mikewilder Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 (edited) Hello, I moved my entire collection from Portland, Oregon to Baldwin county, Alabama this year. The recent hurricane emphasized how precarious my collection is now. So, I decided to take a few pictures.I can't figure out how to make the links work, just goto http://www.heliamphora.us/ Edited September 11, 2012 by mobile Fixed hyperlink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile Posted September 11, 2012 Report Share Posted September 11, 2012 A very nice collection you have there Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikewilder Posted September 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2012 A very nice collection you have there Mike Thanks Mobile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Rohrbacher Posted September 19, 2012 Report Share Posted September 19, 2012 Very nice pictures. What is your media? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikewilder Posted September 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2012 Hi, 60-70% perlite and the rest peat moss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MustangGT Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 Really great pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Carnivores Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 Woow! Super Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikewilder Posted October 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Thanks Aidan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimico85 Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 wonderful plants, how many tall is the heli in the first photo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikewilder Posted October 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 40 cm ps I love evolution and guinea pigs too 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Allan Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 The tatei is astonishing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikewilder Posted October 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 Thanks Greg, that's kind of you to say. I'm happy because it's flowering right now for the first time. The bracts are extremely sticky with nectar, and the flower smells like Gardenia. I've never detected a smell from Heliamphora flowers before. Hopefully I've made a nice hybrid cross with that first flower. I chose the Cerro Duida clone specifically because it is not supposed to form a stem, and I thought that would be wise since i'm a terrarium grower. But now that I see how grand it has gotten, I wish it would form a stem. I bought a clone from a different location, but it will be years before I see a stem. Something to look forward to-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NepGrower Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 Wow. As others have said, really fantastic H. tatei. What lights do you grow it under? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikewilder Posted October 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2012 When it was shorter I grew it under regular t12 shoplights (4 tubes/8 sq ft.) for several years. Once it became too tall I took an aquarium and flipped it up so that it is standing on its long axis. I have the pot on a stand inside so that the pitcher tops are as close to the "ceiling" as possible. The open front I then covered with saran wrap (plastic film.) Anyway the lights for this set up are two 26 watt (actual consumption; each =~100 watt incandescent output) compact fluorescent bulbs, the kind that screw into a regular incandescent socket. I use crappy clamp light reflectors for those. I think I got the two bulbs and reflectors for ~25 usd at a building supply store. Solely for illustration, this is what I'm talking about: http://www.amazon.com/75408-26-Watt-Spiral-100-Watt-Equivalent/dp/B002DZMTUE http://www.amazon.com/Bayco-SL-300N4-Clamp-Aluminum-Reflector/dp/B007RKKEHA/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1351133722&sr=1-1&keywords=clamp+light+reflector I don't use the clamp part, I just rest the reflectors on little plastic spacers (legos work well) on top of the terrarium. You need the spacers a) because the bulb is slightly longer than the reflector, and b) to aid ventilation of the heat given off by the lights. Obviously this is an unattractive set up. But it gets the job done. The tatei has grown well under that lighting for about 3 years now, and I used to have purpurascens and nutans giant under those type of lights. Both of the latter also flowered under them. So you can definitely do fine with those, as long as your ambient temp is low enough to compensate for the heat they produce. If you want to spend a little more money, and you can do some soldering, 50 watt led panels are looking pretty attractive these days. However I have zero experience with that. If you wade through this thread, you can find some good information and sources: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2128756 Anyway, happy growing-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NepGrower Posted October 26, 2012 Report Share Posted October 26, 2012 Thanks for the detailed overview. It's always interesting to hear about other growers' setups. The reason I asked about the lighting is because of the nectar spoon development in your specimen - it's the most impressive I can remember seeing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikewilder Posted November 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 Hello Nepgrower, your comment made me wonder about the extended part that holds the spoon above the pitcher. Is it so long because of etiolation? The answer seems to be no. As the inflorescence grew, I had to lower the plant much farther from the lights. Meanwhile it developed a new pitcher, and in this pitcher, the extended part is proportionally much shorter than on the older pitchers, despite getting much less light. So it does seem like that extension is normal, at least for this clone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NepGrower Posted November 6, 2012 Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 Yes, I'm certain your plant isn't etiolated. Etiolated Heliamphora are usually a uniform green throughout and have greatly reduced nectar spoons, neither of which is evident in your specimen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadly Weapon Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 That Heliamphora tatei from Cerro Duida.is just enormous. How long have you grown that plant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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