> I wanted to get some talk started on the different species of heliamphora.
> I thought it would be helpful if you guys who have them describe your
> growing conditions such as temperature, humidity, how old they are if they
> have flowered and so on. My heliamphora are kept in one of those laboratory
> extenda rack systems about $110 for four shelves, but man this thing will
> last forever. My plants are planted in 100% non-living sphagnum in plastic
> pots. The pots are resting in watering trays and watered with chlorine free
> water from my purifer. The whole shelf unit is covered with black plastic
> and inside are fluro fixtures with cool and warm bulbs, on for 16 hours a
> day. Inside also have a cool humidifer on constantly and a warm humidifier
> that cycles on and off five times a day. The temp stays about 80 degrees
> and the humidity between 65 and 80.
Sounds OK to me. I have been growing H.heterodoxa, minor and
heterodoxa*ionassi for about a year now (and I've ordered and am
looking forward to H.tatei var.tatei, ionassi and nutans 'Tramen tepui
form' :-)
I tried H.nutans a couple of years ago, but found it a difficult and
sulky plant that only survived about 6 months in a pot on a shelf
under lights, with attention and misting several times a day - all
by the book (it probably isn't sulky - just wants a stabler climate.)
My plants are forming their first 'adult' pitchers now (well, minor
has been for a couple of months,) and are about 3", 2" and 5" high
respectively, so not of flowering size yet :) but a lot larger than
they were a year ago, and forming multiple growing points, so the
subterranean bits are doing well too.
I surmise that my current gratifying results are due to growing
them in a *much* bigger environment - in a pot on a shelf, the
microclimate can vary almost minute to minute, but I have mine in
a 3'*18" high-sided terrarium with South American Utrics, Genlisea,
Drosera and a Brocchinia reducta, and they love it - it's always
bright and humid, but well-ventilated too, the copious sphagnum helps
minimise mould and boost humidity.
I have kept them potted in 4:1 perlite:peat, topped with an inch of
sphagnum around the base of the plants and to hide the pot rims (needs
regular trimming,) but buried in the peat and sand mix of the
terrarium, and lit by 4x 36W fluorescent strips at a height of ~18".
They're growing fast (compared to say, Sarracenias,) and have coloured
up very well, particularly the hybrid. They are at one end mounded
up so that they barely reach the water table in the terrarium, but I
water the whole thing through the Heliamphora pots so that they get
the freshest water, and mist it most days. The other end slopes down
to a couple of pools for aquatics, and really squelchy Utrics, and is
50% shaded. I give mine a constant 14hr photoperiod all year -
they're pretty equatorial, so I don't know how they'd react to my
usual 8/16 seasonal photoperiod for other plants. The thermometer
tells me that they are 75-78F most days, and less than 66F at night
(that's the bottom of the scale, but I'd guess about 60F.)
Hope this helps,
Peter
snail:Peter Cole,17 Wimmerfield Cr. :mailto:carnivor@bunyip.demon.co.uk
Killay, SWANSEA SA2 7BU, WALES :http://www.angel.co.uk/flytrap/index.htm
vox:+44 1792 205214 :ftp://www.angel.co.uk/pub/flytrap