FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

emmm....is it ok if i put my Heliamphora outside under 60%shade cloth and have some ice cubes in the water tray?maybe the pitcher wont be cold,but the roots will.so,u think it can have a go on that?

As long as your humidity is consistently above 60%, you should be fine.

ok thanks!my problem here is temperature.its a bit too hot i think.just check it yesterday,humidity at my place at night 99%.well during the day its a bit lower(around 76-90%).hope it tolerates well at my place.

thanks anyway

I have that problem here every season except for winter. The nights never get cold enough. So I water them every couple of nights with cold water. Keep a gallon in the refrigerator so that you can always have some cold water on hand. My temperatures in the day during the growing season are normally above 80F and the cold water helps the roots go down to the 50's F at night. There are 2 ways to grow Heliamphora from what I understand. Either consistent temperatures between 60F and 75F, or they can take higher temperatures in the day as long as there is a significant drop at night preferably under 60F. I grow mine the second method since I dont have a greenhouse big enough to stick a fan in it to keep temps. down all the time. The longest time I have had a Heli is 1.5 years and so far they seem like fast growers to me so I must be doing something right. Most of my helis have been with me at least 1 year and I have not lost one.

thanks man!
in that case,gonna fridge some distilled water for helis then!thanks thanks a bunch!

aha,1question

wont it get shock when u water it with cold water?

lol, very good question. I was scared of that when I first started using refrigerated water too. As long as its around 40F it should be fine, you know, standard fridge temps. A little cooler is fine, as long as the water isnt freezing they'll be fine. I use it on my Helis, ultra-highland Nepenthes and on my darlingtonia almost every night in the summer and fall. They seem to enjoy it, no shock in my experience. I make sure to water enough to cool down all the soil that it is potted in. I use pure long fiber sphagnum on my helis and neps so it cools down pretty fast. A good airy soil should cool down just as fast. I dont know what soil mix you use so just water until the extra water that pours out feels cool. You can also collect that extra water and use it on other plants you might have.

Another thing I think is important to mention is that on hot days above 95F you might want to top water your helis with room temperature water, or use water between 70F and 80F. This will help them from overheating during the day. I usually do it in the middle of the day, which is usually the hottest time of the day. With airy soils the high temperatures usually dry up the soil quickly so this also helps them from drying out.

But like I said this is all in my area. If you normally experience high humidity you might not need to water as much, so you will have to experiment a bit. Maybe using a more airy soil will allow you to water them the way I do mine. Remember, where they grow it constantly rains, but they always have either good drainage or lots of sun which helps them use all the water that builds up around them. I know this is a lot more than you asked for, but if anything doesnt make sense let me know and I will try to explain it better.

ur explanation is awesome!
emm since were top watering,hw about water tray with cold water?is that ok or to much cold?

ok since it wont shock,i will water it with cold water dusk-night then.

i use 100%live sphagnum moss with just a bit peat:perlite on the surface of the pot.

my heliamphora is still small(around 2inch high H.Tequila) from John(snapperhead51).

im glad ppl live in almost with the same temp as in my country knows a lot about caring heliamphora in our temps!

well thanks so much for explaining!it helps me a lot!

A tray with cold water might work, but in my experience the water heats up too fast, especially if you have it where it gets a lot of sun. But no, I dont think it would be too much cold. You would have to keep an eye on it and make sure the water doesnt get hot though. Too much work for me since I'm at work more than half my time. A little water in a tray would help keep it from drying out. (Try not too keep it too deep, maybe about half an inch.) And if you're using live moss it helps even more. Live moss tends to use a lot of water and as the water evaporates from the moss it helps cool down the roots. Not sure how that works, but it does. So as long as your moss doesnt dry up, you might not even have to water it during the day. The live moss will keep the helis roots cool.

H. 'Tequila' is probably the best Heliamphora for you to start with. In my experience it seems to enjoy higher temperatures than some of the others. When I first got mine in the beginning of this year it was around 4 inches tall with only 1 grow point. It went through some low humidity(down to 40%) and temperatures in the 90'sF in the summer. Now it has 5 growth points and its tallest pitcher is a little over 6 inches. I'm sure yours will do great with you.

I have been trying to grow enough live moss to put some in a large pot and try to grow one of my helis out in full direct sun. The moss would keep it cool and it would help increase humidity around it. Off topic I know.

my H.Tequila is around 4inch tall.still young.

emm yes i think top cold water is better than traying coz the water might heated up by the sun and heats the heli.thank god ur here xD

Thanks so much!