First time!

heh, well well well.....Tamlin goes to the nep side and I wander into the Utricularia side. I have been attracted by the beauty of U.Quelchii U.Alpina and U. Reinformis. Well I guess my first question will be where could I obtain these rare guys? Thanks! The Utricularia newbie Nep.G.

Excellent! Welcome to the hidden world of CP's! Utricularia species are the most complex of all plants IMO, and the flowers are beautiful. The species you have chosen are the large flowered species. U.quelchii and U.alpina are epiphitic species requiring close attention to dormancy. The first is one of the more difficult subjects in cultivation even for the Masters. I am sure Dodec has it growing like a politicians promise, but I know of other's who have lost it by failing to observe the cyclic dormancy requirements. U. alpina is a bit easier, but also has a required dormancy. U. reniformis is probably the easiest of the 3 species you mention, although its culture is likewise a bit more problematical than more typical terresterial species.

As to where to get them, that is a good question. Pyro and I looked for quite a spell before coming up with seed U. reniformis. I am still looking for U. alpina (getting close&#33. U. quelchii is virtually unknown in collections. All seem to be more available in European collections, but all 3 are hard to find here in the U.S.

Why not try some terresterial species while you seek the other larger flowered forms? Although the flowers may be smaller, they are a great delight when produced, and this way you will get the feel for the genus.

I can just see what I am getting into now. The greenhouse will be chock full of Utrics,Drosera,Nepenthes, and who knows what else in the near future lol! Well, I personally like the aquatic species, and after seeing an acidic lake I know of with tons of floating U.Inflata I think an aquatic one is in order for a first timer here.

Do you have U.gibba yet? It is an easy aquatic speicies.I think u.humboldtii, and a few others are just as easy as any other terrestrials.

Glad to see ya here,
Cole

Hi Cole, I didn't have an Utric's until today when a good friend visited. He gave me U.Livida and U.Dichotoma, and not to mention TONS of free drosera. But yeha I finally have 2 utrics!