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Plant Planter

The Most Uncreative Name in the History of Ever
Yes, indeed, the one with the uncreative name has returned, with yet more questions. (I have sooooo many questions. :p)

Okay, I'm planning on ordering a Heliamphora minor. I do know that these plants are more difficult that plants like Venus flytraps or Drosera capensis. I have a setup waiting for it (if I ever do order it), which consists of a plastic terrarium (woo hoo) which currently houses my Nepenthes fusca that takes up about half of the space in it. The humidity inside it hovers around 90%, but due to a few holes in the sides it still has some circulation. I do know that these plants expect a nightly temperature drop and that they prefer to be top watered (which won't be a big problem in a terrarium). The only problem I have is that I don't know exactly what to pot it in (I'm probably ordering a bareroot plant). I've heard that they like Sphagnum-rich mixes but at the time I have none, unless I repot all my other plants (the nursery just took the plants from their tissue culture peat plugs and dropped them into pots lined with Sphagnum) and take it out of them. If Heliamphora desire the moss only for aeration, though, then I'm in luck.

I would greatly appreciate any opinions, facts, personal anecdotes, rants (yes, RANTS), etc., etc., etc. on the topic of growing these lovely plants! :D

(End of five-minute anomalous formality. :p)
 
You might want to check out the sticky on Heli's ........ ???
 
You might want to check out the sticky on Heli's ........ ???

Pretty helpful, but it's only for preparation of the plant(s) and doesn't say much about what to do after. Unless I didn't read far enough into the six pages...
 
I would suggest starting with heterodoxa x minor, it is a very vigorous hybrid that grows happily alongside my Sarracenia during the warm months and tolerates terrarium life well over the winter.

One year ago:
417009_339488149420114_1439501642_n.jpg


Today:
295583_539040066131587_1266722890_n.jpg


994961_539040069464920_1887274572_n.jpg
 
That is some incredible growing Tony!

Kenny
 
Pretty helpful, but it's only for preparation of the plant(s) and doesn't say much about what to do after. Unless I didn't read far enough into the six pages...

isnt ur question about what to pot it in? the thread answers that. what to do after? im confused, you talked about watering, and climate control, so wheres the question after all this?

i also suggest a hybrid such as heterodoxa x minor. much hardier and can take warmer temps and more abuse overall
 
isnt ur question about what to pot it in? the thread answers that. what to do after? im confused, you talked about watering, and climate control, so wheres the question after all this?

i also suggest a hybrid such as heterodoxa x minor. much hardier and can take warmer temps and more abuse overall

I talked about WHAT I WILL BE DOING once the plant has arrived. My QUESTION was whether I was doing anything WRONG. Yes, the thread did say what to pot it in, but I need to know what's AFTER and if what I'm doing is RIGHT.

And I cannot find any Heliamphora heterodoxa x minor that actually are priced within my range. Most of the ones I found were out of stock, anyways, and I'm not willing to pay anywhere from sixty-five to seventy-six dollars for a single plant. I know that they're valuable, but that's pushing it. (I actually did find plants that were THAT expensive. And they were out of stock!) A simple Heliamphora minor is enough for me. If anyone's willing to send me any Heliamphora heterodoxa pollen or if I'm willing to send some Heliamphora minor pollen, maybe we can work something out.
 
Everything sounds okay but, if you can swing it, you might want to go with a bit more air circulation. Also, you didn't mention lighting. I hate to belabor the obvious but more light is better then less light. If you want your plant to grow well and bloom someday, then think lots and lots of light. As to a soil mix, well I would only use live sphag, but I'm sure the mix in the sticky works fine, so your call, but it must be light and open. Think "airy". Some people say it grows just fine in a regular 50/50 mix, but that doesn't work for me, so use at your own risk. Personally, if I couldn't do live sphag, or at least the sticky mix, I wouldn't try this plant, but its you denaro so its (obviously) up to you .
 
Ooh. I have a bit of Sphagnum growing in another terrarium, but I don't want to chop it all down. Would a 25:75 mix of moss : peat work?
 
  • #10
A peat and sphagnum mix will be very poorly aerated. I am using a 50/50 mix of sphagnum and APS.
 
  • #11
Okay...So where do I get aquatic plant soil? A pet store? (I won't be surprised.)
 
  • #13
Um...WHAH?
So I would put this "turface" in my plant's mix?
 
  • #14
Turface is APS.... just packaged for a different application

50lb bag with turface name = 11 bucks
10lb bag with APS name = 25 bucks

all my advice is in the sticky....soil mixes, trichoderma application etc etc etc
Not much I can add....
 
  • #15
They use aquatic plant soil on baseball diamonds? ...Wow.

What is aquatic plant soil composed of, anyway?
 
  • #16
Heat Treated Montmorillonite Clay

wiki:
Montmorillonite can be calcined to produce arcillite, a porous, calcined clay sold as a soil conditioner for playing fields and other soil products such as for use as bonsai soil as an alternative to akadama.[citation needed]
 
  • #17
So it's not just normal clay. Darn it. I have tons of Ohio clay in my backyard that I can just go dig up.
 
  • #18
If you aren't willing to listen to advice and spend the little bit of money to make a proper mix then I strongly suggest looking into another plant. You don't save anything if you kill an expensive plant by going cheap on the care of it.
 
  • #19
...You don't save anything if you kill an expensive plant by going cheap on the care of it.

Oh, I'm willing to get some of it, but the problem is I would like to get it in person, not wait for it to ship from dealer-knows-where.

Av8tor: I actually did look on the website to find a "Turface" dealer, but the closest one to me was still pretty far. I'm willing to drive forty minutes to get some carnivorous plants, but not just to get a bag of dirt.
 
  • #20
Many people have good luck with LFS and perlite.... there is no one recipe.
What you use or don't use is ultimately a decision you have to make based on your own needs, conditions and performance requirements.
it's all shades of gray :)
 
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