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  • #21
Thanks! The N. chaniana x veitchii is one of my favorites. I really like the fuzz and the colorful peristome, plus it's been a strong grower, consistently putting out bigger and bigger pitchers.

Radagast, I love Lepanthes spp. but so many of them are cool growers. L. gargoyla and L. calodictyon both do well for me.
 
  • #22
Very nice plants! Your Macleania glabra looks in great health and that is definitely an inflorescence, congratulations! What fertilizer do you give it, aside from chelated iron?
 
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  • #23
Excellent plants!! You've definitely got a blooming Macleania, too! The new growth looks superb. Congrats!

It's probably a good idea to discuss blueberry ferts. I would love to know your guys' approach.

I tend to believe in supplementing small doses of Ca/Mg/S even for Ericaceae, so use a pinch of gypsum and limestone in my mix. Still a good idea to play it safe though, because too much Ca will induce iron deficiency. Then just a generic 20-10-20 with micronutrients, perhaps a rate of 1/4-1/2tsp per gallon, every couple weeks. Usually a bit of iron chelate too--helps the display collection always look very green. Iron's always helpful for anything Ericaceae anyway.
 
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  • #24
What fertilizer do you give it, aside from chelated iron?

It's probably a good idea to discuss blueberry ferts.

Weakly, weekly, as for a lot of my orchids. I just use Better-Gro orchid fertilizer (20-14-13, with micronutrients) at a rate of about 1/4 tsp per gallon. It does contain iron (.20%), but last summer the M. glabra was looking chlorotic, so Kevin suggested I try iron chelate, which I use once in a while. Seems to keep everything looking good.

My Disterigma rimbachii, Macleania pentaptera, and Ceratostema silvicola get about the same fertilizer regimen. The Disterigma is a monster and the M. pentaptera is getting big, but neither bloomed yet. I'd like to figure out what it takes to encourage these to flower. As for the M. glabra, I think the inflorescence is due to dumb luck!
 
  • #25
Thanks for the feed info, guys! I need to start dosing my blueberries a little heavier, I'm seeing nice top-growth from the little supplementation I've already done.

Have either of you seen any sensitivity of Vaccinieae to nitrates? Some online sources say blueberries are lacking in nitrate reductase enzyme and will suffer or die if fed high nitrates for a long time. Not sure what precisely constitutes 'high nitrates' nor how immediate or reversible possible effects would be, and of course the bulk of the research to date has been on temperate terrestrials and so may or may not pertain to the tropical epi/lithophytes, which seem likely to have somewhat different rhizosphere conditions and associated microbes.

Chris, the obvious success of your plants on the nitrate-containing Better-Gro fertilizer does suggest it's not necessarily an issue for (all) the epiphytes, or at least not an immediate and/or serious one. Relatively light applications may also prevent a buildup to potentially toxic levels, whatever those may be. I'll try to dig deeper into the blueberry nutrition literature next week and report back anything noteworthy.
 
  • #26
I'm getting a second inflorescence on the M. glabra! Although the first one is taking a long time to mature. As for nitrates, I do flush the pots every so often, so that may help prevent buildup.
 
  • #27
A quick update:

N. chaniana x veitchii, one of my favorites:


N. maxima x mira. I'm not that impressed, but hope it will look better as it gets older:


N. vogelii:


N. maxima x aristolochioides, one of my strongest growers:
 
  • #28
Does anyone else on here grow Oeceoclades spp? This is O. spathulifera in a growth spurt:


O. peyrotii. I'm not sure what the growth to the right is, perhaps an inflorescence..


Neostylis Lou Sneary 'Bluebird,' a tough, fragrant windowsill orchid that blooms twice a year for me:


Schoenorchis fragrans:


Lepanthopsis astrophora:


Dracula lotax:
 
  • #29
DUDE! The N. vogelii and max x aristo in the first post are amazing!! Holy crap!! Blows my mind--it's like they're made of shiny perfection.
 
  • #30
Thanks, Kevin! They both make a lot of nectar. It can create a sticky mess when it starts dripping onto the plants below!
 
  • #31
Omg its striped peristome madness with the chaniana x veitchii & vogelii! I have a weakness for that sort of thing & YOUR chaniana x veitchii is also one of my favorites. Thanks for sharing with us.
 
  • #32
Avoiding work means... time for a photo thread update!

Peeking in at a mess of windowsill Nepenthes:


N. maxima x aristolochioides:


N. glandulifera:


Idem:


N. glandulifera x burbidgeae. I cannot get enough of this one. Fuzzier than N. glandulifera and obscenely dripping with nectar:


 
  • #33
N. albomarginata:


N. albomarginata. Red form from Gunung Jerai:


N. peltata:


Pinguicula reticulata, with a strange, deformed flower:
 
  • #34
Angraecum didieri. Such a slow grower. The bud started as a tiny nub months ago and could have been either a new growth or a flower. After much waiting and ang-xiety (ha! I'm here all night...), it turned out to be the latter and really took off once it reached a certain size. This has a nice fragrance at night. Like hyacinths, but spicy.



Angraecum distichum, also very fragrant for its size.
 
  • #35
Neps are just gorgeous, man. Especially the max x aristo and the albomarginata. Great stuff!
 
  • #36
It's been a while, but here are a few things looking good at the moment:

N. vogelii. Not the best picture but you get the idea:


N. maxima x mira:


N. veitchii x burbidgeae. This is one of my favorites but also one of my slowest growers.
 
  • #37
N. tobaica


N. tobaica x aristolochioides


N. glandulifera x burbidgeae, still one of my favorites


A variegated seedling?
 
  • #38
Variegated plants are so much fun! At least, if they survive. I've had 2 show up for me, only one surviving (lost a supposedly red albomarginata that was variegated, still have the lingulata).
 
  • #39
Really nice collection!

I like that ceph and the pot you have it in.
 
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