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  • #481
Thanks for the offer, Collin! That is very generous of you. Fortunately I am feeling more confidant that my little plant is actually humboldtii. So far, it is neither visibly growing nor is it failing, its one little terrestrial leaf sticking up. Our temps are still kind of cool but it will warm up as the seasons progress.

Very interesting information. A suggestion - do you have access to a microscope? It should be possible to observe the guard cells and stomata on the leaves of utricularia at different times of the day to see when they are open and when closed. 'Just a thought.
 
  • #482
That's a great idea. And thank you for suggesting that; I really appreciate it. I do have access to one. And, these plants are CAM plants.
So, what does this mean for the cultivation of these plants? Well, in order for a plant to be happy it needs to have access to CO2 and to get rid of O2. These plants do most of that gas exchange at night. And, it turns out that stomatal conductance (how much gas can pass through the stomata) depends on a few factors that we can control. Here's a paper about that, if you're interested in doing some further digging. Based on this paper, here are the external factors that control stomatal conductance.
  • Humidity. This one is the one tidbit that's new; the important finding. Because these plants are epiphytic, their stomatal conductance is especially sensitive to relative humidity. Because of this, I try to modulate the humidity in the terrarium over the course of the day. At night I'm regularly fogging with chilled water (which helps drop the temp as well) and keep the humidity at 90-95%. During the day a fan vents out air to drop the humidity down to 45-55%.
  • Light - maybe, we aren't sure. But, I keep these plants under brighter light for a shorter photoperiod (which also happens to be the photoperiod that they receive in nature). I'm guessing that a long photoperiod for these plants will not be terribly beneficial as they will run out of CO2 and build up O2 over the course of the day.
  • Temperature. Low nighttime temps lead to better conductance, usually between 15-25C. So, I grow these plants with a daytime high of 27C and a night time temp of 17C (at least on one side of my terrarium, I'm still working on keeping the temperature more consistent across the length of my terrarium). This is already aligned with how most people grow these plants.
  • Leaf water potential. Without any water, the guard cells don't open. Read: plants need water. Nothing new here. I keep these plants in media which drains well but is always moist, a mix of live long fibered sphagnum and pumice.
 
  • #483
FD120EA3-21C8-4359-80B7-CA76C3853CF3.jpeg
I had a nice flush from last year. At this point, you could smell the faint scent of roses.
 
  • #484
Beautiful. My alpina is surviving instead of thriving. Oddly, the trickier ones are happier. How are you growing it?
 
  • #485
Beautiful. My alpina is surviving instead of thriving. Oddly, the trickier ones are happier. How are you growing it?
In a net pot, with live sphagnum. Bright light. Highland conditions. It took a while for it to build up biomass though.
 
  • #486
Weird. I have it in identical conditions. Maybe it will just take some time... It's putting out a lot of stolons but only a few leaves.
 
  • #487
In a net pot, with live sphagnum. Bright light. Highland conditions. It took a while for it to build up biomass though.
Do you top water often or is it sitting in standing water in a tray? By the way, it is nice to see you here again!
 
  • #488
Do you top water often or is it sitting in standing water in a tray? By the way, it is nice to see you here again!
Thanks bluemax, I’ll try to stop by daily! It’s sitting in water in a tray. But the water level is maybe 1cm high, never higher
 
  • #489
That's generally what I do for mine as well. Although it's winter now, so the terrarium that they are in is dry right now.
 
  • #490
Definitely not as impressive as amphirion's display, but my alpina x endressii is pretty happy. As is the cornigera x nelumbifolia in the background.
PXL_20211016_175402694.MP.jpg

PXL_20211203_162230018.PORTRAIT.jpg
 
  • #491
@amphirion - that is a stunning specimen! What size is the net pot your alpina is in? I have an alpina that is wildly overdue for repotting - and I know that I will set it back when I do so (as it has grown through so many holes in the net pot). Out of curiosity, how often do you repot?

And thank you for mentioning their fragrance! I had no idea - and if I'm lucky enough to get flowers again (happens every couple years), I'll be sure to pay more attention.

@collin Lovely flowers - thank you for sharing, and for documenting all of your research and current (successful) growing conditions. Haven't seen many pictures of alpina x endresii - very nice!
 
  • #492
Hi @madrone , I grow alpina in a 9” square net basket. I haven’t gone through a repot since getting it
 
  • #493
Wow! Ok, as soon as I have an expanded grow space - I'll be up-potting for sure!
 
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