U.
>>reinformis (small form), please let me know how you've gone about it. I had
>>quite a bit of growth after repotting the from the original pots I purchased
>>them in and nothing since. Thanks, John Phillips
>
>John,
>
>I'm not very adept at growing the Utrics either, but I have noticed
>that they will often stop growing when they become root-bound. I think
>you need to divide and repot annually for best results.

Firstly, many Utrics actually prefer to be left alone (IMO) rather than
be repotted annually (I don't think I've repotted *any* of my plants for
some years...). I grow U. longifolia in pure sphagnum moss, but
although it is still alive in an unheated glasshouse, it has problems
with some kind of fungus /mold. Peat/bark mixes have been mentioned in
Slack's books (amongst others) but the one I tried didn't really like
it. My U. praelonga, which I think is also an "epiphytic" Utric, grows
best in Sarracenia Peat/Sphag/Sand mix - in fact the healthiest ones are
those growing as weeds in some of my Sarracenia pots! (This is how I
got hold of the plant originally - not all "weeds" are harmful ;-) ) A
peat/sphag/sand or peat/perlite type open mix would *probably* be OK for
these species, but I can't speak from experience. I believe that they
also prefer some shading (U. calcyfida particularly), so maybe there's
too much sun.

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| John Taylor [The Banshee] | Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology |
| rphjt@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au | Department of Applied Physics |
| MOKING IS A HEALTH HAZARD. | Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA |
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