The Georgia invasion continues...

[gnathaniel]

Hey everyone, I've grown orchids and other miscellany, usually including one or two CPs, for a few years. My friend Kevin told me about this forum and I finally joined to learn more about Utricularias, a recently developed obsession. I'm intermittently active on a few of the orchid forums and think I've 'met' some of you there. This forum looks great and I'm sure I'll have many questions once I jump into growing more CPs.

On a more personal note, I'm a grad-level student at the U of GA, married to a VERY patient woman, and father of wonderful 5- and 1-year-old boys. I'm in the middle of exams right now and generally always busy outside exam time, so please don't think I'm intentionally ignoring you if I respond slowly.

Once my schedule calms down in a week or two I'll try to post some orchids for trade. If anyone has spare Utrics, Droseras, and live Sphagnum you'd like to trade for orchids, feel free to contact me in advance. I grow zero Utricularia at the moment so any and all are welcome, but pubescens, quelchii, capilliflora, and striatula are of particular interest. Please also feel free to tell me my 'wish list' is ridiculous.

 

[w03]

Welcome!

Glad to hear that there's new growers interested in Utricularia - its not exactly an enormously popular genus. Your wishlist is going to be hard to find for sure. U. capilliflora, as far as I know, has only been grown by Yves-Andre Utz. Its also an annual, so if you ever did get it you would probably need a genetically diverse population to maintain it long-term.

U. striatula is extremely uncommon in cultivation, but there are people who grow it. I suspect that it would be possible to find a source if you look in the right place with the right people. I'm pretty sure this one is an annual as well.

U. quelchii is known for being rather picky even among the comparatively difficult sect. Orchidioides Utricularia. I highly suggest you try with easier members of the section (e.g. U. alpina) before attempting U. quelchii. As far as availability goes, it shouldn't be too difficult to find, most foreign vendors have it (if you need a list, PM people since mentioning specific vendors is not allowed with only a few exceptions).

U. pubescens is pretty commonly available and should be pretty easy in typical terrestrial Utricularia conditions. Of the species on your want list, this is the best to start with. Keep in mind that it is really tiny - the leaves are a little bigger than coarse sand grains, and most of the pictures you see are close-up shots.

If no one else gives some before then, I can probably give you some U. longifolia or U. calycifida 'Yog-Sothoth' in the spring. I'll also probably be giving away quite a few young Drosera binata once they grow out a bit.

 

[theplantman]

Hey everyone, I've grown orchids and other miscellany, usually including one or two CPs, for a few years. My friend Kevin told me about this forum and I finally joined to learn more about Utricularias, a recently developed obsession. I'm intermittently active on a few of the orchid forums and think I've 'met' some of you there. This forum looks great and I'm sure I'll have many questions once I jump into growing more CPs.

On a more personal note, I'm a grad-level student at the U of GA, married to a VERY patient woman, and father of wonderful 5- and 1-year-old boys. I'm in the middle of exams right now and generally always busy outside exam time, so please don't think I'm intentionally ignoring you if I respond slowly.

Once my schedule calms down in a week or two I'll try to post some orchids for trade. If anyone has spare Utrics, Droseras, and live Sphagnum you'd like to trade for orchids, feel free to contact me in advance. I grow zero Utricularia at the moment so any and all are welcome, but pubescens, quelchii, capilliflora, and striatula are of particular interest. Please also feel free to tell me my 'wish list' is ridiculous.

Hi Nat--It's that pesky friend, Kevin.

Good to have you here!! You'll find the CP people to be an awesome bunch.

I can personally attest that Nat has a diverse orchid collection, and his knowledge about them is incredibly vast. Quite a resource to have on the forum!

 

[Whimgrinder]

Welcome, Nat! Any friend of Kevin's, etc etc ;-)

 

[SubRosa]

Welcome indeed Nat! We can always use another orchid person around!

 

[RL7836]

Welcome indeed Nat! We can always use another orchid person around!

... & one of an even rarer group - those interested in Utrics! Yes - welcome aboard indeed! We have an under-utilized section on Utrics just waiting for you & an Orchidioides sticky awaiting your observations...

U. quelchii is known for being rather picky even among the comparatively difficult sect. Orchidioides Utricularia. I highly suggest you try with easier members of the section (e.g. U. alpina) before attempting U. quelchii. As far as availability goes, it shouldn't be too difficult to find, most foreign vendors have it (if you need a list, PM people since mentioning specific vendors is not allowed with only a few exceptions).

Sorry to be contrary (hey, we don't want to scare the guy away before he even settles in) , but this hasn't been my experience. While U. alpina is probably the most forgiving, U. quelchii grows as easily as most of the others in section Orchidioides (not including Iperua species). Ime, U. endresii may be a bit more fussy.

U. pubescens is pretty commonly available and should be pretty easy in typical terrestrial Utricularia conditions. Of the species on your want list, this is the best to start with. Keep in mind that it is really tiny - the leaves are a little bigger than coarse sand grains, and most of the pictures you see are close-up shots.

While the leaves are small, they're a bit larger than my usual sand grain - typically 1/8-3/16" or so. Very cute.

 

[DragonsEye]

Hmm, yes, I think I may have run into you on either OB, OT, or GW.

Personally, I really like the flowers on Utrics. I do see where the lack of obvious traps can detract from their appeal to the masses.

 

[RL7836]

I do see where the lack of obvious traps can detract from their appeal to the masses.

Agree - that's also why I'm confused about the complete lack of people who set up U. humboldtii in a viewing tank & feed it small critters. The traps get around 0.25" - plenty big to watch stuff get eaten...

Somehow, my deal to get daphnia fell through or I'd have posted pics ...

 

[theplantman]

Agree - that's also why I'm confused about the complete lack of people who set up U. humboldtii in a viewing tank & feed it small critters. The traps get around 0.25" - plenty big to watch stuff get eaten...

Somehow, my deal to get daphnia fell through or I'd have posted pics ...

I will do my best to ensure that Georgia gets such a tank!

 

[RSS]

Welcome Nat, it is nice to see a younger person taking an interest in Utrics. I thought it was only us old folks.

I'd say at this point in time in the US U. quelchii is actually easier to find than a lot of the others listed. Depending on the orchids you have grown you may have already grown harder stuff think Lepanthes telipogoniflora or the like.

We have stopped shipping for the winter but if you are still looking in the Spring send me a PM, I deflask a few orchid species every year so I generally have extra seedlings around to trade off. Depending on the day/week/month I may or may not check the forums, health reasons, I'm not ignoring anyone. So keep that in mind. Same thing if I type something that makes no sense, honestly it is clear in my head .

Some light reading http://www.terraforums.com/forums/s...tion-Orchidioides-info-sharing-amp-discussion , only 41 pages so far! 56K views WoW.

 

[w03]

Sorry to be contrary (hey, we don't want to scare the guy away before he even settles in) , but this hasn't been my experience. While U. alpina is probably the most forgiving, U. quelchii grows as easily as most of the others in section Orchidioides (not including Iperua species). Ime, U. endresii may be a bit more fussy.

And our resident Utric god has spoken! I've just heard quite a few reports of it being fussy and having a particular "goldilocks zone" of moisture/temperature that it likes. Perhaps not so much difficult as misunderstood?

About the U. pubescens leaves, I looked at it right after I posted and it had made some significantly larger leaves!
Still very cute; I wonder if there is a way to grow this with nelumbifolia for a peltate-leaf display.

 

[RL7836]

And our resident Utric god has spoken!

LOL - definitely not me - you're thinking about Pyro - he's the expert! (now if we could only get him back on the forums...)

I've just heard quite a few reports of it being fussy and having a particular "goldilocks zone" of moisture/temperature that it likes. Perhaps not so much difficult as misunderstood?

If you hear of folks having issues, send them over to the sticky utric thread (RSS just posted a link). I chatted w/ a grower last year who killed most of her Orchidioides & her alpina was barely alive. Turns out she was letting them sit in water & I suspect the media was getting anaerobic - not good. We've got examples of sitting in water & many species thriving (including campby & james) but less so when the media goes south. Some species like it - others don't. Collectively, the more we play around & experiment, the more we learn. Heck, U. humboldtii & reniformis (as well as praelonga & longifolia) have flowered on my windowsill. This year's tray/tub-grown rennie flowered all summer there - who would have figured?

Still very cute; I wonder if there is a way to grow this with nelumbifolia for a peltate-leaf display.

They'd probably grow well together, just don't expect to be able to easily separate them ...

 

[gnathaniel]

Thanks for all the warm welcomes! Hi, Kevin.

Welcome!

Glad to hear that there's new growers interested in Utricularia - its not exactly an enormously popular genus. Your wishlist is going to be hard to find for sure.
...
If no one else gives some before then, I can probably give you some U. longifolia or U. calycifida 'Yog-Sothoth' in the spring. I'll also probably be giving away quite a few young Drosera binata once they grow out a bit.

Heh, hard to find is at least some of what I enjoy about growing orchids-- the thrill of the hunt etc., though it certainly leads to frustration much of the time. Thanks for all the info about those species, definitely helps me narrow down what I should seek out first. Which sounds like probably NOT most of my prelim. list... I also appreciate the offer of longifolia and calycifida; both look awesome, are going on my revised interest list, and if I don't have them by spring I'll PM you my trade list.

Hmm, yes, I think I may have run into you on either OB, OT, or GW.

Personally, I really like the flowers on Utrics. I do see where the lack of obvious traps can detract from their appeal to the masses.

You do seem familiar... The flowers definitely appeal to me, and the vegetative parts of many species call to mind strange combinations of mosses and orchids, both of which I love. The fact that they take a proactive approach to nutrition is just icing on the cake.

Agree - that's also why I'm confused about the complete lack of people who set up U. humboldtii in a viewing tank & feed it small critters. The traps get around 0.25" - plenty big to watch stuff get eaten...

Somehow, my deal to get daphnia fell through or I'd have posted pics ...

Wow, humboldtii is going on my list too, beautiful plant and my 5-year-old would love staring at a tank like that. Thanks for the pictures, info, and encouragement, your plants look amazingly happy. Clearly I've found a good place to set me on the Utricularia path; maybe my first step should be learning how to keep sphagnum mosses healthy and growing?

Kevin, let me know when you set up your humboldtii tank, I'd love to help out to get a feel for things.

Welcome Nat, it is nice to see a younger person taking an interest in Utrics. I thought it was only us old folks.

I'd say at this point in time in the US U. quelchii is actually easier to find than a lot of the others listed. Depending on the orchids you have grown you may have already grown harder stuff think Lepanthes telipogoniflora or the like.

We have stopped shipping for the winter but if you are still looking in the Spring send me a PM, I deflask a few orchid species every year so I generally have extra seedlings around to trade off. Depending on the day/week/month I may or may not check the forums, health reasons, I'm not ignoring anyone. So keep that in mind. Same thing if I type something that makes no sense, honestly it is clear in my head .

Some light reading http://www.terraforums.com/forums/s...tion-Orchidioides-info-sharing-amp-discussion , only 41 pages so far! 56K views WoW.

Thanks for the link! As soon as I can put my school books down for a while I plan to put in some major Utric reading. I'll definitely PM you in the spring about trades, I think I got a nice Sarc. ceciliae seedling from you on another forum earlier this year. I have a fairly diverse orchid collection but not many difficult species at the moment, my current setup requires plants needing high humidity to also be highly eurythermic since that growing area can see temp extremes from 32-100 F (more typically 45-85 F) depending on time of year. Too many Bulbophyllums were not so tolerant, though on the bright side I'm doing better with Pleurothallids than ever before.

And I know what you mean about clear in the head, no sense on the page. I cringe to think about all the garbled nonsense I've written in papers and exams over the last couple of years. Almost makes me feel sorry for the people who have to grade it...

 

[w03]

I also appreciate the offer of longifolia and calycifida; both look awesome, are going on my revised interest list, and if I don't have them by spring I'll PM you my trade list.

No need for that - the community has helped me out a lot, and it's about time I gave back!

(Also, I have 0 experience with orchids, and would most certainly kill whatever I received!)

 

[theplantman]

Count me in for Sphagnum as well as Drosera plants and seeds. I have a few Utrics, but they're recently acquired and I can't split 'em yet. Feel free to drop by and I'll give you a crash course on what I do for them. I don't have the level of expertise that many here do, but the Utrics I have seem to be actively growing rather than declining. I have to learn fast, because a reseacher has approached me about doing some projects with Utrics! I'm going to eventually need to get a diverse collection from the different sections of the genus so that she can sample them.

The cool thing is, not many of the Utrics are being grown in the south as far as I can tell. Summers may be difficult for some of the high-elevation species. This year should be a good learning experience for both of us! Glad you decided to extend your plant obsession to CPs, Nat!

 

[gnathaniel]

Thanks, Kevin! My semester's done on the 15th so I'll be feeling a LOT more sane by the middle of next week, maybe I can stop by if you're around. I have a couple more orchids to bring you anyway.

I think my prior problems with live sphagnum have mostly stemmed from two causes: hard/chlorinated water and excess drying, which combination few sphagnums withstand for long. I have a healthy remnant of an interesting little species, growing in a sealed bag for 2-3 years (!), from which I'll pinch and attempt a small fishbowl colony using distilled water. I'll try any other species you can sample out, too, I grow numerous non-sphagnum mosses decently well so if I try enough sphags I'll hopefully find one that likes my conditions.

Re: highland species, I have some unimplemented ideas for orchids that I'd love to get your feedback on. Cool that you may get to do a work project with Utrics, I wonder if ABG has many in their collection? I need to get over there and meet some of the staff, I love that place anyway.