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Utricularia rienformis
- Thread starter 7santiago
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- care epiphytic flower utricularia
Technically this plant is not an epiphyte (none of the Iperua section are.)
Care is pretty easy, it will grow in most any open media (I use equal parts very fine pine bark, perlite and LFS topped with live sphag.) I don't necessarily give it a dormancy but until this year (when it got too big) I grew it in my highlander area year round and it di just fine. There is a lot of talk about flowering and in my experience the consensus is that the plant needs to be a certain size to bloom. Most often I have heard that a plant in an 8" pot will bloom but not in a pot smaller. A cooler, drier period also seems to help stimulate blooming according to a number of growers.
All in all this is an easy plant. I would recommend the smaller form over the larger for for a beginner who is not familiar with these guys. The smaller form is more tollerant of wet conditions I have found.
Care is pretty easy, it will grow in most any open media (I use equal parts very fine pine bark, perlite and LFS topped with live sphag.) I don't necessarily give it a dormancy but until this year (when it got too big) I grew it in my highlander area year round and it di just fine. There is a lot of talk about flowering and in my experience the consensus is that the plant needs to be a certain size to bloom. Most often I have heard that a plant in an 8" pot will bloom but not in a pot smaller. A cooler, drier period also seems to help stimulate blooming according to a number of growers.
All in all this is an easy plant. I would recommend the smaller form over the larger for for a beginner who is not familiar with these guys. The smaller form is more tollerant of wet conditions I have found.
jimscott
Tropical Fish Enthusiast
personally i find both the large and small forms of reniformis to be major pains. i am growing them, they are alive but neither seems to be growing very well for me. they seem to just be surviving. which is weird cause the other in Utrics in the Iperua section that i grow are doing wonderfully as are the true epiphytes i am growing. nephrophylla and nelumblifoila are doing wonderfully but reniformis just sits there, not doing much. i think its a species that does great for some and poorly for others, kinda like Cephs or Helis.
good luck finding humboldtii, i have yet to actually get my hands on a division. i found U. quelchii, but still havent gotten humboldtii. my U. dichotoma has larger traps than my reniformis or others i have in the Iperua section. if you want to see bladders, aquatics are your best bet. or if you want something different i would give U. nelumblifolia a try(it grows in the same manner as humboldtii and you might actually be able to find it). i dont think reniformis will work well and none of the true epiphytes like asplundii, alpina or quelchii will work to well i dont think.
Rattler is correct, U. reniformis will NOT grow well in the manner of Genlisea trap display. U. reniformis loathes prolonged wet conditions and will rot out extremely fast if you try to grow it in that manner.[b said:
I also have to disagree with humboldtii and nelumbifolia being candidates for this method of growth. I know everyone basically believes that these plants are "sub-aquatics" and grow best in really wet, undrained bowls of sphag but I disagree in the most absolute way. Read this thread here for my reasoning. I feel too lazy to re-type all of it.
Rattler is also correct that the Orchidioides group are not good candidates for this method of growth either. As a rule I would say that Iperua and Orchidioides should be grown more like orchids or typical house plants and not like "bog" plants.
If you want to grow a Utric so as to see its traps then go with something like dichotoma or tricolor if you want "big" traps. U. praelonga also is a good candidate as are the much more common sandersonii and livida, thought their traps are smaller.
OK I have finnaly cracked how to grow U.reniformis so I think Il pipe in......
I have re-potted it into a large, 25 centimetre pot in August and I topped the soil with LFS. The soil used was peat dominated with a bit of sand added.
I then put it in shady conditions in my greenhouse, where it gets cool nights and I always keep the media wet.
And now, its produced a HUGE leaf, bigger then in a lot of pictures I see, its almost three times the size of all the others.
Its also sending up a lot more leaves too, and Im sure it will flower if I get the winter conditions right aswell.
So basiclly, they like their soil surface topped with LFS, they like wet conditions all the time and they like a LOT of room to spread.
Im basiclly growing it like a cool growing orchid now, except for it has its soil constantly wet, and its working extremely well
I have re-potted it into a large, 25 centimetre pot in August and I topped the soil with LFS. The soil used was peat dominated with a bit of sand added.
I then put it in shady conditions in my greenhouse, where it gets cool nights and I always keep the media wet.
And now, its produced a HUGE leaf, bigger then in a lot of pictures I see, its almost three times the size of all the others.
Its also sending up a lot more leaves too, and Im sure it will flower if I get the winter conditions right aswell.
So basiclly, they like their soil surface topped with LFS, they like wet conditions all the time and they like a LOT of room to spread.
Im basiclly growing it like a cool growing orchid now, except for it has its soil constantly wet, and its working extremely well
Pyro the reason i mentioned that i thought nelumbifolia MIGHT work is that while most of mines growth is in the the barly damp LFS mix it doesnt seem to mind sending a stolon loaded with traps down to wetter areas as seen here:
while the whole plant may not like these conditions it would probably send growth down and into a cup and do fine. but growing it this way would be a head ache as the main plant wouldnt like the water logged soil conditions that you can grow Genlisea and other terrestrials Utrics in. i still say if yah want to see the traps the aquatics are you best and easiest bet.
while the whole plant may not like these conditions it would probably send growth down and into a cup and do fine. but growing it this way would be a head ache as the main plant wouldnt like the water logged soil conditions that you can grow Genlisea and other terrestrials Utrics in. i still say if yah want to see the traps the aquatics are you best and easiest bet.
Rattler,
You are correct, nelumbi does indeed love sending out the aerial stolons into the water tray (or any other wet place) but I have found that if I just leave these starts in the water they will eventually die/rot. Just my experience though and it might be different for different people. The idea of "cupping" a couple aerial stolons might be good but as you say, it could also be a headache.
Dino,
5 years worth of growing experience has shown me that reniformis loathes consant, sustained, wet conditons. Not saying I am an expert or anything, just that my experience would argue against growing it that way.
You are correct, nelumbi does indeed love sending out the aerial stolons into the water tray (or any other wet place) but I have found that if I just leave these starts in the water they will eventually die/rot. Just my experience though and it might be different for different people. The idea of "cupping" a couple aerial stolons might be good but as you say, it could also be a headache.
Dino,
5 years worth of growing experience has shown me that reniformis loathes consant, sustained, wet conditons. Not saying I am an expert or anything, just that my experience would argue against growing it that way.
i found a humboldtii, so it is one of my options. So you guys are telling me a dichotoma or tricolor would be best? Ok so basicly i just want big traps that will grow into a jar of water, not only must the traps be large but they must fill a large amount of the jar as in they must have a long bladder system. Which would be the best to buy?
nepenthes gracilis
Nepenthes Specialist
ha-ha Nep G, actually if you can grow highland neps well the Orchidioides group and Iperua group of Utrics should be easy to grow as the care is quite similar. infact all of the Utrics i have from these two groups are in with my highland Neps and doing wonderful, except reniformis, cause it and i just dont understand each other
Santiago,
U. dichotoma and tricolor are a toss up but both should work for you. They both have good sized traps and the stolons can get pretty long. Not fill a mayonase jar long but still nicely long. You will need to get some plastic mesh pots and the water will have to be changed pretty regularly to keep algae and other slime like things from building up.
Dustin,
Rattler is correct, anyone who can grow highlanders can grow Iperua and Orchidioides because they basically require identical conditions. For some people it is just difficult to get those conditions. You are lucky being un upstate NY, try keeping it below 75 at night here in Atl in August!!
U. dichotoma and tricolor are a toss up but both should work for you. They both have good sized traps and the stolons can get pretty long. Not fill a mayonase jar long but still nicely long. You will need to get some plastic mesh pots and the water will have to be changed pretty regularly to keep algae and other slime like things from building up.
Dustin,
Rattler is correct, anyone who can grow highlanders can grow Iperua and Orchidioides because they basically require identical conditions. For some people it is just difficult to get those conditions. You are lucky being un upstate NY, try keeping it below 75 at night here in Atl in August!!
Just remember that trial and error are what create successes. Following general cultural procedures for these groups of plants is a good idea, but doesn't always work for everyone. For instance...I grew U. humboldtii for years in non soggy conditions and it dwindled down to a plant the size of a dime. I filled a 3 gallon plastic terrarium with mucky, sopping wet pure peat and literally threw the little bugger in. It was like tossing it into quicksand! That was 3 years ago. Today the plant has entirely filled the terrarium so much that the soil is a solid mass. Leaf petioles around 14 inches tall, leaves around 3 inches, paddle shaped. I had 9 flower stalks this year, 6 last year.
So I steered away from the 'norm' because it didn't work for me. One must experiment until the right conditions are met, if the basic requirements don't work.
So I steered away from the 'norm' because it didn't work for me. One must experiment until the right conditions are met, if the basic requirements don't work.
nepenthes gracilis
Nepenthes Specialist
tricolor is easy to grow and darn near impossible to flower
i have yet to find a set of conditions where i cant get it to grow and flurish. i just cant get the SOB to flower.
Phil you are absolutly right but i feel these two groups of Utrics you really should try the norms first as they are generally really tempramental lil buggers in conditions they dont like.
now for for the real important question, is there anything your looking for Phil that i may be able to get a piece of that humboldtii?
Phil you are absolutly right but i feel these two groups of Utrics you really should try the norms first as they are generally really tempramental lil buggers in conditions they dont like.
now for for the real important question, is there anything your looking for Phil that i may be able to get a piece of that humboldtii?
