U. alpina cultivation and growing conditions

[Altair]

Hi!

I got my U. alpina 2 years ago. I've always kept it on a terrarium in sphagnum, peat and perlite, the substrate not too wet. Temperature range is from 30 to 25°C day - 15 to 8°C at night

The plant flowered this summer, but I often have problems with botritis. I control it using sulphur that always solve the problem.

I need more infos on how to grow this species and how/where it lives in the wild (altitude, temperatures, etc...).

Thanks,

Al

[Tim]

Since no one answered....

Mine wasn't doing well with the rest of my bladderworts, and Forbes told me it was too wet, and I should grow it like an orchid. So I moved it to my Highland Nepenthes area in partial shade, no sitting in water, misted from the top 3-4 times per week for one minute, moist by not wet substrate and it's doing quite well now; a huge improvement actually.

No more fungus problems, so no treatment. Temps are both higher and lower than what you mention.

I could wish it would grow longer and greener leaves, though. Perhaps someone else will chime in.

[Bob H]

I grow mine much the same as you Tim, sphag, grit and orchid bark, in mesh pots, watered about once a week in the winter more often in the summer. Min temp 7C, in the greenhouse in full but filtered (through bubble wrap) sunlight. No fungus but only one flower so far :-( , plenty of leafy growth.

[Pyro]

Here is how I grow all my Orchidioides group Utrics which includes 3 seperate clones of alpina in 5 different pots.

I use a media that is equal parts very fine orchid bark, perlite and LFS and I topdress with live sphag. The plants are grown in both waterlily type pots and standard pots set on styrofoam blocks in trays. This allows me to top water without the pot sitting in the water in the tray after it drains. I top water whenever the live sphag starts to look a little dry, every 4-10 days depending on the season. Light is by 4 120cm tubes set 60cm above the plants. The growing area is in my crawlspace (the only place that stays cool during the summer here in Atlanta) and humidity is probably only about 50% but might be higher around the pots with the water sitting in the trays. I have had blooms for the past 2 years and obscene growth with stolons growing out almost every hole in the waterlily pots and out the drainage holes and over the tops of the standard pots.

[blueflytrap]

Pyro said:

The growing area is in my crawlspace

What is a crawlspace?

Regards

[jimscott]

I can't grow U. alpina if my life depended upon it! Right, Travis! But I can see some consitency of growing conditions - moist but not wet...

[Giles_KS]

I grow mine with some VFTs, in the open greenhouse. Substrate is a perlite/Sphagnum mix, with the water level in the tray fluctuating between some and none. Only one flower so far (my avatar), but the plants seem generally happy. Hardly thriving, and not that many leaves at a time and fairly small ones at that, but OK. I think this species is fairly tough and will put up with a fair bit of abuse.

Previously I had the same plants (in a similar medium) in a dimly lit terrarium, standing in water. Again they survived OK and multiplied, but could have been better. Probably standing them in water is acceptable with the very open medium, so they aren't actually waterlogged.

Giles

[Gawd_oOo]

What is a crawlspace?

It's like half a basement or cellar, only about 4 feet tall, hence you have to crawl to get around in it. Used as storage areas.

[Pyro]

Gawd pretty much described it. For our house there is about a quarter of the area that is just under 2m tall and allows access to the air handler.

[Altair]

oh, I've seen this topic only today . Thanks for the replies, I solved the botritis problem by keeping the plant very dry. I grow it in a dead sphagnum , peat and perlite mix, watering only when the spaghum became white. I got only one flower last winter, then I divide the plant. After the division and repot it stops growing but now the plant is producing 4 flower scapes! I hope it will bloom well.

[Guest Andreas Eils]

Provided that the flower buds won´t be attacked by mildew!

Andreas

[Altair]

here we go

7 flower stalks growing!

[Guest Andreas Eils]

That´s unfair! Mine is as large as yours but haven´t grown more than five flower stalks so far!

Wait! Mildew will attack your flower stalks and in the end you´ll only get a hand full of flowers! :haha: (Of course I´m only joking!)

Well, my "Alpinas" are late this year! Only the tip of one flower stalk has come out of the soil so far... :-k

Regards,

Andreas