Wire Man's Plants

[PaulJ69]

Great looking plants as usual!

 

[Wire Man]

Thanks! I can't wait to see the way the maxima colors up once I get home.

 

[lance]

Nice plants! How does one coffee feed a Nepenthes?

 

[Wire Man]

Thanks! It's a lot simpler than it sounds. Just take regular black coffee and pour it over the medium like you would a regular watering. It will dry out faster than a regular watering will, and the excess coffee will be flushed out with the next watering. It shouldn't be done frequently, but sparingly every 6 months. As you can see, it works wonder.

 

[mikefallen13]

Very, very nice! The burkei is coming along nicely too

 

[Wire Man]

You should see what the maxima looks like now, it's developing a striped peristome and the dark splotches on the body!!! It's a thing of beauty!

 

[Wire Man]

Not one of my plants, but I'm rather proud of this photo. Killifish rarely sit still for any longer than 1 second. The CP lights helped a lot.

Fundulopanchax gardneri male by Wire Man, on Flickr

 

[dionae]

Thats a very nice pic! Can I see a wide shot of the whole tank?

 

[mass]

I sure do like your photography. So crisp and bright.. Everyone seems to be top notch photographers around here now days.

 

[dionae]

I agree with Mass. I'm photographically challenged.

 

[Wire Man]

Thanks! The macro lens is key. Zuiko makes some of the cleanest lenses I've ever seen, which is one of the reasons I stuck with Olympus cameras.

I'll take a whole tank shot this weekend. It's a 6 gallon, so nothing special. It doesn't look as good as it did last year. The plants were at their prime then.

 

[Wire Man]

Some photos I took last week.

N. maxima "Lake Poso" is coloring up very, very nicely. Look at those spots!

N. maxima "Lake Poso" by Wire Man, on Flickr

U. graminifolia decided to send out a second flower on the stalk.

U. graminifolia by Wire Man, on Flickr

And the pot full o' purps.

S. purpurea Seedlings by Wire Man, on Flickr
They're finally growing again, probably as a response to warmer water being used.

 

[Wire Man]

Another update! Some new stuff this time.

The Reedy Creek Bog S. purpurea seedlings have finally started growing again, and they're back with a vengeance!

S. purpurea by Wire Man, on Flickr

D. spatulata. All of the sundews have grown a lot since I've started to feed them weekly.

D. spatulata by Wire Man, on Flickr

D. venusta

D. venusta by Wire Man, on Flickr

D. aliciea

D. aliciae by Wire Man, on Flickr

N. burkei opened another sizable pitcher.

N. burkei by Wire Man, on Flickr

Sphagnum molle, showing some nice color.

Sphagnum molle by Wire Man, on Flickr

Sphagnum from the Caroline County gravel bog. It changed color on me.

Sphagnum by Wire Man, on Flickr

By request, my 6 gallon aquarium. I apologize for the dirty acrylic and algae.

6 Gallon Aquarium by Wire Man, on Flickr

Nepenthes lavicola, slowly working on a nicely colored pitcher!

N. lavicola by Wire Man, on Flickr

N. lavicola by Wire Man, on Flickr

S. purpurea

S. purpurea by Wire Man, on Flickr

U. graminifolia traps.

U. graminifolia Traps by Wire Man, on Flickr

D. capillaris "Long Arm"

D. capillaris "Long Arm" by Wire Man, on Flickr

Something very exciting, U. multifida has germinated!!!

U. multifida by Wire Man, on Flickr

Cushion Sphagnum

Sphagnum "Cushion" by Wire Man, on Flickr

S. purpurea again. Notice how large the new leaf is compared to the old ones.

S. purpurea by Wire Man, on Flickr

N. naga, rapidly gaining in size.

N. naga by Wire Man, on Flickr

3 gallons of D. adelae

D. adelae Terrarium by Wire Man, on Flickr

And my Paphiopedilum "Raisin Pie" nearing flower.

Near Flowering Time by Wire Man, on Flickr

 

[Wire Man]

So, has anyone had any experience with U. multifida? I'd like to know the best way to pollinate it.

 

[dionae]

Nice pics! Loving the purps. How old is the naga seedling?

 

[Wire Man]

The N. naga will be a year old in April. They grow really fast compared to other seedlings.
And to clarify, the D. adelae terrarium is 12" wide, so the plants aren't that big. I know it looks like they're huge, but it's a small terrarium.

 

[dionae]

Yeah, they look huge!

 

[Wire Man]

The largest one is maybe 4 inches across. It's all about staging in making things look bigger than they are.

 

[Brokken]

Nice job, Wire Man!

 

[Wire Man]

Thanks! I just got back from the Richmond Orchid Show. They had some spectacular displays, plants I've never heard of, some gigantic specimens (bigger than most of the people there!), and excellent vendors. So, like any plant enthusiast who tells themselves "just one" I walked out with two miniatures. I now have a Psygmorchis pusilla in bud (ultimate miniature) and a Sophronitis cernua. I almost walked out with another Paph, but I like variety. My girlfriend picked out a Cochleanthes 'Amazing', and a very healthy one at that. I'll post pics of them soon, and photos of the show orchids in the Orchid section.