RL7836

When you are worried enough to do something, consider this.

Several years ago, I set up an experiment to see if D. schizandra had a preference with media. I posted my results over here & based on my results as well as other's comments, I swapped all of my schizzies into non-peat media's (and today all of my plants are very happy in 100% live LFS). Last September (09.12.09), I set up an experiment to see if D. prolifera did better / worse than it's cousin with varied media. While the plants went through various stages of growth, here they are as of a few days ago: All plants were almost exactly the same size when I started the experiment (my apologies for poor pic quality). Media in each pot: - bottom left - 2.1.1 peat.sand.APS - bottom right - 2.1.1.1 - peat.live chopped LFS.sand.APS - top right - 3.1.2 - chopped live LFS.sand.APS - top left - 100% chopped live LFS Fairly soon after I potted the individual plants, the original leaves on each died back. However, the leaves in the 2 peat-based pots died back first and a week or two later, the leaves in the LFS-based media died back (but more gradually). Other than this period of a few weeks when the peat based pots were regrowing and the LFS pots were dying back, the LFS-based plants have always appeared healthier than the plants in the peat-based media. The leaves are a darker color and generally larger - both in pad size and overall petiole length. I found that both plants in the peat media had pads that were always somewhat lighter than the other two - giving a bleached appearance. IMO, the peat-based media's were consistently inferior during the seven months of the experiment with the pot having the highest concentration of peat (lower left) being the worst performer. The two LFS-based media pots were similar in their growth patterns. Some differences could be seen on a week to week basis but overall they appeared roughly equal. Each of the plants put out a significant number of runners (flower stalks...). Since I didn't notice any real differences in the runners, they didn't seem to be an indicator of health. All 4 pots were housed in a 10 gallon aquarium under T-8 shoplights in my basement for this period. This environment, in general, has been very conducive to good growth for all three sisters (translation - they grow like weeds down there). To maintain a good level of humidity, I generally keep a layer of live sphagnum growing in between the pots of the various Neps, Dews, Utrics & Heli's growing there. In this layer, I've allowed feral prolifera to spread at will & there are anywhere from 2-3 in some tanks to 10-20 in others. Although, just as my media experiment with D. schizandra couldn't really be considered truly statistically significant or valid, this may provide a starting point for others who are pondering what media mix to use...

Here are some updated pics of the flowers on my D. schizandra & some recent plant pics.... Flower side view: Flower close-up - notice the split-red anthers for which the plant is named (with pollen poking out from the sides): Pic of the entire plant from yesterday: Top view - this plant lives under a 7" (~18 cm) diameter glass dome and as you can see, all of the largest leaf ends are bent from hitting the glass. The true diameter is something north of 7"... Side view: Close-up of the 'aerial' roots it's sending out. This plant really wants to make a mat of schizandra plants - as seen in native habitat pics:

I agree. I've admired pics of Iperua / Orchidioides for some time but finally took the plunge last year - really glad that I did. Neither clone that I was able to locate last year had location info. This clone apparently originated from BCP. (Fresh seeds that I legally imported from a Brazilian grower took 3 weeks to move through the mail system & weren't viable on arrival). Looking through Bob's photofinder when the stalks were growing, I noticed a distinct difference in flower colors. Some appeared almost white to my eye - here, here, here, etc. At the time, I wondered if those photos were just overexposed. In addition, although I have not gone through every photo, I didn't notice any with the colorful striping on the spur. I worked hard to ensure that my pics were not blown out, but they are paler than some of the pics. I don't know if sun exposure has an effect on flower color. My plants are growing in a terrarium under fluorescent lights and the stalks quickly posed a problem (tallest reached 27"/68cm). I rearranged the plants so this one was at one end and then allowed the stalks to exit the tank. Since the flowers grow towards light, I hung a fluorescent flood light above them to entice them upwards. So, even though the flowers did have exposure to light, it was much less than outside.

It's been a very good spring for my plants as they've presented me with some flowers that I've never seen before (in person). I'll start with the flower of the month - U. longifolia ... .... and now my super surprise - U. nelumbifolia. I got some of these plants late last summer and never expected flowers for some time. One of my plants not only bloomed, it had two stalks (another plant still attached to an aerial stolon sent up a stalk but I clipped it - what was it thinking??). .... and the one below clearly shows the stripes on the spur - very cool. ... and my vote for the most under-appreciated plant of the group - U. nephrophylla - lovely ivory white offset by colorful protruding eyes.... .... and now the 'Triclops' - three eyes (& yes - that's a 2nd spur) A few from the 'Little weedy section'... First up - the turtle shell of U. graminifolia... The plant that gets my vote for most difficult to photograph - U. bisquamata ... to give an idea of the size - here's one that includes my skinny finger... combine this tiny flower with a point-and-shoot camera that doesn't have manual focus or depth-of-field control and you get a lot of I'll finish with a group shot of U. livida blooms ... ....some additional shots of U. livida & the others are in my growlist (typically different angles)

I have & can vouch for effectiveness on aphids. Here's a thread where I shared my experience & the original process from the dart frog folks...

I've read that Orchidioides / Iperua seed have a short shelf life in general & U. humboldtii & U. nelumbifolia probably mark the lower end of the range with their 'special' seeds. It looks promising for me to have some U. nephrophylla seed in the coming weeks (& possibly U. longifolia seed in a few months). It seems that this type of seed rarely makes it into the ICPS seedbank for distribution (although the CPS seedbank has some...) & I was wondering if this is due to overall scarcity or to short viability (or both)? Does anyone have any ideas how long seeds from these groups remain viable?

Great plant! I really like the pics showing a progression of size & color. There are several of these threads on different forums - here's another. Some people are growing this plant in lowland conditions, some highland & some intermediate - it's quite adaptable ...

Fernando - thanks for all of the pics. I do love Iperua flowers and the 'new' species (whether new or not) is especially beautiful! Very intriguing conjecture. It would be interesting if the original author considered this option, and if so, what factors led him to discount it?If I read it correctly on the CP Listserver, Greg Bourke has both crosses growing in his collection and they have retained the U. nelumbifolia aerial stolons. Would this characteristic have disappeared w/ additional backcrossing or ...?

The 1st & 3rd pcs in your links both appear to have wet leaves - so the dew may have been washed off. The middle one just appears unhappy at the moment (lower humidity?). Many people have difficulty growing these plants so many of the pics you find will be plants struggling to survive. I suspect that D. schizandra's more sparse appearance may be an adaptation to it's low-light environment (fewer glands blocking photosynthetic cells). As many have noticed, this species is able to grow & be happy in lower light levels than many other (any?) CP. While the glands are spaced further apart, in a high humidity environment, they produce copious amounts of dew. When I look over at mine, I'm often amazed at how much dew they produce (check out the 2nd photo - leaf @ ~4 o'clock) As for evolving away from carnivory ....

Any more updates & pics from the lowland populations? Flower pics?

Very beautiful pics - thanks for sharing! Having read some of Fernando's explanations, I'm reasonably clear on the distinctions between D. ascendens & D. villosa. However, I'm much less so on the differences between D. ascendens & D. graomogolensis. What distinguishes these plants from D. ascendens?

I suspect that the differences people are describing are between conditions similar to what you & Mobile lay out vs sitting in a terrarium year-round w/ no change in temps or photoperiod. Does anyone actually bag up a Ceph and stick it in the frig? Would it even survive?Mine tend to bloom when experiencing a seasonal change in photoperiod & temps but not when sitting in a terrarium.

Fernando, Thanks for all the pics & narration of your adventures. It allows those less-traveled of us to experience a little bit of the adventure & awe. How large were the 'leaves' on the small U. reniformis that you found?

Wow Jeff - sorry for your losses. This seems like a bad year for people with large collections taking some hits - you, Jens (Nepaholic) & some others(?). Best of luck in getting a more robust approach to your absences - I'm guessing you've got quite a few more ...

Hi Johnny, Thanks for sharing all the great habitat shots. Actually, it's not a Tiger Swallowtail. It appears to be a Palamedes Swallowtail. Beautiful butterfly.

For the U. reniformis, consider the f. courte from BCP. It is a vigorous grower that stays relatively small. In addition, it's leaves have a different quality to them than other varieties (in addition to the wavy-leaf thing). For another leaf shape, try U. tricolor (although you're not likely to see many blooms ...)

Francois, Very healthy, happy plants you have - thanks for sharing! I see a few Utrics in your tank if I'm not mistaken (U. humboldtii on left, longifolia middle & nelumbifolia on right). Have the humboldtii & nelumbifolia successfully established 'bases' in any of the heli pitchers with their wandering aerial stolons? What species are you growing in there?

I was unable to find name-brand APS anywhere locally so I checked the Lesco website to find local Turface suppliers. Picked up a 50lb bag for $10 & change... I was leery so prior to use, I checked the Turface for dissolved solids for several weeks. No issues...Based on a Terra member recommendation, I also picked up some Napa oil dry (specific part number). While it had the same particle size, there were color variations within the mix (unlike the Turface). I shared some of both mixes with other growers and they reported back that the Napa stuff killed some plants.

Jim, In my limited experience with Utrics, they take their time in sending up flower stalks and 'preparing' the bloom. Unlike some dews, which can surprise you with an open bloom (& typically close just as fast), the Utrics take a while to open and then often hang around for some time ...

For my 1st attempt at growing an H. minor a few years ago, I divided a plant received in a trade. Two parts were potted into different peat-based mixes & the 3rd in 100% live LFS. The peat-based plants did not thrive, barely putting out any pitchers. The LFS plant has grown fairly well and is now in need of a repotting. Since then, I've potted up a few more heli's in mixes based on live LFS, sand & APS with very good results. I don't consider my initial results with peat-based media definitive by any means but since the other mixes are doing well I'll probably keep going in that direction, at least for a while...

From another thread...

Jeff, While I don't know the exact cause of your problem (there are multiple possibilities that have been mentioned), actual live sphagnum (not the stuff you have) would not cause those problems - at least they don't in my growing areas. In addition to the utrics, neps & helis growing in LFS & LFS mixes with live LFS top cover, I use live LFS between my pots as both a growing medium for some dews (currently red filiformis & prolifera & the occasional schizandra) and as a humidity indicator & enhancer. I agree with the others that you should consider starting over with an uncontaminated media.

Carlos, Astounding pics!! Thanks for sharing.