Date: 04 Jan 97 20:18:45 EST From: Alastair Robinson <100611.1627@CompuServe.COM> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg57$foo@default> Subject: ...
Dear Dave - you're gonna enjoy this... the first N.khasiana I had was in my
all-round semi-epiphytic, barky mix, which goes great for all my other Nepenthes
whilst the second, peat, sand and bark in roughly equal proportions, it died
too, so..! Out of interest, do you grow your plants under artificial or
natural light? - I would very much like to know if anyone out there is
cultivating N.khasiana under fuorescent light SUCCESSFULLY - I have a hunch, but
am unsure, that like some Streptocarpus species, but not others, some species of
plant won't succeed under fluorescent lights while others of the same genus do.
That Fungal Innoculation formule' you mentioned, Mr A.Griesser (Hi!)
sounds quite interesting - indeed I've never heard of anything like that here
(Not that the British have never been a really enterprisingly inventive
people..!) and am curious as to whether or not that could work. Surely for such
a thing to be of practical use and saleable, the manufacturers would have
selected hardy species of fungi which could tolerate extremely variable soil
conditions to cope with the variety of soils to which the product, when used,
would be added - and thus possibly some that would tolerate an Orchid/Nepenthes
mix, but these tend to be so different that I wonder... Am I getting too
hopeful in wondering whether anyone has tried and had any success with this??
I have grown Drosera on absorbant gel - D.capensis, and as it turns out,
the plants are a little smaller than they might be tho' there is the added
benefit that the gel retains relatively large amounts of water - and it even
turns green in the sun as it is just perfect for algal growth throughout 8-)
I also tried adding it to Nepenthes soil, as among its uses it was
suggested as a water retainer suitable for mixing into soil - one cannot judge
whether or not this has any affect as I haven't subjected my plants to drought,
nor have I any recollection of which pots they are in as it was two/three years
ago I'm afraid.
With regards to the fungus seen on the roots of the N.mirabilis, much to
my irritation, I did not think anything of it at the time and did not make an
attempt to preserve it as I have told Dave. I hate it when I do things like
this! - always an excuse to go home again though!
Best wishes and Many Happy Returns for 1997 (Unless Nostradamus is correct),
Alastair.
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