Re: CP digest 597
Andrew Marshall (andrewm@eskimo.com)
Sun, 21 Jan 1996 09:55:48 -0800 (PST)
Hello all,
I have two large Catopsis that have never flowered or produced
pups. I grow them in small pots filled with a coarse bark based
Nepenthes mix. They are watered through the centre tubes and the old
leaves removed as needed. I do not feed them in any way. When I got
these plants they were about three inches with no root structures at
all. I find that in 80% sun they are fast growers, mine reaching 12
inches tall and at least that accross.
I also have two Brocchinia reducta that I got as small pups from
Allen Lowrie a few years ago. They are in a peat/sand mix and treated as
the Catopsis. Last year I noticed that one is producing two pups.
Neither it nor the other have flowered yet. I am going to keep the pups
in case as I heard correctly that they die after producing pups.
I have no experience with flower pollination, I leave that part
to the person who produced the Catopsis seed I tried a couple of years
ago. I obtained it from the icps seed bank. Sowing it on a similar bark
based mix as the adults I have and in similar conditions the seed was
very slow to germinate. If I remember, longer then 4 months. It was a
good germination with more then 25 seedlings being sprouted, but there
followed a die off. They are, unlike the pups I got very slow to do
anything except to die. I ended up giving the last half dozen to Kevin
Snively as he has better luck with that sort of thing. I will ask him
one of these days what happened to them.
As to Catopsis growing wild in the US. It is my understanding
that hurricane Andrew saw to them quite efficiantly. I have it on good
authority that the only colony there was was totally obliterated. I have
since been unable to obtain any Catopsis. They are not a CITES plant,
can anyone in the rest of the plants home range provide any? Also does
anyone know where I can obtain Brocchinea?
Good Growing
Andrew