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Heliamphora "A, B,C" . . .

I just received shipment of two of three new Heliamphora species from Wistuba on 22 August. They are Heliamphora sp. "Amuri" ("A") and sp. "Akopan" ("B"). Growers in the UK who are familiar with them (at least "A" and "B") seem fairly pleased with their relative ease of cultivation.

The two, as yet, undescribed species, arrived as typical juvenile plants, though one looks to be in the process of producing an adult pitcher soon. "Angasima" ("C") will arrive next month. They are definitely on the steep side in terms of the euro, but far cheaper than cartons of unfiltered Canadian cigarettes and horse in the long run (heh, heh, heh) . . .

Here are some shots of the plants in the field. Photos of the juveniles will follow, once they've "freshened" up a bit . . .

A.jpg

B.jpg

C.jpg
 
Sounds great Bella, cant wait for pics.
 
Pretty.
 

Yeah, I thought so, and I don't mind waiting a couple of years for something interesting to develop from a juvenile plant. I've known some people who spend upwards of seven years for a single bloom, just waiting to see whether their orchid crosses were any good (more often, they are not). By that reckoning, Heliamphora grow like ****ing tomatoes . . .

What sold me on one of them at least, was a particular UK grower's success with Heliamphora sp. "Akopan":

Heliamphora-akopan.jpg
 
Thanks for the photos Bella, what helis do you own now? and any pics of them? Im very interested in how you grow yours Thanks.
 
Thanks for the photos Bella, what helis do you own now? and any pics of them? Im very interested in how you grow yours Thanks.

Currently, I grow most all of the species available, some for over a decade or more -- and I find them reasonably simple to grow, especially in the fog-shrouded SF Bay Area and points south. Some I grow outside or on a bright windowsill and they do very well, though I usually start them out under bright CF grow lights and gradually harden them to being exposed to the sun. I've never really kept juveniles outside for any great length of time; they are far too capable of becoming dessicated. The Heliamphora all grow in live sphagnum, perlite, and pumice mixtures (2:1:1), some in shallow trays of water, others not so -- with no real difference in my experience.

Frankly, I have little time to be fussing over the plants; but, twice monthly, they are foliar-fed (along with the Nepenthes) with 1/4 strength 30:10:10 orchid fertilizer, and fed either insect sacrifices or the occasional Hikari Cichlid Staple fish pellets . . .

Here are a few images, some newer, others previously posted:

Hheteroxminor.jpg

HheterodoxaxionassiB.jpg


The Heliamphora folliculata (Aparaman) suffered an impromptu, very rough division at the paws and / or tail of my dog, Bella (seen on the left and mentioned in another thread on "Heliamphora Survival") -- and is coming back, as you can see. I now have two plants thanks to her . . .

H-folliculata.jpg
H-folliculata2.jpg



The other image is a more recent -- redder -- picture of Heliamphora heterodoxa x ionasii with a new larger pitcher on the way. When I received this plant, it was the size of a half-dollar and lime green. I like this colour far better . . .

H-heterodoxa-x-ionasii.jpg
 
Dang! You're obviously an expert on helis. And you're getting a Heli Angasima!

Some of my relatives live in San Fran. Maybe I should encourage them to try some of these...
 
Dang! You're obviously an expert on helis. And you're getting a Heli Angasima!

Some of my relatives live in San Fran. Maybe I should encourage them to try some of these...

Thanks for saying so, but each grower has his or her own preferences and experiences when it comes to cultivating anything -- also something which always has to be geared to the local environment. I know a number of people in Oregon, by the way, who grow Heliamphora with some success, since they were already old hands at Darlingtonia and highland Nepenthes.

If you are interested in trying Heliamphora, I would begin with a good hybrid before shelling out any long green, such as H. nutans x minor, H. heterodoxa x nutans, H. nutans x ionasii, H. heterodoxa x ionasii, or Heliamaphora x "Tequila." They all grow fairly rapidly, are more tolerant of Tb extremes than the individual species (to some degree), and are far more forgiving of rookie mistakes. Trust me on that last one . . .
 
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