Utrics not growing well

[pedersonplants]

Hi:

My utrics (too dark outside to get exact list) are not doing well. It's just been too dry in my part of Michigan. Somehow, we manage to miss all the rain, etc. while other parts get 4 inches in a few hours. Really Strange!

I am bringing my utrics in tomorrow and putting them under lights. I can control moisture levels much better in my terrarium than I can outside this year.

Should I use just one-2 -bulb shoplight over the aquarium or would using 2 of them be better? I can do it either way.

 

[Clint]

Two, of course.

 

[pedersonplants]

Are there any species that would prefer a shadier location?

It just started raining--it teases us and rains for all of 5 minutes--just enough to settle dust and make it very HUMID. If it doesn't soak us now, they don't see any possibility of rain for another week. Local corn crops are suffering.

 

[Clint]

Well, you aren't going to burn them with fluorescent lighting. U. calycifida is one that does better for me with less light (but then again, I use HID so we aren't on the same page at all). Some plants, like U. longifolia, are growing out in full sun. It's a very adaptive genus. You could get away with just one set of 2 lights, but really another one would be better and let you grow other genera under it.

 

[xvart]

More often than not, more light is better than less, especially if you use fluorescents since there is no chance of burning.

xvart.

 

[pedersonplants]

Ok. they get 2 2-bulb shoplights. I was prepared for either method.

 

[Pyro]

In all my experience I have found that Utrics actually seem to do fine unde just 2 bulbs if they are within 20cm. THe only exceptions would be the Orchidioides and Iperua which I doubt you would have been growing outside.

 

[jimscott]

Mine did well enough with a single 30W shoplit, but I think they would have done even better if there were two bulbs. At least it was good enough to get a sandersonii blue to flower...