When I set up one of my tanks a year ago, I laid down foam in varying thicknesses across the bottom of the tank to act as a sort of capillary mat. This worked quite well. In one place, the foam did not quite meed the edge of the tank, so I planted some utrics in a spot of peat moss in the gap. Over the past year, the utric (U. calycifida) has flourished. Not only did it fill the gap with leaves and stolons, but grew stolons into and through the foam, popping up here and there:
U. longifolia stolons growing out of the bottom of a pot have also taken advantage of this artificial growing media:
Having utrics growing in the bottom of my tank was a lot of fun until they started invading other pots through the drainage holes, as with this U. tridentata that is now infested with U. calycifida:
I have considered attempting to grow a utricularia purely in the foam, but I doubt it would find much food in this artificial environment. Probably worth a shot, though.
U. longifolia stolons growing out of the bottom of a pot have also taken advantage of this artificial growing media:
Having utrics growing in the bottom of my tank was a lot of fun until they started invading other pots through the drainage holes, as with this U. tridentata that is now infested with U. calycifida:
I have considered attempting to grow a utricularia purely in the foam, but I doubt it would find much food in this artificial environment. Probably worth a shot, though.