Hemliamphora heterodoxa x nutans

[Kryptonite]

I recently purchased one of these beautiful plants as i was told it's one of the easier ones to grow. I've done a few searches on here but still have a few questions that my searches were unable to answer. Please could you help?

I understand that they like a lot of light. It's currently on a south facing window that gets a good amount of direct sun so i think i have that covered. I'm not growing it in any kind of tank or vase, just in the pot. Do i need to get a tank to keep it in? Would a tall vase suffice?

I was told by the seller that in the winter i will need to use a lamp. Do you have any recommendations as to the type of lamp/bulb to use?

I'm currently using the tray method to water the plant. Is this suitable as i did read some conflicting opinion regarding top watering?

I see the pitchers have some water inside. I know this is probably a silly question but do i need to pour [additional] water into the pitchers?

Many thanks,

[mobile]

Typically hybrids containing heterodoxa are reasonably easy going. As to whether it needs to be in a vase or terrarium (enclosure) would depend on what environment it is used to. If the supplier has been growing it at high humidity and you suddenly reduce it then it will probably shrivel. If this is the case then you would need to gradually acclimatise it to lower humidity levels. I do not grow heterodoxa × nutans but I do grow heterodoxa × ionasii on a south facing windowsill, without any enclosure. If additional light is not given during winter months then the plant produces very flared pitchers, with small nectar spoons, but during summer it produces normal pitchers and well developed spoons. I do not give mine additional light in winter, but if you intend to then I would suggest a daylight compact fluorescent (CFL) as a supplementary light. I grow mine in live Sphagnum moss, which I keep constantly wet but allow the water level to fall before topping back up. Water in the pitchers will help increase the local humidity.

[dchasselblad74]

In general....Helis do need very high humidity, but they can actually be slowly acclimated to lower humidity environment, as long as their media and roots are kept moist and never ever allowed to dry up. Some people do place them in terrariums for increased humidity, but be careful cause Helis tend to get attacked by fungus when humidity is increased. Some people even go as far as installing a small fan to increase air movement in the terrarium to prevent mold and fungus from settling and growing. As far as lights, many people, including myself, use T5 lighting. When you set them under artificial lighting, in general, you want to run lights for 13-17 hours during summer and decrease the duration to 12-15 during winter months. In general, Helis love super bright light without the heat. So keep your Helis in the cooler temps like 80 degrees Farenheit during the day and drop it to 50-60 Farenheit at night..The general rule is weakly/weekly as far as fertilizers(Weaker solution is better, to be on the safe side) so just mix your weak solution(1/8 dose of the manufactures recommendation or 1 teaspoon per one gallon of water) of RO or Rain or distilled water with your Miracid, then water your Heli roots, then fill the pitchers with same weak fertilizer solution aswell...Then flush the roots the week after you fertilized them, so residual fertilizer dont build up. Remember Weakly/Weekly..Very important cause Helis can die from over fertlilization...when in doubt, just feed Helis with baby crickets from the pet stores(put one cricket per pitcher)...Yes always have RO or Distilled or Rain water in Heli pitchers....Hope this helps Good Luck

[mobile]

Here's a few pics of the heterodoxa × ionasii that I mentioned above:

[dchasselblad74]

Here's a few pics of the heterodoxa × ionasii that I mentioned above:

Wow!!! I have the same hybrid, but it has not yet grown any mature pitchers. I keep mine outdoors under shade but it gets some direct sun and it is bright red. I will try to post pics..But seeing yours gives me something awesome to look forward to...Thanks for posting pics Carl

[Kryptonite]

Thanks for the replies--appreciate the advice. I think it's doing ok--i've only had it a week so it's pretty hard to tell just how happy it is. It's not died yet which is a good thing. I've noticed that it is producing baby pitchers which i think is a good thing:)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Sry, i can't seem to embed the image in the post.

Some of the baby pitchers have brown colouration on the side facing outward. It doesn't look like the pitcher is dying though. Is this normal or is it something to worry about? I will try and post a photo of it this evening.

That's a lovely plant Mobile--maybe i will try and find one when i have some more experience with these guys.

Edited June 6, 2011 by mobile

[mobile]

Looks like a nice healthy plant to me. Look out for browning at the base of the pitchers, as this is usually a bad sign. Did you get it from a private grower?

I've embedded the picture in your post. With ImageShack you need to click on 'Embed this image' and then copy the code in the 'Forum' option, which in the case is:

[url=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/546/heliamphora.jpg/][img=http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/5374/heliamphora.jpg][/url]

Uploaded with [url=http://imageshack.us]ImageShack.us[/url]

You then simply past this code directly into your forum post.

I personally prefer http://tinypic.com, with that you copy the 'IMG Code for Forums & Message Boards' and paste that directly into the forum post.

[Kryptonite]

Thank you--will use Tinypic from now on. I'll post a picture of the pitchers this evening/tomorrow but i haven't noted any browning of the pitchers so far.

I got it from Hampshire Carnivorous Plants at Chelsea :)