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Utricuaria Pots

I was poking around online when I stumbled onto ElGecko's design for a terrestrial utric pot. I wanted to have a whack at it.
Round 1:
I'll call my first try a prototype. I used gladware food containers bought cheap from a grocery store
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I used a utility knife to chop off the bottom, cut some mesh to fit in the hole, and slathered it in silicone:
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It was cheap, messy, and only semi-functional since I found out silicone is worthless for bonding anything to polypropylene. The mesh stayed attached if left untouched but after a little tugging, it began peeling off. Unacceptable to me: I'm too much of a perfectionist. So instead of trying to force a chemical bond with expensive epoxy, I went mechanical: nylon thread, a hole punch (fine for the Gladware; I had to upgrade to a drill for the next round), and needles.

Round 2:
materials and tools:
-Food containers from The Container Store. They're very solid, much more so than the Gladware containers from the prototype
-Nylon thread I already had lying around
-2 sewing needles
-plastic mesh from the knitting department of Michael's (craft store)
-A beer glass I found at the Dollar Store that fits the container quite perfectly...$1 each!
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this is a stencil cutter I had lying around from different projects. Melting the plastic is easier for me but it isn't necessary; you could use a dremel or a hacksaw in its place. Scissors or a utility knife will work fine if your food container has thin walls, like the gladware prototype.
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After melting the bottom off, drilling the holes, and cutting the mesh to fit, I threaded the nylon. I went overboard and tied a square knot between each hole, so each hole is individually anchored to the mesh (this was probably a completely unnecessary step, but as a result, this pot is solid). You could also probably do just fine with half or even a quarter of the holes I drilled.
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The finished product:
If you look closely you can see a single strand of bladders.
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This is U. sandersonii blue form and it's only been in the pot for about a month but its already growing under the water's surface, beginning to poke out the bottom. You can't see it in the picture but you can watch little tiny critters scurrying around in the water.

That about does it, what do you think? Again, this is not my original design, this is from ElGecko. I just did my own little tweak with it :)

I. Love. DIY projects!

---------- Post added at 02:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:54 AM ----------

puh, so apparently I misspelled Utricularia and now I can't fix it ><
 
Nice work. The problem with the Glad containers is they break down rapidly from UV light - they're designed that way. The ones I use outdoors as trays for some pots have to be replaced 12-18 months while other containers have lasted 5+ years.
 
That looks so clean and refined! Very nice!
 
Looks elegant!

A noobish question: Is there a benefit of having terrestrial utricularia planted this way (bladders hanging in clear water) ?
 
A noobish question: Is there a benefit of having terrestrial utricularia planted this way (bladders hanging in clear water) ?
Probably not for them ... :-O but the benefit is for us to see bladder activity - eh?

Some like being in water more than others. U. longifolia enjoys keeping it's 'feet' wet and appreciates the water. When I did this, the U. longifolia bladders filled a 16 oz jar. The problem with this approach & terrestrial utrics is that most have small bladders designed for the smaller critters in water-filled media (vs open water). Even though my jar was filled with bladders, it wasn't all that interesting. U. humboldtii should make for a much better show with some of the largest bladders of all utrics...
 
Very nice! Make me like.. 10 of them and I'll trade you plants. Seriously.. ;)
 
@gill - it is just for aesthetics. I like staring at the little critters flit around knowing there are ever-growing lines of death encroaching from the "ceiling" hehe.

@RL - thanks for the tip, I will have to get my mitts on some U. humboldtii

@mass - ooh, commission work! I'm totally down!
 
I like your setup, I'm a DIY type as well, this only makes me want more utrics so I have an excuse to build stuff. I look forward to seeing what this looks like later in the year.
 
have been testing something similar. unless the "root" zone kept dark it appears that utricularia and genlisa will not make traps. they will in conditions with light make leafy stolons.
 
  • #10
Show me the bladders! We wanna see bladders!
 
  • #11
@kula - actually, per El Gecko's design, I have now fashioned blackout sleeves for the glasses. Cuts down on algae growth and keeps the root zone dark. I'd love to know more about what youre fiddling with!

@jim - lol i want them to really fill in before i post!
 
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