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My U. renformis

Isnt looking so hot.

Just curious how Do you grow these things, some one told me to grow them like a nep, but it doesnt seem to like that. Should I try giving it more water? Theirs reallly next to no leafs except for minute tiny ones.
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If you would like to see some photos i will post some. But other wise I water them as often As I water my neps, and they get the same amount of light. I have them in a Peat / Sphagnum medium. What am I doing wrong?

Cheers
 
this is straight from The Savage Garden:
"By far the mosy pleasing species to grow, this plant flowers in my warm house virtually no-stop from spring until fall. The leafy stolons are several inches tall on stiff petioles, the kidney-shaped blade one to two inches across. The flower spikes are over twelve inches high, the several, long lasting blooms one and a half inches across. They are pinkish violet,with a large lower skirt and puffed palater noticeably marked with two golden lines. The bladders are also large. The plant dies away each winter to underground tubers, at which time I keep the soil barely damp. this species should excel on a windowsill."

basically just look at the last part and good luck
alex
 
No I got it 2 months ago... Thats the Thing
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, When would it come back then If it did dieback? Im gonna give it more water now I guess.

Cheers
 
try asking the person or place you got it from
 
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Ill try, but they dont seem to respond to their e-mails any more. sorry I had let a friend borrow my Savage Garden Book, Thats why I couldnt REfrence He just gave it back.

Cheers
 
Rattler MT just posted a flower pic, so I'm guessing he can provide some info.
 
i havent flowered the dang thing, thats Nep. G's plant. this is one species that doesnt do well for every one and there are several schools of thought on how to grow it. im headed out the door or i would elaborate, maybe someone else will before i get back.
 
I think overly wet is not good for this species.  I found a mix of LFS, perlite and orchid bark top watered and not sitting in water worked well.  It seems to want a lot of room to run ( large pots or the like). Your peat/lfs sounds like it would be too wet....

 Check your pot by dumping it out in your hand.  If there are healthy thick white stolons (rolons!) down there there you are ok and the plant will likely return!  If you have nothing, well join the club!

Remember that Peter D'Amato has a greenhouse in Ca. and his plants no doubt are  flowering all season. His bricks probably flower too.  For most mere mortals growing this, flowering is an annual spring event, but my oh my oh my is it worth it!  

There is a guy in Australia grows his in potting soil
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 with monthly fertilizing with an orchid fertilizer, watered from the top weeekly like a houseplant.  His flowers all year too, but he also has a GH.

Growth slowed in the fall, but never really ceased on my plant.  A grower in England I know freezes (lightly) his plants and says it promotes good growth and heavy spring flowering.  (He also freezes his U. praelonga to the same end).  My sparse flowering might be due to the lack of a good "dormancy" or rest.  It may be your plant will return stronger than ever after its nap.

My plant was tortured by freezing, sunburn, shelf collapse, drying out, bird pecking, cat eating and squirrel shredding but it always returned after a month or so rest.  When it sat too long in water, I lost it to rot.

With the larger Utricularia, you have to feeeeelll your way a little.  If the plant is in obvious growth, a bit wetter.  If inactive, let it dry out between waterings to the point where there is no live LFS possible, but is damp feeling and not crisp.  The moss can be bone dry and the rolons will still be white and firm in U. reniformis, so better to err in that direction I think.  These rolons need to be maintained from total drying out but no more than that .  When new growth is evident, step up the waterings until the moss is growing again too.  If you get a forest of leaves, let the plant sit in water for a few days on occasion so there is water available for the lolons and not having to take it from the rolons which then should continue to swell and thicken and the plant maintains its reserves.

By observation, the large form seems to prefer less wet conditions vs the smaller form.  I note the small form escapes through the drain holes in the pots and prospers in the water tray without any medium whatsoever.  The large form seems to  keep its lolons closer to the pot surface, possibly avoiding the wetness closer to the bottom, but this is speculation as I haven't grown enough individuals to be sure.

In habitat the plant is found pretty much in all stages of wet and dry, probably accounting for the different schools of thought on the cultivation of this species that rattler mentions.

Hope this helps, and good luck.
 
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I think I should be able to handle it thanks
 
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