How to plant and grow a u. gibba

[Wesley]

How do you plant and grow a u. gibba? Step by step starting with what soil(if any)... how much water... getting the plant in the soil... growing it... how often to water it

 

[Colieo]

hey,
Grow it with eighter peat or sphagnum on the bottom, then washed silica sand over that. Take a little bit of the stolons and burry into the sand. You can grow it in a jar with however much water you would like. Just sit it next to a sunny window, and water it whenever you feel like it needs it. It is pretty easy to grow.

Hope this answered your questions,
Cole

 

[Wesley]

My plant is is kinda in a jumbled mess so could i just place it on the water and it do its thing? Also should i have more water than moss, meaning the moss be under water? and if so how deep sould the water be? also does it have to be a very deep container or could be in a circular contain about 1 1/2in. deep and a diameter of about 4in. I also don't have any silica sand... Come to think of it I don't really know what kinda sand that is. The only sand I know of is white sand and red sand and those are both for buildings and sand boxes.

Sorry for so many questions, but I am really new at this.

 

[purp-guy]

Not much into the utrics but I have some that I got somewhere and it grows great in the tubs of water that I have all my sarrs sitting in. Thinking you can get by with only the water with maybe a pinch of sphag in to perhaps provide a happier ph level.

 

[Wesley]

Okay I "planted" my u.gibba in just just water.  Should I add any moss?  The container is actually just a tray that is about 1 1/2in. deep and 6in. diameter.  I am going to move it into a tray that is 1 1/2in deep and 4in. diameter.  Is that ok?  Other than that I am relieved that I have finally gotten this sorted out.  These are just about the only questions I have now.  My plant is as healthy as I think it could be.  It is bright green.  Now I see how someone could think that it is algea.  And I was wondering... if a piece of root breaks of from the plant will it grow?  I was wondering this because a lot of people say that they grow like a weed, and a lot of weeds; the only way to completely kill them(other than with spray) is to get it all with no root remaining in the ground; otherwise it will come back.  Have a nice day

.

                     Wesley (Wes)

 

[purp-guy]

Again I'm no expert, but I don't think that U. gibba has much of a root system- at least I don't recall seeing much of a root system. Mine floats in the tray in an ever growing mat of green tangled mess.
I do know for sure that you can rip off a pinch off of the mass and it will grow just fine into another large mass in time.

 

[Wesley]

Oh no! That means that I am going to have to move up a size soon! Anyhow, will it flower the same or does it have to have roots in moss at the bottom?

 

[Wesley]

"PH" level... what's that?

Oh and thank you guys for the help. My U. gibba should grow to become a very happy plant. And maybe even flower for me... does a gibba give seeds? Or does it just grow by root?

Wes

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Wesley,
  U. gibba is a subaffixed Utricularia.  Here's a link to Barry Rice's web page on subaffixed Utricularia:   Subaffixed Utricularia.   Seems to me Pyro or somebody also posted similar info a while back.

 

[Vic Brown]

If you are going to check out Barry Rice's website, this paper, which was originally published in the Carnivorous Plant Newsletter (1994) is also worth a read Focusing on U. gibba - the 'U' stands for ubiquitous!

Cheers
Vic

 

[Colieo]

U.gibba usually only flowers if:
-it is left undisturbed
-it is growing in some sort of base
-the water level drops dramaticaly


C-ya
Cole

 

[purp-guy]

Thanks for the links- guess there is much more to the U gibba than I thought

 

[drosera]

Hi,

My U. gibba flowered for me last winter (a first among my aquatic Utrics.&#33

Judging from my experience, only the first condition in Colieo's list appeared necessary. There were other conditons not mentioned in his list though that I believe make a difference. (ie. temperature)

For a brief description of how I kept it and what factors I believe are important check out the aquatic section on this site:

Utricularia

Not that I disagree with the "Subaffixed Utricularia" method either. It's just that I have found it very difficult to maintain for any length of time. For a start, the water evaporates too quickly!

Also, as I understand things, no species of Utric. produces roots, though I've noticed the terrestrial ones produce root-like structures at the bases of their flowers. Utrics. can reproduce by seed, or by division. Virtually any part of the plant can produce a new plant on it's own. That includes bladders that have become seperated from the main plant. I think only the flower itself cannot produce a new plant through division.

Take care!

Chris

 

[Wesley]

Thanks you guys I think Ive got it now. Wha-who!

 

[Colieo]

So chris, how much water was your plant in? & what temp?


Cole

 

[drosera]

I was growing that batch in a mayo jar, and the water level reached about 6" or so. The U. gibba in the jar had formed a compressed mass about 1" in depth, at the surface. I didn't measure the actual temperature (tsk-tsk&#33

but it had to be minimum 25 deg. C. I think it was actually a little higher than that. (One gets to be a relatively decent temperature gauger after many years of keeping fish The photoperiod averaged 16 or so hours, and the lighting was very bright.

I wasn't trying to get the plants to flower, so I was kind of stunned when it happened. It kept doing it for a couple of months or so, until I foolishly diddled with the setup, and lost the ideal conditions that seemed to prevail at the time.

Take care!

Chris

 

[Wesley]

Drosera,
Do you have your u. gibba in ANY soil, 'cause mine isn't and it's getting new growth and is bright green (for the exception of a few dying leaves

)

 

[drosera]

No, I don't keep them "planted" in any soil. They will grow fine as floating plants. It's really only for the flowering aspect that you'll want them "in" something. But as shown from my experience, they can be "planted" in themselves.

Just let them continue growing and dividing. If conditions are right, they'll flower once they've filled the jar enough.

Take care!

Chris

 

[Wesley]

Okay cool. I'm happy that I don't actually have to "plant" it in anything. I can grow a Urticularea(sp)!!!!!!!