allenc666 wrote:Matt wrote:Steve_D is actually trying his hand at growing Heliamphora without a terrarium and it's going well so far.
Details Matt, Details! I wanna grow a Heli but as you know I'm pretty much afraid too. What kinda do you think I should start with?
Both Steve and I got an H. nutans to start with. I think that they're relatively easy to grow, though I haven't had it long enough to say for sure. When I got it, it was already potted. I immediately unpotted it and put it in a larger, deeper pot. Then I stuck it under fluorescent lights in my grow rack where the high temperature was up into the mid 80s°F during the day and down into the upper 50°F at night. Relative humidity was between 35% and 50%. The plant didn't do too much the first week after the repot. A couple of the older pitchers turned brown, but that's about it. Within a week I could see new growth though. Then after about three weeks, it put out a very large pitcher. I foliar fertilized it once (very lightly) with Better Gro Orchid Plus 20-14-13 sometime around the second week. Then after four weeks under the lights, it started putting out a lot of new growth.
Two weeks ago now I moved it the terrarium and the growth has been about the same. Steve doesn't have his under lights (his is in the greenhouse experiencing natural daylight), so it's not growing as fast as mine, but he says that it is growing and looks very healthy. I wouldn't hesitate to get one if you'd like to try growing one Allen. I wouldn't recommend it to a new grower, but if you have experience with Nepenthes, Cephalotus, Darlingtonia and other temperamental plants, so far the Heliamphora doesn't seem that much harder, if at all.
95slvrZ28 wrote:Well, since they would be indoor plants I don't have to worry about the wind. What temps do they like (listen to me...I can barely keep VFTs alive, LOL)
I think this might be the most important part of keeping them healthy, more so than the humidity. Everything I've read indicates that they thrive from a drop in temperature at night time. Luckily where I live now, even during the heat of the summer when the days are up over 100°F, the nights still get down into the low 60s°F or upper 50s°F. If you can't provide cooler nights down into the 60s°F, the plant will likely struggle. Again, I haven't grown them long enough to know this for a fact, but that's what I've read. I've also read that they won't form pitchers if the humidity is below 70%, which I've found out isn't true, so maybe the temperature drop isn't as important as some people say. Once I grow these guys a couple of years, I'll have a better idea of their limitations.
I have three species in tissue culture now, H. nutans, H. minor and H. neblinae. Once I start multiplying them and I have some plants to experiment with, I'll try growing them under different conditions to see how tolerant they are. I know that H. minor is supposed to be one of the easier ones to grow, as is any hybrid of it (like my H. minor X heterodoxa).
