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How to grow Heliamphora Minor?

Wolfn

Agent of Chaos
Okay, I found a nursery selling juvenile Heliamphora Minors for a good price. I've always wanted to add one to my collection. It says that they are shipped bare-root wrapped in moss.

I'm seriously thinking about getting one. Can someone please give me the basics on how to grow one?
 
I do not grow heliamphora, but I know that they have brittle roots and hate root disturbance. Bare-root is probably not a good idea.

By the way, I know exactly which nursery you're talking about. ;)
 
See if you can get them to ship potted, even if it costs you a few bucks extra. It makes a difference.
Give it as much light as possible. Don't let it get hot. Keep it humid, never let it dry out. Needs to cool down at night.
Basically, just keep it like a highland Nepenthes, but they like more light than neps.
 
Think Darlingtonia, but no frost or super-high temps, and the pitchers are brittle and easy to break. They like well-drained media, and a lot of people say they shouldn't have wet feet. Most species - minor included, I think - prefer cool nights. I use a mix that's mostly pumice, ceramic chips, perlite and sand, with some peat for moisture retention and live Sphagnum growing on top. I use a really tall pot so that I can let it sit in a little bit of water when I'm not around to keep an eye on it. If you poke around, I believe there have been a few threads with growing info from some of the really gifted Heli growers on here. Was it Crissy's tank?
~Joe
 
Heliamphora are not as fragile as advertised and I have received bare-root plants and divisions for years without so much as a loss.

Simply treat the plant carefully (the roots are, admittedly, on the brittle side) and place it in your favorite compost (mine happens to be equal parts of live sphagnum moss, pumice, and perlite); water it well, and keep it under bright light . . .
 
I haven't found them to be particularly delicate, except in the sense that they're literally physically fragile. I don't know how many adult-shaped pitchers mine have put out that have never opened right because I brushed over them and snapped the spoon off. Mine are still tiny though, maybe they'll get sturdier when they're bigger.
~Joe
 
I dont think minor needs a cooling at night though.. mine doesn't get one and grows well. :)
 
I agree with BB, bare root is a non issue... I can show you pics of big clumps of bare root helis. I prefer to divide them with clean roots.

Keep them cool, keep them bright, keep them in airy substrate... and watch out for desiccation with a new division (it can happen almost overnight)

If their new home has low humidity, I usually recommend bagging until new growth is evident

Avoid constant direct contact with mist, indirect is preferred.

They are hungry buggers, feed often with fish pellets, bugs etc...

Personally, I'm also a big believer in Trichoderma atroviride... but there are plenty of growers who get great results without it.
.
The desiccation issue is the number one killer of new helis IMHO. Once they look like a raisin its game over. I think it helps to give them a good long soaking prior to planting (I like the trichoderma bath here) The soaking will also help with the brittleness of the roots. (but not something i really worry about)

None of my helis really get a night time temp drop, but all my helis are in cool conditions...

I prefer cypress based mixes

tequila2_division.jpg

heterodoxa_x_minor.jpg


I believe there have been a few threads with growing info from some of the really gifted Heli growers on here. Was it Crissy's tank?
~Joe

hehehe Crissy will have the big head when she reads that....

Av
 
wow great looking plants, love the het x minor
 
  • #10
Mine grow fine in highland conditions. Soil is the same as neps and get watered the same, but when I'm not feeding them at the same time, I pour water in the pitchers too. I also just repotted one with the roots wrapped around the outside of the pot, I pulled them out, not gently, not one root broke.
 
  • #11
hehehe Crissy will have the big head when she reads that....

Av

D'oh, how could I have forgot? Sorry Butch - didn't mean to marginalize you. :D
~Joe
 
  • #12
LOL.... I hear ya Joe,
tsk tsk tsk , you old hound dog you....

:D
 
  • #13
I've transplanted my H. minor 3 times in the last year or so, up till now. It doesn't seem to slow down in growth, actually it seems to put out bigger pitchers in my experience :p

I never water it (the soil stays constantly moist from the high humidity in the terrarium) and it grows fine for me, temps are 25 C during the day and 20 during the night, sometimes it cools down to about 17C.
 
  • #14
LOL guys! A big head indeed :p.

Yeah, I have the pseudo-terrarium setup. It's not a true terrarium - I closed in two shelves on my 5-tier Lowes grow rack. One shelf is for Nepenthes, one shelf is for Heliamphora. Helis in general seem to be easy to grow. The biggest issues are providing enough lighting and humidity. Temperatures could be an issue as well, these plants really won't tolerate much over 86F or so. I like to grow mine fairly dry, most people would have a heart attack if they saw how much I water (or don't water) my plants. I use cypress mulch with about 30% LFS. I water about once a day to once every other day.

Crystal
 
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