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Heliamphora sp. "Akopan," "Amuri," "Angasima" . . .

Here are a few shots of the "new" Heliamphora from August and October, all three as yet undescribed by Wistuba -- Heliamphora species "Angasima," "Akopan," and "Amuri." They've finally "freshened-up" a bit from rough handling by the lowland gorillas of the USPS, and shown some new growth and even some mature leaves with the arrival of cooler weather and our first rains in Northern California. They are all tissue-cultured plants from Germany and look, so far, to be rapid growers . . .

Heliamphora sp. "Angasima"
Angasima1.jpg
Angasima.jpg


Heliamphora sp. "Akopan"
AkopanC.jpg


Heliamphora sp. "Amuri"
Amuri.jpg
 
Congrats, amazing plants! Heliamphora are my favorite.
That sphagnum is looking pretty good too. o.o
 
I so want that H. "Angasima"!
 
Lucky very nice looking helis =)
 
Congrats, amazing plants! Heliamphora are my favorite.
That sphagnum is looking pretty good too. o.o

Thanks for those kind words. Heliamphora are also among my favorites, especially since they grow year-long -- and probably also having seen some in the wild, while in college, back in the 1990s.

I currently grow the bulk of my Heliamphora in a 1:1:1 ratio of live sphagnum moss, pumice, and perlite in shallow water trays; and I have some in various bark mixtures as an experiment, though have seen no real differences in terms of media . . .
 
Incredible helis as always! Great job :)
 
Amazing.

So you just leave these guys out side? I'm currently trying to seal up my greenhouse so I can grow more highland tropicals during the winter.
 
Amazing.

So you just leave these guys out side? I'm currently trying to seal up my greenhouse so I can grow more highland tropicals during the winter.

I generally grow adult Heliamphora outside and keep the juveniles under lights or on windowsills until they consistently produce adult leaves and reach a healthy size. The climate of Northern California seems to suit them . . .
 
amazing amazing plants! heli's are a very close second to neps in my book, and would probably be first if i cold grow them. :p

You seem to have one of the finer collections! :)
 
  • #10
amazing amazing plants! heli's are a very close second to neps in my book, and would probably be first if i cold grow them. :p

You seem to have one of the finer collections! :)

Thanks, but if you can grow intermediate or highland Nepenthes with any success, you can easily pull off Heliamphora. In my view, many Nepenthes can be far more fickle in cultivation, especially when young, than Heliamphora . . .
 
  • #11
First thing's first: Those are some nice plants, and the ones that you posted in another thread are just spectacular!

Now, I also have a couple questions: Would Heli's suffer too bad in lowland temps for a period of a few months (Summer)? If not, I think I might have to give one or two a try! Oh, and how fickle are they about humidity (how low can they be hardened off to?)?
 
  • #12
Great looking plants!

I second both of Jmmy's questions.

Now, I also have a couple questions: Would Heli's suffer too bad in lowland temps for a period of a few months (Summer)? If not, I think I might have to give one or two a try! Oh, and how fickle are they about humidity (how low can they be hardened off to?)?

In addition, what kinds of conditions are your Helis experiancing, BigBella? (Humidity, temps, etc)
 
  • #13
Now, I also have a couple questions: Would Heli's suffer too bad in lowland temps for a period of a few months (Summer)? If not, I think I might have to give one or two a try! Oh, and how fickle are they about humidity (how low can they be hardened off to?)?

I think Lowland temps would definately kill them. Even me trying my hardest - keeping them w/ my ultra highland neps, they're still not growing consistently (yet my N. macrophylla is happy ??? ). Of all of them, H. puchella really is a pain to grow. I haven't seen new growth on it for 6 months.

If I were you I'd go with H. x "Tequila". They can take alot of abuse when it comes to temps.
 
  • #14
Thanks for th input, Jeff. I was thinking of getting a H. spec. Angasima, if anything, because I like the shape and coloration, and it's apparently supposed to be an easy grower, like H. heterodoxa. Unless BigBella thinks they'd be fine for awhile in summer LL temps, I think I'll shy away from Helis until I have a sure-fire cooling sytem to last my plants through the summer months.
 
  • #15
Great looking plants!

I second both of Jmmy's questions.



In addition, what kinds of conditions are your Helis experiancing, BigBella? (Humidity, temps, etc)

In terms of growing conditions, the plants all experience fairly high humidity -- in the 70 percentile range and higher (though have fallen into the 40-50% range on rare occasions) -- and Tbs that rarely exceed 25˚-30˚C for any real length of time. More importantly and, again, analogous to growing highland Nepenthes or Darlingtonia, Heliamphora require a consistent fall in Tb at night. Since I live on the Northern California coast, it is almost always fairly cool at dusk, in the 12˚ C range -- probably colder tonight. I also grow the bulk of the plants in shallow water trays, since I cannot ensure that they are frequently watered otherwise. Some growers, however, swear against that practice -- but it works for me.

As far as the other question about partially raising Heliamphora as a lowlander, frequent watering would be required and conditions that would allow for reasonably high humidity -- misting, etc. One solution to this would be to grow any number of hybrid forms which allow for far greater latitude in terms of cultivation. A friend of mine in Austin, Texas, grows a few plants (H. nutans x heterodoxa, H. heterodoxa x minor, H. heterodoxa x ionasii, etc) which seem to thrive and flower, even in their sweltering summers. One encouraging thing I could offer, is that UC Berkeley's Botanical Gardens have some nice Heliamphora in their collection; and when last I visited, they were in a full, poorly-vented enclosure, and the Tb was well in excess of 30˚C.

In terms of the Heliamphora sp. "Angasima," and the others, I haven't had the plants long enough to offer any real advice or opinion. I spoke with a couple of growers in the UK who suggested that some of the "new" species were fairly vigorous but others disagreed; aside from that, it's anyone's guess . . .
 
  • #16
Thanks for that detailed explanation, BigBella. I'm still waiting for some German neps, and if I'm satisfied with what I recieve, I may put a Heli in my next order (who knows when that will be...)
 
  • #17
Thanks a lot! I think I might give one a try too.
 
  • #18
Thanks a lot! I think I might give one a try too.

You're absolutely welcome. Of the Heliamphora species which are the simplest to grow, I would suggest H. heterodoxa, H. nutans, H. ionasii, H. minor, and H. pulchella (once considered simply a hairy form of H. minor for many years). Also consider species which also exist at "lower" elevations in Venezuela, such as H. chimantensis.

Of hybrids, H. heterodoxa x minor, H. nutans x minor, and H. nutans x ionasii are all easily cultivated and can take some punishment . . .

Good luck.
 
  • #19
Here are those same plants about a year out from the beginning of this thread. Of the three, H. sp. "Amuri" was the slowest to get established, but has since divided a number of times. All three plants are particularly vigorous, a fairly rare occurrence for some Heliamphora species, and usually limited to the hybrids . . .

Heliamphora sp. "Akopan"
HAKOPANB.jpg


Heliamphora sp. "Angasima"
HANGASIMA.jpg


Heliamphora sp. "Amuri"
HAMURI.jpg
 
  • #20
Damn David!!! i love the sp. angasima! and the amuri, just wow!
 
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