H. minor "Burgundy Black" & H. minor var. pilosa

[DonH]

Just a few pics to share...

This pilosa was part of the Wistuba order that was held up in customs. It wasn't doing well but now has a new pitcher with a couple of green nubs emerging so hopefully it will be OK. If you close one eye and squint really hard, you might be able to see the green pitcher.

 

[punpkinface]

I love the Burgundy Black. Makes me want to get serious about growing helis.

 

[mobile]

That's the best Burgundy Black colouration I've seen, with the exception of the one on Wistuba's website. Congratulations

 

[amphirion]

that's some beautiful coloration going on there. may i ask what is your lighting setup and temp perimeters? also, hope that tiny pilosa pulls through! im sure with the skill you've shown with the burgundy black, that plant isnt going to have any problems.

 

[Brie]

I love that burgundy black!! One of my holy grails right there... And good luck with the pilosa, hope it continues to do well for you! Mind if I ask what kind of media your using there?

 

[dyzio]

OMG thats lovely! When I move to new place, I will for sure build special helis tank. I love them!

 

[Av8tor1]

Very nice donH,

Im holding my breath till I see new growth from my pilosa as well.....
Like yours, customs was less than tender to mine....

Av

 

[BigBella]

Very nice plants. I too am holding my breath in terms of the pilosa -- from that same damned shipment. Yeah, a bunch or ornamental plants pose a great threat in Customs . . .

 

[dionae]

Makes me wish i'd ordered a burgundy black. Thats a beautiful heliamphora. Good luck with the pilosa!

 

[DonH]

Thanks for the compliments. I have the burgundy black 6 inches under four 4' 54W T5's (6500K). To counter the heat, it's kept in a cold growth chamber that also houses my highland and ultra highland neps. Temps never exceed 70 day and drops to 50 night. I keep the neps and helis on different height racks so I can control the intensity of light the plants get. The burgundy black is kept closest to the lights. The chamber also has a CO2 supplementation system.

I use the same mix that Av8tor recommends. 1 part LFS, 1 part coarse perlite, and 1 part aquatic potting soil. The mix is very airy so I can water the helis every 3 days and fertilize with MaxSea about once a month at 1/4 teaspoon per gallon.

I'll keep everyone updated on the progress of the pilosa. It looked fine when I received it even with the delay so I didn't notify Andreas. It just slowly declined from there until all the small pitchers died. The new pitcher gives me hope...

 

[DonH]

A quick update:

H. minor "Burgundy Black"

Hairy closeup

H. minor var. pilosa
Not much to look at but making a slow recovery from that small single pitcher in October.

H. minor "Big Orange" A new addition from Wistuba in December.

 

[mylesG]

they look great my burgundy black and big orange are still in recovery/acclimation stage but the color on yours makes me giddy

mine are a couple feet from the t5s though.... maybe ill setup a heli only chamber so the lights can be set much closer

 

[Wire Man]

Both of those put my regular minor to shame.

 

[uphwiz]

Love that big orange , will it be an oranger color as it matures. you must have great heli conditions , nice growing , and thanks for sharing

 

[BioZest]

I love the coloration on the 'Burgundy Black'. It's such a beautiful heli.

 

[mass]

I 2nd that about the burgundy black. May be my new favorite heli..

 

[amphirion]

very, very hairy. my BE minor clone has nowhere near the amount of hair that yours has. great to see that they are adapting very well to your conditions!

 

[DonH]

Thanks for the compliments guys!

they look great my burgundy black and big orange are still in recovery/acclimation stage but the color on yours makes me giddy

mine are a couple feet from the t5s though.... maybe ill setup a heli only chamber so the lights can be set much closer

Myles - If you dont mind, I'd like to see pics of both your burgundy and orange as they develop. It would be interesting to compare colors when grown in different conditions. Thanks!

Love that big orange , will it be an oranger color as it matures. you must have great heli conditions , nice growing , and thanks for sharing

Thanks, upwhiz. I hope it matures to a nice subtle orange like the pic on Wistuba's website. According to his site, "Pitchers are fairly upright and colored in orange to red." I think the one I posted will end up towards the red spectrum since it's so close to the lights. I was lucky enough to get a good size clump that broke up into 2 divisions when I was potting it so I'll experiment with the other division and grow it 24" from the T5s (the same distance I keep my Neps). I've only had it for a little over a month so we'll see how it develops.

very, very hairy. my BE minor clone has nowhere near the amount of hair that yours has. great to see that they are adapting very well to your conditions!

Yeah, the minors are more hairy than I expected. Not sure why... I'm glad the pilosa has settled in and throwing out new pitchers. Can't wait to see mature pitchers from it.

 

[DonH]

Quick update:

The newest pitcher of minor "Burgundy-Black" is a lot bigger and fatter than the original adult pitchers.

The minor var. pilosa is also looking better with new pitchers emerging.

The H. ceracea is growing its first mature pitcher after a year. Woohoo!

 

[mass]

coming along nicely.