Heli-stravaganza!

[mcmcnair]

I don't really have enough Heliamphora yet to really call this a Heli-stravaganza but I'm following suit for all my picture thread names. Without further ado here is my Heliamphora set up and plants!

My setup is pretty simple. It consists of a daylight spectrum CFL and a $10 grow light from walmart for lighting, a single disk humidifier to raise the humidity, a bunch of pots to sit eggcrate just above the water, and live sphagnum covering the eggcrate, and of course the plants.

IMG_3312 by mcmcnair, on Flickr

IMG_3509 by mcmcnair, on Flickr
H. nutans from unpacking to now, about a month since I received it

IMG_3293 by mcmcnair, on Flickr

IMG_3295 by mcmcnair, on Flickr

IMG_3298 by mcmcnair, on Flickr

IMG_3914 by mcmcnair, on Flickr

H. minor that I got at the ICPS conference, not the best picture sorry...

IMG_3915 by mcmcnair, on Flickr

H. heterodoxa x minor that I also got at the ICPS conference

IMG_3916 by mcmcnair, on Flickr

IMG_3908 by mcmcnair, on Flickr

Germinating Seeds of H. tatei x unknown (if i remember correctly) from Butch, Thanks!

IMG_3525 by mcmcnair, on Flickr

IMG_3701 by mcmcnair, on Flickr

IMG_3909 by mcmcnair, on Flickr

IMG_3912 by mcmcnair, on Flickr

IMG_3913 by mcmcnair, on Flickr

That's it for now! Thanks for looking!

 

[amphirion]

very nice Mason! everything's looking good! keep up the good work!

 

[mikewilder]

Looks cool man. You may find it rewarding to move the smaller plants closer to the lights

 

[mcmcnair]

probably not a bad idea, they're growing in the sphagnum carpet on the eggcrate right now, i'm a little scared to move them, but I will have to soon.

 

[n bicalcarata]

beautiful sphagnum

 

[mcmcnair]

Wow I just realized how long it has been since I updated this thread! So a lot has changed since I started the thread and I now have a few more heliamphora, including some awesome rare stuff thanks to the always incredibly generous Av8tor, aka Butch!

H. parva x folliculata

H. parva x folliculata First Mature Pitcher by mcmcnair, on Flickr


H. parva x folliculata Glamour Shot by mcmcnair, on Flickr


H. parva x folliculata Headshot by mcmcnair, on Flickr

and finally my H. heterodoxa x minor about a year and three months after getting it at the ICPS conference last year

H. heterodoxa x minor by mcmcnair, on Flickr

 

[Maiden]

Nice colors, well done

 

[CorneliusSchrute]

Looking great, Mason! I am considering taking the Heliamphora plunge someday and was wondering about setting up a terrarium. Yours is simple enough--even for me--but I wonder how necessary the humidifier is with a constant stand of water under the egg crate. Won't the water in an enclosed area create plenty of humidity?

Also, I gather that night time temperature drops aren't of much concern by the look and progress of your plants?

 

[mcmcnair]

I found that having the humidifying disc makes it so I never have to water which makes things much easier. And I don't cool it at all but I do keep my apartment at exactly 70F constantly year round. The key is to have the top of the tank completely sealed except for maybe one small crack to allow some airflow but not much, which can be a pain sometimes. I only open up the tank about once every 2 weeks or so to get some fresh air in the tank. So far the only heliamphora I've had trouble with is H. minor, everything else has been super easy.

 

[dueoka]

Looks great, that heterodoxa x minor put on some nice growth. What are they potted in? Looks like sphagnum and perlite?

 

[mcmcnair]

yupp exactly right it's just dried lfs and perlite and a little bit of hydroton too and a top layer of live LFS.

 

[Av8tor1]

Mason,

some great looking helis, very nice pic of the parva x folliculata, they are really showing themselves as an excellent hybrid.....
Hopefully we end up with "parva" that has the adult size of "folliculata"

woot woot, nicely done indeed!