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  • #361
shock and awe!
Very nice work Ron!
 
  • #362
I found this post that has some info on the requirements of individual species: http://www.cpukforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=45007 about midway through the first page. Maybe something like that could be added to the first post here (especially since it seems like Orchioides utrics and what used to be Iperua utrics require different growing conditions). It would be helpful for growers who are just starting out with one species.
 
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  • #363
I found this post that has some info on the requirements of individual species: http://www.cpukforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=45007 about midway through the first page.
I added a link to that thread under the "Growing" section in the 1st post.

Maybe something like that could be added to the first post here (especially since it seems like Orchioides utrics and what used to be Iperua utrics require different growing conditions). It would be helpful for growers who are just starting out with one species.
I've considered doing that but haven't because:
- by nature of me posting it, it would need to be my methods since they are the only ones I can vouch for (having seen them work) - however, as we've seen in this long thread - different methods work for some people
- we have a number of approaches that have been shared throughout the thread - it doesn't feel right for me to (somewhat arbitrarily) choose one (whether mine or someone else's) & list it in the beginning
- listing one approach may keep someone from trying other methods - for example, I read that thread (& others) that stated U. reniformis & U. humboldtii 'require' higher humidity to survive. Reading that strong assertion, kept me from trying those plants on my windowsill for years. Once I gave up & placed both species on my low-humidity, hot-in-summer, cold-in-winter windowsill - I had my first flowers from both within six months (my personal experiences diverge from several other posts in that thread also - ie: while U. geminiloba grows well for me - it still has not bloomed in my care. If it's unwilling to flower, it's obviously missing something & therefore not having it's requirements met. Therefore - not an 'easy' species - imho (similar to U. tricolor)).
- isn't that what this whole thread is about? Sharing info on what works, what doesn't, ideas for the future, etc, etc, etc. Heck, Mobile & RSS are constantly pushing the boundaries for new media, lighting, enclosures ....
 
  • #364
I added a link to that thread under the "Growing" section in the 1st post.

I've considered doing that but haven't because:
- by nature of me posting it, it would need to be my methods since they are the only ones I can vouch for (having seen them work) - however, as we've seen in this long thread - different methods work for some people
- we have a number of approaches that have been shared throughout the thread - it doesn't feel right for me to (somewhat arbitrarily) choose one (whether mine or someone else's) & list it in the beginning
- listing one approach may keep someone from trying other methods - for example, I read that thread (& others) that stated U. reniformis & U. humboldtii 'require' higher humidity to survive. Reading that strong assertion, kept me from trying those plants on my windowsill for years. Once I gave up & placed both species on my low-humidity, hot-in-summer, cold-in-winter windowsill - I had my first flowers from both within six months (my personal experiences diverge from several other posts in that thread also - ie: while U. geminiloba grows well for me - it still has not bloomed in my care. If it's unwilling to flower, it's obviously missing something & therefore not having it's requirements met. Therefore - not an 'easy' species - imho (similar to U. tricolor)).
- isn't that what this whole thread is about? Sharing info on what works, what doesn't, ideas for the future, etc, etc, etc. Heck, Mobile & RSS are constantly pushing the boundaries for new media, lighting, enclosures ....

That makes sense. I guess there isn't a set method for growing these plants. I had a general description on the conditions favorable to each species in mind, but it seems like even those can be varied with different results. Above all, it is probably experimenting that allows us to understand these plants better.
 
  • #365
The U. campbelliana is in full flower (except for a new stalk that is undeveloped) so I brought it out to snap some pics
Slab & flowers


Flowers front


Flowers side


While taking pics & then pollinating the flowers, I noticed that this flower is different from all the other Orchidioides that I've played with: 1) there is almost no hinge (with the other species the hinge is very pronounced), 2) there is a distance between the stigma flap & the anthers & 3) there is a tunnel of sorts in which the stigma flap is parked dead center & even visible from the outside

The shiny piece visible in the tunnel is the flap. I had read that this species may be hummingbird pollinated vs insect. While I don't have enough info to know if this is true, the colors and unique adaptations from the other species would certainly suggest the possibility.
 
  • #366
spectacular! no other word to describe those flowers.
Thanks Ron! always impressed with your posts.
 
  • #367
WOW, spectacular.

I know it will spoil the illusion, but any chance of seeing the actual set-up you have the campy in? I can see you have it on a slab in a tray. I can also see that it has a preference to the wet end, as does my one on a sponge where the leaves seem to prefer to grow on the waterline of even under it.
 
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  • #368
I know it will spoil the illusion, but any chance of seeing the actual set-up you have the campy in? I can see you have it on a slab in a tray.
LOL - I think I shattered whatever 'illusion' there might be by just posting these pics. The treefern slab sits in this small plastic tray in a 10 gal tank sitting on my basement floor (to stay 'extra' cool in my basement). The slab leans against the back wall. Yes - definitely a ghetto setup.

I can also see that it has a preference to the wet end, as does my one on a sponge where the leaves seem to prefer to grow on the waterline of even under it.
This part continues to shock me. I originally used this setup - figuring that water wicking up the treefern & moss would provide at least some of the moisture & humidity the plant wanted. The original small division was placed just below half way up the slab (pic showing both original placement & developing lower satellite station). It immediately sent rolons down to the bottom & proceeded to establish itself down there & it has stayed down there & expanded. It even has offshoots that grow completely in the water (I try to keep 1/4" or less of water in the tray but it does sometimes go dry). I really didn't expect this kind of growth from a purely epiphytic utric.

As we've seen from in-situ pics, this is not how the plant normally grows. The drooping flower stalks are another adaptation that doesn't work in this scenario. In the wild, they would just hang down from a branch or tree. In my setup, the stalks ran into live LFS - so I had to raise the slab & water tray up a few inches. Still, you can see that the bottoms of the flowers are bent-in from sitting on top of the LFS (or other stalks) since they couldn't hang down into open air.
 
  • #369
Sorry for the poor quality photos, but really hard to get a good picture of the plant in situ:

Wyjrxam.jpg


4QARwYb.jpg
 
  • #370
we are not worthy....

very well done sir, very well done.....
 
  • #372
Ron sent me a few stolon cuttings of species/hybrids in this section, so I'm trying them out in a method similar to one he's posted here previously (live sphag slurry in a tall glass petri dish under a small CFL desk lamp. The species I'm currently playing with in this system are praetermissa, Jitka, quelchii, and humboldtii. So far, I'm seeing active growth in at least a few. They've been in this system for about a month now.



Those small side stolons are new growth since being planted this way. I hope to grow some of these out and try them mounted in conditions similar to how I grow orchids.
 
  • #373
Haven't seen any of these for a while (as well as the several other stalks that are developing). It would seem to be supportive of the new growing approach (although I have trouble believing it)
U. jamesoniana

Although I'll never find the seeds, I may try a cross with the developing U. campbelliana flower :-O
 
  • #374
Talking again about the utrics growing on bromeliads in the tropics, does anyone want to help me find out if they may actualy grow like that on natural bromeliads? I have lots of natural growing ones on my trees, such as this one on my Acnistus arborescens tree which is fruiting now.
IMG_7220_zps7489881f.jpg

The plan is to plant the utric in the bromelia plant and observe how it grows using the water it has naturally.
 
  • #375
Talking again about the utrics growing on bromeliads in the tropics, does anyone want to help me find out if they may actualy grow like that on natural bromeliads? I have lots of natural growing ones on my trees, such as this one on my Acnistus arborescens tree which is fruiting now.

The plan is to plant the utric in the bromelia plant and observe how it grows using the water it has naturally.

I actually did once try to grow a U. humboldtii inside a bromeliad. The utric started exploring and growing, but it was fatal for the bromeliad. Slime algae contamination from the source material of the utricularia grower who gave me the plant completely choked the bromeliad. Since the centre is the growth point for these plants, if it gets choked with algae, the bromeliad starts a steady decline. No matter how hard I tried to get rid of the utric and algae, it was all in vain. The algae would always come back and grow inside the rosette "pond". It finally perished.

5698159831_5b99be5fec_o.jpg


But coming to topic...just wanted to add my own contribution to this thread. It's of the best examples of how great this community can be and how sharing information can help everyone to achieve their goals. Hats off to Ron and everyone else who have contributed here. You guys are awesome.

I have always admired the epiphytic utrics..but never managed to get them and always focused on neps instead. I finally got my dream utricularia ... U. quelchii late last year. It didn't do anything for almost 6 months and didn't make a single new leaf for all of winter...and then suddenly once the temps went from the standard 65F to a more 70-75F...it took off and grew 13 leaves in the span of 3 months. Unfortunately, I don't remember the media I used. I just got a new clone from BCP and want to replicate the conditions. I also got my first U. jamesoniana ..although it did dry out a little bit. I will pot it in LFS in a xaxim pot and see if that works out.

14578848047_e622eb9f0d_b.jpg
 
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  • #377
Oh no. Thats a true orchid. Forgot what it was...maybe a Poroglossum species? picked it up at an orchid show.
 
  • #379
From an uncouth Nepenthes collector, U. quelchii:
14803957585_6baf55ae67_b.jpg

14780957566_f58be4d5d7_b.jpg


It was less interesting (to me) when I got it 7 months back
12146977396_f94a191e99_b.jpg


I'm scared I might find myself collecting more of these. Heaven forbid this one should ever flower!
 
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  • #380
Utricularia campbelliana

Spectacular plant Kula. This is another one of my favourite wishlist species. I love the leaves and the flowers of course.

Great progress with the quelchii Clue. I guess this species regularly takes a few months to settle into our conditions.
 
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