Heliamphora, Darlingtonia soil problem

[Empyrean]

hi everyone i currently brought a Heliamphora, and a Darlingtonia i was wonder what kind of soil i should use. i have read few forum about Darlingtonia, most people recommend cold root for Darlingtonia, and warm temperature for leafs. in that case 100% sphagnum moss would be the best, but would that be leak of nutrient for the Darlingtonia. and cause it to grow slower? here is my idea of the soil should be 20% soil with mud ( not peat mix) on the bottom and 10% round and shiny increase the cool temperature for the root. and then with the 70% sphagnum. i m not sure abotu this yet my plant still on sphagnum moss

and about Heliamphora i don't kno much about this plant. when i brought this plant it came with 40%sand 20% perlite and 40% peat mix, please leave me some idea =] thank you

 

[theyellowdart]

Don't worry about nutrients for your Darlingtonia. Carnivorous plants, including Darlintonia, capture insects for nutrients. They do not recieve any from the soil.

I use roughly 50% dried long fibered sphagnum and 50% perlite. However, I have read that 100% lfs works the best.

Sorry, I don't have any experiance with Heliamphora.

Good luck

 

[BigBella]

For Heliamphora, I prefer an equal part of long-fibered sphagnum (live if possible), perlite, and pumice. A live dressing of moss keeps the local humidity high, the roots cool and the plants have less of a chance of drying out.

Here are a couple of recent shots of hybrid plants (Heliamphora heterodoxa x ionassi and H. heterodoxa x minor), one of which has truly gotten away from me and is in dire need of a new pot -- again -- within one year . . .

 

[ikey]

what works for me is all 100% long fiber sphagnum moss loosely packed in a wide clay terracota pot sitting in a tray, the evaporation from the clay pot keeps the roots cool enough, and if it gets above 75F the air conditioner turns on, don't worry about feeding it.

 

[Alexis]

The idea of keeping the roots cool is overemphasised way too much in my opinion.

Ask 10 people and you'll get 10 different soil recipes too.

Stick either plant in a large pot with in a few centimetres of water and it wil be fine. Use 100% sphagnum moss, 100% peat, 50:50 peat/perlite, 50:50 moss peat/moss - they're happy in lots of things.

My plants live in 100% sphagnum moss in full baking sun.

 

[BigBella]

The root-cooling notion may be a bit overplayed (I recently saw some Rube Goldberg contraption made to specifically keep Darlingtonia almost refrigerated) and everyone does seem to have their own favorite compost, I must admit; however most failures I've seen with Darlingtonia and Heliamphora stem from "cooking" the plants in one form or another . . .

Also, to be quite honest about the success you've mentioned both with Tb and compost, I don't recall ever visiting Manchester when the weather was not miserably cold . . .

 

[Clint]

I've got a bunch planted on a creek... not doing much at all. Nothing good or bad. A few deformed growth but some are also putting up small but normal pitchers. I've got some in the native media and in typical cp media, and there's no difference. Maybe I added too much preen and they're just stunted for the remainder of the year. The Sphagnum moss couldn't be happier, though. I think it was probably a preen overdose

Maybe they just didn't like sitting in a sink for a week One thing is for sure, they're roots stay cool! Heliamphora DO divide like CRAZY when they're happy! And they sneak up on you... you don't realize they're doing it until it's time to repot because they grow mature offshoots so often! They'll grow in deformed because the other plants are crushing them and there's no room if you don't divide, IME. I used pure perlite, and the easy species didn't have any problems with warm temps (night at 70, day at mid 80's). They did really color up in the winter, though.

 

[Not a Number]

Could be, but then Darlingtonia has a reputation for not taking too kindly to root disturbance either. So it could just take a period of time for them to get back on track.

 

[jimscott]

I find that an established plant can tolerate much. Mine was unfazed at 3 consecutive days in the 90's.

A mix of sand and peat, with a healthy layer of LFS works well.

 

[Jefforever]

I used pure perlite,

Wow, really? I've never heard of any heli growers using only perlite. Sounds very logical though. I'll try that out!

Maybe APS would work too? I got some of that lying around.

 

[Clint]

Did I say that? dude, totally meant pure LFS. I don't know why I said that.

 

[Jefforever]

Lol. What would happen if you used pure perlite? Hmm...

Oh yeah - some people use 100% cypress mulch. Sounds like it works well too.

 

[ilbasso]

My cobra is in something like 2:1 perlite/LFS with possibly some bark and peat tossed it. Clearly, I didn't put too much thought into it. I have recently been pouring the water from its saucer over the soil whenever I'm out in the garden but that's about it. I do have it positioned behind a larger planter for shading the pot. I was fairly sure it was a goner but it is growing once again so I'm just hoping for the best.

 

[Av8tor1]

6p cypress bark
3p LFS
1p charcoal

FWIW, you can ask 100 people and get almost 100 different mixes...

A good mix holds air like a balloon, holds water like a sponge, and drains like a sieve (sp?)

IMHO it helps if it contains a blend of items for trace and micro nutrient purposes. Personally, I prefer the more "complicated" blends that also breaks down slowly

Av

 

[Clint]

.....What does LFS, charcoal, and cypress bark release?

 

[Av8tor1]

Clint, without analytical chromatography (proper nomenclature?) the only answer I can honestly give to that is "more than any one component by itself". IMHO by adding additional soil components, the chances are that a more complete range of micro and trace nutrients are made available to the plant. Now the benefit of this will vary greatly to not only the genus, but even to a specific species within a genus.... but since we are discussing helis at the moment, here is a little peer reviewed research on the subject.

Uptake of some mineral ions was estimated in Heliamphora tatei and H. heterodoxa, by measuring the disappearance of ions from a solution (in mM: KCl, 1; CaCl2, 1; MgCl2, 1; NaCl, 1; NaH2PO4, 0.5; NH4Cl, 18.7) poured into their pitcher leaves (Jaffe et al., 1992). During 24 hours, 92-98 % of added P, 66-67 % of K, 28-54 % of Na, 9-30 % of Ca, and 18-32 % of Mg was taken up by the leaves. The former species took up all ions more efficiently than the latter. The results show that the species is able to take up P and K more efficiently from prey, than Na, Ca, and Mg.

In cephs this becomes even more true, only 60% of it's nutrient ions come from captured prey... and the rest from the roots. IMHO this is another benefit of using Trichoderma
Cephs can and do grow very fast under ideal conditions. (Butch Tincher, 2008 LOL)

excellent ref on the subject:
Adamec L., 1997. Mineral nutrition of carnivorous plants: A review. Bot. Rev. 63: 273-299.

Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Section of Plant Ecology, Dukelská 145, CZ-379 82 Třeboň, Czech Republic

HTH's
Av

 

[polywer2345]

i use equal parts peat and perlite for my cobra.and tolerated temps to 90+

 

[BigBella]

i use equal parts peat and perlite for my cobra.and tolerated temps to 90+

I suppose it is like anything else. Provided other factors are satisfied to some degree, the plants can tolerate more Tb stresses, but how many of us pay such great attention to them once they're up and running? I know that I certainly don't . . .

 

[JMurphy97]

When using LFS for helis don't you have to worry about it rotting out and roots being tangled in it the same way it does for neps? I would repot mine but it's growing pretty good and the price is crazy now if you mess up.

 

[BigBella]

When using LFS for helis don't you have to worry about it rotting out and roots being tangled in it the same way it does for neps? I would repot mine but it's growing pretty good and the price is crazy now if you mess up.

No, I generally use some live sphagnum in the mix so breakdown is of fairly low concern. Also, the plants are not that sensitive to being unpotted -- provided you show a bit of care. I routinely divide Heliamphora without any concern and the roots somehow getting entangled aren't an issue either.

As far as prices are concerned, they are on the high side, but I wholly recommend dealing with The German (even with the exchange rate and shipping, most species -- with few exceptions -- are cheaper than buying from US dealers -- figure that one out). All plants arrive in great shape -- Nepenthes, Heliamphora, etc . . .

No, I am not on commission . . .