FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi all!

I have been wondering about helis. Are they really as hard to grow as some growing guides say? Some people have stunning ones! Anyway, I thought that the thread on people posting pics of their cephs was so cool, so I thought I'd try it here. Post pictures of your helis here!

Heliamphora is not hard to grow, and a nearly foolproof growing mix is just 100% long-fiber sphagnum moss (not sphagnum peat moss, which is considerably more aged and decomposed).

The hard thing with Heli's is handling them. The leaves are very brittle and easy to crack and break. The roots, while slightly flexible themselves, are easy to break from the mass of tissue between the roots and the leaves, meaning that a very well developed root can be lost in a split second. It helps to pot them extremely gently, without pulling or pushing on the plant at all (or as little as possible).

Once planted, Heliamphora likes plenty of light, and they aren't as sensitive to hot temperatures as many people say they are. They do seem to like an airier mix than Venus Flytraps, so if you decide on something other than the recommended pure long-fiber sphagnum moss mentioned above (which is light brown, not dark brown like sphagnum peat moss), you might want to add substantially more perlite to the mix than you would for Venus Flytraps.

Anyway, Heliamphora are beautiful, interesting and often colorful plants. Just try one and learn from that point.

Cephs, VTFs, and Helis are tried as my absolute favorite carnivorous plants.

Is is true that Heliamphorae require a lot of humidity and significant drops it nighttime temperature? I get the impression they aren't suited for non-greenhouse/terrarium cultivation unless one lives in the tropics.

DragonflyGuy wrote:Is is true that Heliamphorae require a lot of humidity and significant drops it nighttime temperature?

I was worried about that too, but so far the Heli. minor and Heli. nutans plants I've been growing have fared fine in the dry almost-desert area of the U.S. Southwest where I live, and even the ones indoors under artificial light, where the temperature in the grow room is very warm to hot most of the time, the Heli's have been just fine and haven't seemed to mind neither the fairly constant or consistent temperature nor the fact that the temperature is fairly high. Other species of Heliamphora might be more difficult, but these two seem fine in cultivation without too much effort nor special consideration.

One thing I've noticed is that it's easier for a Heli to die from rot than from dehydration, so I keep them in an airy mix that dries faster than regular Venus Flytrap mix and go by the "moist, not wet all the time" rule. It seems to be working well at least in my own Heli-growing experience so far.

Which helis do you have Steve?

Kbud wrote:Which helis do you have Steve?

I just grow Heli. minor and a few Heli. nutans. All of the H. pulchella and other Helis I bought from Andreas Wistuba in Europe died: I think he curses them so that people have to buy them again. Actually, I think that there might be a particularly virulent fungus growing in small quantities on the plants that he keeps at bay with fungicide, and when planted the fungus eventually takes over and kills the plant. OR, there might still be gel from the tissue-culture medium on the plants that I didn't wash off thoroughly enough, or yet some other mysterious cause.

Sounds good! I'll have to get some Helis from the FTS from you guys soon!

http://bluegrasscarnivores.com/13mm/helirackwide2.jpg

Briar
(Av8tor1)

I saw that you posted av, and I was like "get ready for awesomeness" and I was not dissapointed! Incredible plants as always.

whoaaaaaaaaa! nice helis dude

Woah. Do I need to say anything more?

PeatMoss wrote:I saw that you posted av, and I was like "get ready for awesomeness" and I was not dissapointed! Incredible plants as always.

Thanks for the kind words all, I do like my helis.

Peat...I saw the pics of the new setup, it's looking very nice mate.

Av

Thanks, hopefully this years attempt with helis will not end with a bunch of dead plants...

good luck Peat (LOL) and keep us updated:)

well without any special treatment my heli minor from the FTS store is doing great its just outside in the elements !!!