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Hello - I am new to the forum and have some questions regarding U. reinformis. I purchased a plant which arrived one week ago. The day it arrived, the temps here were about 18 degrees, however, the plant itself felt about 40 degrees. I promptly put it in a highland terrarium where I have thriving Cephalotus and a Nepenthes hamata (temp range is 60 to 75 degrees). The plant is about six inches below two fluorescent daylight tubes. The soil appears to be a 50/50 peat pearlite mix that has remained wet but not waterlogged. The second night I noticed a very small slug crawling on the single leaf and removed it. The single leaf is beginning to yellow at the point where it meets the stem.

My questions are:

Are these proper growing conditions? I am inclined to repot the plant so I can see what is under the soil, however, I don't want to stress the plant any more than it already is. Based on what I have read on the forum, I am inclined to plant it in Sphagnum, small orchid bark, peat and perlite, is this a better growing medium for these plants?

I have added a link to a photo in hopes that this will help solve my problem. The yellowing is slightly more pronounced in person. Sorry if I am beating a dead horse. Any information is appreciated. Chuck

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lambdlth/3077457739/in/set-72157604033642861/
 
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these bigger Utrics like reniformis quite often dump the leaves that were there when you first get them and throw up ones better suited to your conditions.........wouldnt worry bout it yet......give it a month or so before panicking, in with your highlanders is fine.....as far as "proper growing conditions" your guess is as good as mine......have had an individual plant for bout 4 years....always grows but never seems truly happy.....never seen a flower......ive grown it in peat, LFS over perlite, currently its in Schultz APS and LFS, orchid bark mix which it seems a bit happier..........
 
Welcome to the forums, Chuck.

I'd leave it be if I were you. My mix is about as dense as yours, plus, I've seen much more underground growth with a denser mix for some reason.

Water it maybe once a week, no more, cause these guys hate wet feet. That's actually what forced mine to dormancy last year.

If you really want to give it exact temps, keep it in the 70's and have a 10 to 15 degree temp drop at night.

If you ever want to see flowers, it'll need a significant drop during the winter to flower (maybe around 50F / lower), AND it needs to be pot-bound. But that'll probably be a year or more for yours.

Hey, you're a pretty good photographer! Some of those pics on flickr are really nice.
 
Water it maybe once a week, no more, cause these guys hate wet feet.

this isnt a rule......infact mine is doing its best right now with wet feet.....but it hated wet feet in the peat mix......but its loving it in the APS/LFS/Orchid bark mix...........this species and tricolor tweak me out to no end on trying to sort out what they like versus what they tolerate.......
 
Thanks for the advice. Didn't want the plant to die before it even had a chance. One detail I left out was I had it in a very shallow saucer which I have removed. I will begin watering overhead weekly. If any improvements or changes happen, I will add it to the thread. Also, thanks for the compliment to my photos on flickr.
 
this isnt a rule......infact mine is doing its best right now with wet feet.....but it hated wet feet in the peat mix......but its loving it in the APS/LFS/Orchid bark mix...........this species and tricolor tweak me out to no end on trying to sort out what they like versus what they tolerate.......

Since he's growing it in peat/perlite, once a week probably the best way to water it.

That's interesting that you use APS. I know what you mean about tricolor. Mine died shortly after I received it.

Lambdlth - Good luck! I hope to see pics in spring!
 
OK - Today I was looking at this plant and saw the stolon was looking a little mushy at the soil level, and with a gentle tug it came right out of the soil. Couldn't help myself and unpotted it to see what exactly was under the surface. I have three healthy looking rhizome/tubers, about an inch long, which I am going to repot. They have very few roots and no traps.

Advice please, should I allow the plant a dormancy or should I care for it as usual. I think I am going to repot it a more open media and practice the shallow tray (wet feet) method, only because the mush concerned me.

Thanks in advance.

Sorry, I just located an older thread addressing this same question: http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103666&highlight=dormancy
Thought I would include this for others seeking similar advice.
 
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care as usual.........as i said above, newly acquired Orchidioides and Iperua section utrics often lose their leaves and send up new ones, if it was something like sandersonii or livida i would be concerned about all the leaves dieing when yah first get it....with reniformis it happens pretty often, hell mine sometimes do it after repotting or loosing them in the area around where i take a division.....reniformis has tubers all year long and they are not a sign of dormancy......they dont have a true dormancy such as with VFT's and Sarrs.......they have periods where they dont really grow and periods of active growth.....who knows what clues they use to decide this....so long as you have healthy looking tubers you have a healthy plant, just leave it alone and give it a month or two to send up new leaves before you start worrying about it......

as for that thread, all i can say is.................I MISS TAMLIN! :-(
 
  • #10
Yeah, what happened to him? He made a lot of good posts on cpuk forum about utrics - several years ago.
 
  • #11
Who spake (or is it speaketh?) my name???

Hmmm, I have to say that this species survived virtual total neglect in my terrarium, thriving without any medium whatsoever on a wet to dry cycle for the past 4 seasons spreading through my water trays to which it escaped and flowering without any cold or dormancy abundantly each spring. I daresay it is the most hardy of all the Utric's I've killed. I think once you get it going you will be home free. The trick is to allow the medium to occasionally dry out so as not to rot the rolons...*heh heh*....I have dried it and froze it and would have burned it too if I tried a little harder. A very interesting article in the ACPS several yers back had a grower growing it in potting soil, yes I said SOIL, with regular applications of epiphite fertilizer and had several flowerings per season. There are many paths to the mountaintop.

Missed you too my snakey friend!
 
  • #12
looked over my plant earlier today.....actually also growing as an affixed aquatic in its tray aswell as normally in its pot....

was going to give yah a call this weekend but the blizzard that roared through musta screwed up the cell towers......will give yah a call when i reach a stopping point tomorrow at work.....the phone company should have things fixed by then.....
 
  • #13
If you have free time on your phone hit me at 315 342 0685 and you can get me direct....messages only to 315 342 4139 please leave name, call back number and a good time to reach you, thanks!
 
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  • #14
T,

You put the same number for both of those but based on the context I am pretty sure they should be different. :)
 
  • #16
A couple days ago I noticed a new leaf poking through the substrate. I planted the rhizomes in a mix 1/1/1/1 Fine orchid bark, lfs, peat and perlite. Let it dry somewhat, then watered. Two weeks later, I watered with a 1/2 strength epiphytic fertilizer. Upon seeing the new leaf, I have started using a shallow tray to give it wet feet. Hopefully, the other two rhizomes will start growth as well. Thanks everyone for your advice. Probably the most important information was "patience." Here is a pic of the new leaf.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lambdlth/3168378510/" title="IMG_1887 by lambdlth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1005/3168378510_7aaa42ea61_b.jpg" width="754" height="1024" alt="IMG_1887" /></a>
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lambdlth/3168378510/
 
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  • #17
Nice job man! Keep it up, and maybe you'll have flowers in a couple years!

Keep it cool during the winter and wait for it to become pot-bound.
 
  • #18
should reniformis dry out in the winter for dormancy?
I have a grow rack 80 day and 50 at night. Its in LFS and doing well with frequent waterings, but I read that it goes dormant in winter and should be dry.
should I just water less, or do I wait until it goes dormant to do this?
 
  • #19
if it goes dormant yah might want to dry it out....mine has never gone truly dormant, just has times where it grows less.....mine stays pretty wet all the time....
 
  • #20
How do you tell if it is dormant? When it loses all its leaves? Mine usually does that in the summer. :(

I'm letting mine dry out right now. I haven't watered it for about 2 months. I'm giving the kind of treatment many grows in the UK use - a peaty media with cool/dry winter temps. It experienced temps down to 45F, along with my U. asplundii. SOMEONE accidentally watered the asplundii in the cold weather, so many of its leaves rotted off.

The leaves on the reniformis still look happy!
 
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