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Best Utricularia species?


Hornet

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There are some cracker Utric species around, i cant remember most but there are some great epiphytes and a few of the aussie species like menzeisii and fulva but can anyone name a few of the other real stand out species in the genus?
Hello,

I assume your not after any small terrestrial species, although there are some beautiful ones. :D I don't like to put plants in any "this one is better that this" -order, but here are some species I really would like to grow myself:

-Utricularia arnhemica, huge traps on the surface of the soil. Beautiful flowers too.

-Utricularia biloba, lovely blue flowers. More like and aquatic species than terrestrial, although often referred as latter.

-Utricularia capilliflora, lovely flowers that look like small insect heads!

-Utricularia mannii, african epiphytic species. Not in cultivation to my knowledge though, would really like to grow this myself. :thumright:

-Utricularia longeciliata, very strange species. Forms a largish clump (In Utricularia scale..), and the flowerscape has these strange tentacle like appendages. The flower buds also have them.

-Utricularia purpurascens, stunning flowers, very rare in cultivation!

-Utricularia calycifida, really easy to grow, but still has beautifully colored leaves and flowers. The leaves are surprisingly large. (In Utricularia scale, again.) Really variable, there are many cultivars of this species.

There, some stunning ones. If you get some, please inform me about your results growing them. :P

Greetings,

Jarkko

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Hello,

I assume your not after any small terrestrial species, although there are some beautiful ones.

i'm after anything, no matter how small. I love the small terrestrials i grow, i will have to get pics to get them id'd but there is a pink and a yellow one both with tiny inconspicuous leaves that grow in boggy area's and in shallow water. Thanks for your replies so far guys, is there anyone you could recommend that i speak to about sourcing seed, someone who specializes in utrics?

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Hornet,

You might want to consider the difficulty (or possibly the special needs) of each species. Some of the most beautiful, or with the largest flowers may have very specific requirements and be difficult for someone fairly new to CPs to grow. Some utrics need hot temperatures, some need cool, some have a winter dormancy, some go dormant in the summer.

Example: while most would list U. campbelliana as having a very beautiful flower, it can be very difficult to grow well. To keep his happy, Tobias Kulig grows one (or more) in a modified refrigerator...

Edited by RL7836
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It depends upon what you are interested in: easy flowering or incredibly beautiful flowers (though not easily flowering).

Don't forget the easy flowering-incredible beautiful ones - it's common as muck and free flowering, but U. sandersonii is a cracker!

U. nelumbifolia is a free flowerer as well.

John, why not try the Aussie species first so they are well adapted to your climate?

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Hi,

RL7836 is right. Each utricularia group has different requirements. Utrics from South America like differences in temperature. Utrics from Africa and Australia (without U. menzesii) like warmer than South American species.

The most beautiful are epiphytic species. I always wanted to have it, so I had to make a cooled terrarium, it doesn't look professionally, but it is good.

Hornet, first you need to gain experience.

Regards, Matthew.

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I have been growing orchids, cacti, succulents, native plants and other bits and pieces for about 13 years now so i do have experience with a wide range of plants. CP's i have been growing for about 4-5years but never seriously like i have been with my orchids, i grow a huge range from native australian terrestrials to south american pleurothalids. I'm just after a list of the more attractive species for now but i will do research on anything before i go ahead with obtaining seeds/plants. Sometimes i will attempt a species as long as its needs are not too far off what i can provide and it can often pay off, as you know plants can be very adaptable. Anyway thanks for your help guys, keep the suggestions flowing :)

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Have a look in Carnivorous Plant Photofinder and decide what you like, and worry about availability and growing conditions later:

http://www.cpphotofinder.com/Utricularia.html

But U. dichotoma should be easy to get, and probably grows wild around where you live as it does around Melbourne, so it should be easy to grow. Nice purple flowers, and very large traps if you can organise the pot in a way that allows you to see them.

Some of the largest and most beautiful flowers in the genus belong to section Orchidioides. Here's a list of species:

http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq5656.html

Triffid Park sells U. reniformis, which has enormous, attractive foliage and big beautiful flowers.

Edited by Tim Caldwell
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Here are a couple of U. caerulea forms I found at Tin Can Bay a few years ago, should be very easy for you to grow as it is a local species.

5330035440_4807ab609c.jpg

Utricularia caerulea Magenta Tin Can Bay by gctrash, on Flickr

5330035420_6a35824b64.jpg

Utricularia caerulea Blue Tin Can Bay by gctrash, on Flickr

These photos are as they came of the camera (just reduced and cropped) the white ballance was auto but the difference was striking! Not bad for a few Km apart!

Cheers

George

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You live in an ideal climate to grow a large range of Utricularia species well.

Any of the species (excepting U. monanthos) that I am growing, should potentially grow better for you if you are able to provide them with a little bit of protection. Your current growing setup sounds to be a little too exposed. With the amount of rain you guys receive up there, you should at least look at providing some type of cover from above.

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You live in an ideal climate to grow a large range of Utricularia species well.

Any of the species (excepting U. monanthos) that I am growing, should potentially grow better for you if you are able to provide them with a little bit of protection. Your current growing setup sounds to be a little too exposed. With the amount of rain you guys receive up there, you should at least look at providing some type of cover from above.

i do have area's undercover that still gets good light but protected from rain which i am using for striking cuttings and growing most of my terrestrial orchids

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Everyone's ignoring the aquatic species!

U. vulgaris and U. australis are great plants. Very big yellow flowers and free flowering. Large traps, easily visible (and you can hear them "popping" loudly when you move the plant out of water. U. purpurea is good coloured (though maybe a bit small - I wish the "large flowered" variant was in cultivation). U. inflata and U radiata have some amazing structures to support their flower stems, and nice big yellow flowers again.

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Aquatic species are great, but of those you mention, only U. australis is available in Australia. U. aurea and gibba are also obtainable but that is about all.

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U. vulgaris and U. australis are great plants. Very big yellow flowers and free flowering. Large traps, easily visible (and you can hear them "popping" loudly when you move the plant out of water.

Yeah, the large-trapped aquatics are great, and I'm always surprised how seldom people mention the sound the traps make. If you slosh the container around it sounds like a bowl of rice bubbles. The 'snap' sounds remind me of the sound an ice cube makes after you drop it into a drink.

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