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  • #161
That is very interesting...

Sort of unrelated, but I am also curious about feeding of Utricularia and how that affects them? These larger epiphytic/bromeliad species have such large traps it would be no surprise that catching prey is a major component of their success. Anyone ever feed their terrestrial/epiphytic Utricularia? I can't imagine with what, but obviously they catch things in the wild. ???
 
  • #162
That is very interesting...

Sort of unrelated, but I am also curious about feeding of Utricularia and how that affects them? These larger epiphytic/bromeliad species have such large traps it would be no surprise that catching prey is a major component of their success. Anyone ever feed their terrestrial/epiphytic Utricularia? I can't imagine with what, but obviously they catch things in the wild. ???

usually is you look at the "terrestrial" species you find with of course a few exceptions relatively small traps and if you look at aquatic species you generally find larger traps. The terrestrial species seem to be adapted to use a very thin film of water (also I suspect that is why the terrestrial species tend to have hairy looking traps) and are adapted to catching small prey items like protists and protozoans, rotifers, and the like. It sort of gets odd with the two species that make really huge traps, humboldtii and the other one from Australia that I forget the name of now, bu the latter makes large traps only when submerged....
 
  • #163
Just doing some more speculating here. . .

So the well established roots/tubers/traps in a four inch pot send up leaves that are smallish. When a stolon reaches the ground it sends up larger leaves, perhaps the function of this could be that the original portion of subterranean growth has enough energy both invested in growing more traps/tubers, and also it receives enough energy from its pre-existing leaves. The new portion has less energy being spent on creating new under-ground growth and has more energy being pumped into creating larger foliage that can obtain energy to promote the growth of the newly developing root/trap system.

I dont know...

---------- Post added at 09:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:16 PM ----------

usually is you look at the "terrestrial" species you find with of course a few exceptions relatively small traps and if you look at aquatic species you generally find larger traps. The terrestrial species seem to be adapted to use a very thin film of water (also I suspect that is why the terrestrial species tend to have hairy looking traps) and are adapted to catching small prey items like protists and protozoans, rotifers, and the like. It sort of gets odd with the two species that make really huge traps, humboldtii and the other one from Australia that I forget the name of now, bu the latter makes large traps only when submerged....

Well whatever it is that I'm growing, U. reniformis, apparently has pretty large traps, not huge, but definitely capable of catching something...

Are you thinking of U. volubilis?
 
  • #164
Can you get some TDS readings of the liquid/water in the bottom of the tank. Maybe build up of nutrients there that is not available to the ones in the net pot?
I can check, that may at least be a contributing factor...
Anyone ever feed their terrestrial/epiphytic Utricularia?
Yup but as with most feeding, you've got to weigh the positive vs negative. The add'l moss growth w/ the large epiphytes isn't too bad - especially since the leaves have long petioles anyway. With the little weedy utrics, it's horrible - I never use ferts with them. I really want to grow humbo w/ dangling traps in water & feed them mosquito larvae & daphnia. I have some of the mini-tanks built but just haven't started them yet ...
It sort of gets odd with the two species that make really huge traps, humboldtii and the other one from Australia that I forget the name of now...
I suspect that you're thinking of U. arnhemica - too bad it's an annual (see Bob's photofinder for more cool pics)
Well whatever it is that I'm growing, U. reniformis, apparently has pretty large traps, not huge, but definitely capable of catching something...
Supposedly humbo gets traps around 1/4" or so...
 
  • #165
I can check, that may at least be a contributing factor...
Yup but as with most feeding, you've got to weigh the positive vs negative. The add'l moss growth w/ the large epiphytes isn't too bad - especially since the leaves have long petioles anyway. With the little weedy utrics, it's horrible - I never use ferts with them. I really want to grow humbo w/ dangling traps in water & feed them mosquito larvae & daphnia. I have some of .

Yeah by feeding I didn't mean fertilizing, I definitely meant like introducing micro-invertebrates into the substrate. (I have no idea how the logistics of this would work...)
 
  • #166
Yeah by feeding I didn't mean fertilizing, I definitely meant like introducing micro-invertebrates into the substrate. (I have no idea how the logistics of this would work...)

I tried foliar feeding with Maxsea....bad move, had to flush well after a bad burn on many.
I just suck some detritus from the bottom of my pond, along with ample water, allow it to settle a little bit and then pour over the Utrics as a "flush feeding".
I am however, thinking of raising some larger rotifers like volvox for the larger trapped plants such as U. Reniformis.
 
  • #167
I am however, thinking of raising some larger rotifers like volvox for the larger trapped plants such as U. Reniformis.
Someone on CPUK has used Paramecium as a utric food... (IIRC)
 
  • #168
U. jamesoniana has developed a flower stalk (with a bud of interesting color) - so I figured it was time for an update. On 010911, I mounted U. jamesoniana on a treefern slab with a clump of soggy, mostly-dead LFS.

The plant grew and went through several growth/rest cycles (to which I was mostly oblivious until they ended). After waking up from it's most recent one, a flower stalk emerged, along with a bunch of new growth. While most of the growth is obvious, I had no idea of the extent that roots/rolons had invaded the inner reaches of the treefern until roots popped out in two places on the top of the slab. Here's the whole treefern plaque (w/ penny on upper left for perspective):
Ujamesonianaplaque050712RS.jpg


Closeup of flowerstalk & bud in upper right area
Ujamesonianaflowerbud050712RS.jpg


The growth has been mostly separated into two areas - upper right & lower left. The upper area stays significantly more dry since the water drains from it quicker. The lower left area has recently exploded with growth
Ujamesonianaarrowstalk050712RS.jpg

The arrow is pointing to a 2nd flower stalk which I didn't know existed until I took the treefern plaque out for photos.

.... and even closer pic showing the tubers
Ujamesonianatubers050712RS.jpg


... and finally, a pic with the plaque back in it's 'home' in my 75 gal basement tank.
Ujamesonianahome050712RS.jpg


I'll attempt to follow up with flower pics in a few weeks (hopefully).
 
  • #169
:clap:
very nice ron...i need to up my game....my small sized slabs dont look like they're gonna cut it....that and getting a bigger tank too. T.T
 
  • #170
Very nice Ron. I'm just getting into the orchioides Utrics and have recently started establishing a few different kinds of live mosses on cork and tree fern plaques to mount some on. I've had longifolia for quite a while and have quelchii, nelumbifolia and a few more species on the way. I recently got U.reniformis 'Enfant Terrible' (a miniature cultivar) in a trade with another member and it's spreading surprisingly quickly. I see it having the same "weedy" potential as U.longifolia.

Utricularia reniformis 'Enfant Terrible'
<a href="http://s1109.photobucket.com/albums/h434/Nepenthes138/Utricularia/?action=view&current=5-3-12010.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h434/Nepenthes138/Utricularia/5-3-12010.jpg" border="0" alt="Utricularia reniformis 'Enfant Terrible'"></a>
 
  • #171
My latest acquisition into the Orchidioides section - U. campbelliana

r3vB1.jpg


TlKzo.jpg
 
  • #172
very nice acquisition mobile! im sure there's more than meets the eye concerning undergrowth. happy growing!
 
  • #173
I am going to be receiving some U. humboltdii soon, and was wondering if it does well in the same conditions as U. reniformis. I grow my reniformis in a sphagnum slurry and it does well, would the same thing work for humboltdii?
 
  • #174
yes it should. the two of those used to be in their own section, Iperua before merged in with Orchidioides. there's a spectacular humboldtii clone that requires a peat based mix, but seeing that you're in canada, the chances of you obtaining it are pretty much, zip. :-P-:
 
  • #175
Will do good sir! And yes, zilch, I am just happy I don't have to buy it from BCP for $25...
 
  • #176
I am going to be receiving some U. humboltdii soon, and was wondering if it does well in the same conditions as U. reniformis. I grow my reniformis in a sphagnum slurry and it does well, would the same thing work for humboltdii?
What is a 'sphagnum slurry'?

yes it should. the two of those used to be in their own section, Iperua before merged in with Orchidioides. there's a spectacular humboldtii clone that requires a peat based mix, but seeing that you're in canada, the chances of you obtaining it are pretty much, zip. :-P-:
What would your standard mix for U. humboldtii be? I have mine in dried:fresh Sphagnum moss and it just sits doing nothing.
 
  • #177
@mobile: sphagnum slurry is made up of loose strands of LFS and lots of water. you dont want the sphagnum to be too dense.

as for your mix, it sounds like a pretty decent one, except that it could lead to compaction, i would personally add perlite, styrofoam chunks, or coarse, large celled sponge chunks into your media. that or use a netted pot instead---many of these plants benefit form some sort of aeration.
 
  • #179
Wow - it's great to see some new folks posting with their Orchidioides 'babies'. :hail:
@mobile: what is your campby mounted on? Roughly how thick is the moss layer? That's a different species of moss from what's on mine.
@Cthulhu138: I had a tiny piece of 'Enfant terrible' but it grew very poorly & then died. I'll be curious to watch how yours grows. It's already much more prolific than mine ever was.
very nice ron...i need to up my game....my small sized slabs dont look like they're gonna cut it....that and getting a bigger tank too. T.T
I really like the slabs since they can hang on the side & use previously wasted space. Before this recent rush of new growth (mostly on bottom left), I had no idea that the plant was even happy - much less that it was going to send out 3 flowers. I've got another small piece with one leaf coming along on a treefern slab that is ~50% of the size of this slab and I also just started a new piece on a hanging basket-type thing that I recently made to mimic Barry's hanging basket but also hang on the side of a tank.

The U. jamesoniana opened it's 1st flower a few days ago, so this weekend I took it out for pics & pollination.
Ujamesonianaflowerfront052812RS.jpg

Ujamesoniana3-4052812RS.jpg


and the treefern plaque (one flower & at least 2 more buds)
Ujamesonianaplaque-flower052812RS.jpg


On a completely different topic - a cross I made last year (but just now getting some size)
Unephroxnelumbi052712RS.jpg

I know some others have posted pics with this cross but I was still quite shocked by how much the leaves have morphed into a reniformis shape. For me, this wasn't at all obvious given the leaf shapes of the two parents.

.... and last a quick pic of one of the two alpina's currently flowering
Ualpinaxhumboflower052612RS.jpg


..... and really last - a link to some U. asplundii flower pics that I posted in other threads but not in this one.
 
  • #180
hey Ron, do you use a drip system on the vertical slabs or just hand water and allow them to sit in a shallow tray of water?
I have all the makin's for this set-up here, but have not gotten to doing it yet.
Thanks for the wonderful eye candy today!
 
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