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  • #321
Since we're on the topic of growing Utricularia aquatically, I thought I'd share how I'm growing my humboldtii right now. It's basically in a clear plastic lunch box. I keep a clear lid over it normally to keep it humid, and it has made a few shoots. I've only had it a few weeks, but it looks like this setup is working. There is actually a bit more water in there now.
DSC_0069_1.jpg
 
  • #322
Pearldiver, that plant is either a reniformis or a nelumbifolia, longifolia do not look anything like water lily leaves.
As for wet feet, again, my reniformis love being swamped, but in temperate climates people have much more luck in drained mixes and daily watering (like misting)
 
  • #323
I tried growing humboldtii as a pure aquatic, it always dies, idk how it is that they grow inside bromeliad tanks in the wild but not in captivity. not gonna give up though maybe it needs slow adjustment? I have even seen pics where the utricularia was growing inside the bromeliad without substrate just water :p

Here is my interpretation of how humboldtii may be able to be grown in bromeliads tanks in captivity. I've repeated this basic setup with and without medium many times over the years, there is always a small amount of loose sphagnum in the water tank thou. I just have much better growth with even a tiny amount of sphagnum. I'm found that growing humboldtii without medium in just an inch or so of water leads to growths that just will not support themselves and fall over with any movement. So I've started adding tree fern fibers to give it something to grab onto. If my overall health holds out I'm planning on building a brom/humboldtii vivarium this spring.

Utricularia humboldtii by randallsimpson, on Flickr
This type of growth really makes me think its growing in a brom and looking for another water tank. Years ago when I first got this species I would move a seed pot over for the new runner to find to propogate the species...now I just ....rrrrriiiiiiiipppppp!

Utricularia humboldtii by randallsimpson, on Flickr
There are a lot more aquatic leaves in that tiny pot than I can get a photo of.

Utricularia humboldtii by randallsimpson, on Flickr

Utricularia humboldtii by randallsimpson, on Flickr
 
  • #324
Here is my interpretation of how humboldtii may be able to be grown in bromeliads tanks in captivity. I've repeated this basic setup with and without medium many times over the years, there is always a small amount of loose sphagnum in the water tank thou. I just have much better growth with even a tiny amount of sphagnum. I'm found that growing humboldtii without medium in just an inch or so of water leads to growths that just will not support themselves and fall over with any movement. So I've started adding tree fern fibers to give it something to grab onto. If my overall health holds out I'm planning on building a brom/humboldtii vivarium this spring.

I have thought of this idea but never really confirmed it with anyone who has actually seen one growing in the wild inside a tank bromeliad until now that you have a similar view of it, perhaps you are right about the key is having some kind support, im sure in the wild the axils get stuffed with some kind debris the wind blows into in the water and the plant uses it for support? or maybe the plant uses the compactness between leaves to hold on? another key is probably the presence of its specialized aquatic leaves inside the urn cause when I tried it and it died it didnt have aquatic leaves which probably help the plant with aquatic underwater respiration
 
  • #325
Check out http://www.cpukforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=31103, about 2/3rd down the first page he gets to humboldtii. The thread that made me want to try and pair these two plants for years. I finally have the space and means to do so, now I just need the weather to get the brom :)

Its clear from the photos the water pool is not clean and all sorts of stuff is likely inside the water.
 
  • #327
It would be Brocchinia reducta.
 
  • #328
I try to grow U. humboldtii in Brocchinia tatei from Duida Tepui and it finally starts to grow better, but it took some time! If I were you I would try a broader bromeliad...
Brocchinia reducta is getting too tubular and high!

Cheers
Marc
 
  • #329
I got it in a trade, labeled as U. reniformis. That is all I know about it.
 
  • #330
Adalea, those were two different plants. The longifolia did not show any leaves, just the flower stalk.
 
  • #331
I always thought Aechmea species would be great for growing Utrics in. They have large tanks that hold copious amounts of water.
 
  • #332
Yes, normally every single bromeliad plant is stuffed with substrate from rotten leaves, it may be cases where there is not as much but it is what is normal, you guys should try to look for dead tree leaves and placing them inside your bromeliads, in the very crown, while they rot and the plant grows, they go to the smaller "puddles" that each leaf has, and now, when you see them filled with some kind of dirt inside, really brown, place a healthy utric inside the second set of leaves.
 
  • #333
thanks Coline! will definitely try it :)
 
  • #334
I was wondering, what do people do with the runners that humboldtii makes? My plants are making a few runners, and one of them got to the top of the container, so I bent it back down into the substrate but it's not doing anything so far. Am I supposed to just let the runner grow naturally in the air to make a new plant? Or do they even produce new growth in cultivation?

I have another plant in a plastic tub with more room, so I'm just letting that one grow freely.

Also, what color are the bladders on humboldtii usually? They looked white when I got it, but I also have some stems that look like gibba. They are green and the bladders are pretty small. The person I received the plant from didn't say anything about keeping gibba, let alone giving it to me, but can anyone ID what the plant in the top right and bottom right of the pictures are?
DSC_0188_1.jpg

DSC_0186_1.jpg
 
  • #335
Yes, normally every single bromeliad plant is stuffed with substrate from rotten leaves, it may be cases where there is not as much but it is what is normal, you guys should try to look for dead tree leaves and placing them inside your bromeliads, in the very crown, while they rot and the plant grows, they go to the smaller "puddles" that each leaf has, and now, when you see them filled with some kind of dirt inside, really brown, place a healthy utric inside the second set of leaves.

You may also be able to mimic this by stuffing lfs into the axils.
 
  • #336
@Tanukimo, I let the runners run. I figure that if they have made it to the surface themselves then they must have done so on purpose.
 
  • #337
putting LFS inside is not a natural thing to find and behaves differently on decomposing and nutrients
 
  • #338
@Tanukimo, I let the runners run. I figure that if they have made it to the surface themselves then they must have done so on purpose.
But does anything grow from them when they are just in the air?
 
  • #339
putting LFS inside is not a natural thing to find and behaves differently on decomposing and nutrients

I fully understand that sphagnum is not naturally found in the axils of bromeliads. I was just wondering if maybe it would be possible to use sphagnum or a high grade peat as a substitute for what would otherwise be naturally occuring leaf debris. This could possibly offer the Utricularia a purchase for their roots inside the tanks of the broms. At any rate, I think it's worth a shot and if I can scrounge up some room here I'll try it myself. Large Aechmea specimens can usually be purchased cheaply from the large box stores and local garden centers and would probably be a good species to use for this.
 
  • #340
Well I have grown U. humboldtii in small cups/containers filled with a few pieces of sphagnum plus about 1/2-1" of water for years so I know that is possible without much effort. I do get better growth when the cups get random plant matter into them so I usually don't clean the cups.

If you want to grow the biggest and best U. humboldtii this is not the way to go imo, but I've wanted to get those 2 species together for a very long time so I'm been working out a method to grow U. humboldtii that I think I could easily move over to the Brom when I was ready.
 
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