U. praelonga flowering instructions

[FarmerDave]

Yeah, I have a pretty good plug of U. praelonga right now, and I was wondering if anyone has been able to get it to flower. I know that a couple of Utrics that I've asked about have a bad reputation of being hard to get to flower, and I was just hoping that this was an exception.

Thanks!

 

[Pyro]

semi-large pot (10cm) rootbound with seasonal temp and light cycle. FWFW I have never got it to flower and I have been growing it for 6 years

 

[jimscott]

I have no hope! Mine has never flowered and it has been getting 15 hour photoperiods for the past 6 months.

 

[FarmerDave]

Nooooooo!!!!!
yet another lost cause!!!!!!


Porque!?!?!?!? P-O-R-Q-U-E?!?!?!?!

 

[rattler]

split it into two pots and throw one in the fridge for a month or so..........

 

[FarmerDave]

is that what you did? or is that sarcastic?

 

[rattler]

ive never done it but in all reality for alot of Utric species that wont flower in cultivation its cause they need a period of cold(at or near freezing) they dont need it to live but they need it to flower which is why the Brits tend to flower some of the Utriuc species MUCH more often than those of us in the states.....cause they are growing them out in greenhouses that recieve a cold winter but dont quite freeze........so while i have never done this with this particular species ive heard the cold dormancy mentioned for it before.........divide it in to two pots and throw one in the fridge......it should either induce flowering after it warms up or kill it but aslong as long as you divide it before hand your not out anything other than some time if it doesnt work..................

 

[jimscott]

Some need a cold period and others don't... from what I remember reading. The common ones, like livida, sandersonii, and bisquamata don't seem to need the cold, since I've had mine in a closet, under a shoplight, for the past half year. The warburgii, at least two types of Genliseas, and calcyfida are also sending up scapes under those conditions. Dave, where you are, it'll get a little colder, but not like where me and Rattler are. That may be enough.

 

[rattler]

when i get home ill look up praelonga in Taylor's and see what it gives for a range but im about willing to bet its in an area that recieves a cold spell cause im almost positive i was talking with a Brit sometime back about it and he said he got it to bloom after a couple weeks near freezing over a winter in the greenhouse............

 

[rattler]

Utricularia pralonga:

Distribution: southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina between about 14*S to 31*S.

Habitat: Wet savanna, marshes, and by streams mostly between 750 and 1500 meters



to put the altitude data in somewhat familiar numbers Nepenthes ephippiata is found between 1000 and 1900 meters.......hamata starts growing at about 1400..........lowii starts at about 1600..........rajah starts at about 1500 meters........lowlands are what? between 0 and 500-750 meters? so..............given the latitudes and the altitudes i would think that in the wild its probable that this species can see near freezing temps

not sure just how accurate description this is but if yah reverse the latitude.......Phoenix AZ is at 33*N and roughly 1000 feet up and can see temps down to the high teens. during the winter though the average lows are in the 40's..........not sure just how comparable the latitudes are if yah reverse north and south but its just FYI

(BTW i am interested in comments on my assessment other than the habitat and distribution at the top as thats straight out of Taylor's.......would like to know if my logic is right.....pain meds have things kinda fuzzy)

 

[FarmerDave]

I keep it outside all year to where it gets down into the teens, but I thought that it liked warm temps.

 

[DerbyCityNeps]

hmmm. i may be able to do two things at once if i put my longifolia in the fridge. make it flower and get rid of its spider mite problem. will the mites die if they are in the fridge?
Alex

 

[Pyro]

Comments re: Rattler and cold being the inducer.

Sorry I am going to have to say that cold alone will not do it. I have 3 or 4 pots of thins species (all are 6cm square) and they are in my sunroom. My sunroom sees temps that basically are whatever the outside temp is here in Atlanta with the exception that I heat to just above freezing (3C) in winter. I have never gotten the plant to flower. I even transplanted a portion into one of my bogs. It survived the winter (suprised me in that regard) but it still has not made any intication of wanting to flower.

I am pretty sure this is anothe of the species that needs "bulk" before it'll do anything so maybe aim for a 10-15cm pot and try to not disturb it for a year or two. Then try for seasonal cycling and perhaps a little wet/dry cycle too

 

[rattler]

didnt realize your temps got down that low or that you let your plants experience them if they did.................thanks for the info............like i said pain meds had things fuzzy

 

[Pyro]

Hey no worries, I don't usually cover my conditions unless specifically asked so your asking for personal accounts was a good call.

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Phil Wison once told me he chucked a pot of this he thought was dead outside in the autumn (Phil is in England). He mentioned the following spring he got good flowering from it, and that was a one and only. I tried to emulate those conditions and my plant did nothing more than it ever did. I also noted that flowering was more common with the UK growers, so I dunno. Experiment! Divide and try different conditions, maybe you'll hit the magic combo!

 

[jimscott]

Mine is in a plastic storage container (no picture), in a closet, under a shoplight. It spreads nicely, but that's it. I have a few Utrics that do that!