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U. sandersonii blooming, which one(s) next

chibae

An orchid fancier with a CP problem
Hi all. I've decided to take the plunge and, once the cooler weather returns for safe shipping, obtain a few more utrics. I am thinking that staying within the same division as U. sandersonii would make the most sense. This would allow me to work on my cultivation methods. Within this division are some more difficult to grow than others.
One a slightly different note, the pics of calycifida have me wanting one.
 
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The more the merrier!
If you are interested in a trade, I have numerous utrics (Utricularia is my favorite genus), have some more coming in in the near future as well. Hit me up with a PM sometime. I am growing out some plugs right now in fact.
 
Within this division are some more difficult to grow than others.
More difficult to grow or to flower?

- more difficult to grow >> I suspect that there are plants that need specific requirements to grow. However, I selected species within the "little weedy utric" group by whether I liked the flowers (mostly) - so that ruled out all but one yellow-flowering species (praelonga) and all of these species were little weeds. The only real issue was with varieties with small leaves - due to moss overgrowing the plant. Moss is an issue with many of these species & is obviously worst with the smallest - for me that was U. uniflora. If you don't keep up with trimming/pulling - you can easily lose a species. In hindsight, I suspect that some species could have been even more robust had I experimented with different media.

If your quest leads you into some of the real exotic annuals, another potentially difficult issue is that you must produce seed each season or you lose them & apparently - that's not easy (it's also almost completely impossible to find seeds of these species so this is probably not an issue for us mortals).

- more difficult to flower - some flower easily & profusely (like sandersonii & livida) and then there's a continuum of difficulty. I found that most of my species would flower within a season or two (if not sooner) with some experimentation. The lone exception for me was U. tricolor (I'll try again when I get a greenhouse).

The epiphytic utrics are different beasts with different rules & secrets (imho).

As with most things - it really depends what interests you - lots of cool flowers all the time or something that provides a challenge or ... :scratch:

Enjoy your quest.
 
Within this division are some more difficult to grow than others.

I did not see this question until Ron's comment. By division you mean Section Calpidisca or do you just mean small terrestrial utrics in general?
If Section Calpidisca, I have not grown all of them but have two varieties of U. sandersonii and two varieties of U. livida (one is a named cultivar U. 'Merrie Heart', beautiful flowers). I have found them all to be easy growers and easy flowerers. U. 'Merry Heart' flowers for me with no effort at all.
- If you want to get U. biquimata, keep it isolated from everything else and be mindful of the small seeds getting on your skin when tending your plants (IE wash your hands before working with other plants). I keep mine physically isolated from the rest of my collection. I have read that the 'Betty's Bay' cultivar is not so invasive. Same comments regarding U. subulata. Also, if you trade with others, keep in mind that both of these are hard to get rid off once establish and many growers really do not like them, so if you have it you might want to be forth coming.

Now for general,
- Ron mentioned U. praelonga from section fillosa, I have also found this one to be an easy grower and it really cool because it produces two distinct types of leaves (I have yet to get it to flower though- then again, I have not tried very hard).
- I also grow U. longifolia (seed grown in fact) which can be a little more difficult (IME) but is a very cool species- nice big leaves and purple flowers. Key there is to grow it a little more orchidlike rather than flooded terrestrial like (I grow mine in an airy soil in a net pot- I have had the best luck that way). I see it as a good transition species to some of the more fussy ones.
-From the same section, U. tricolor I have found to be very easy but I have had a very hard time trying to get it to flower. Then again, I am one of those weirdos that does not grow his utrics for the flowers. For me- I like the foliage and the traps- flowers are icing on the cake. Still, tricolor is quite a fun puzzle and the leaves are beautiful!
- U. calycifida I have not grown myself but am trying to get them going from seed (thanks Maiden!). No germination yet. They are gorgeous though- love the foliage.
- U. reniformis (section Orchidioides) is also a cool one. I no longer have U. reniformis myself, I hope to replace it in the near future but I highly recommend it. Nice big round leaves. Also, the traps are nice sized so you can show your friends- great demo plant. I have seen that one grown both using epiphytic strategies (which is how I did it) and more sphagnum slurry-like, the sphagnum slurry plant looked amazing (which is interesting since it comes from section Orchidioides). Next time I get the species, I want to do a side by side growth comparison. U. reniformis was a little picky for me but I think I just chose a stupid soil mix, it was also one of the first Utrics I ever got (may have actually been the first). It does seem to be a little more humidity sensitive that some of the others I have grown.
- If you can get a U. fulva from Section Enskide (I hopefully have one coming in pretty soon here... import pending permit approval.... so I may have some cultivation perspective down the road), the flowers are incredible (that is one of the few species I am getting specifically for the flower)! I have never grown it myself so I do not know how fussy it is.
 
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And actually.... since you have me on a roll anyway...
Don't rule out the aquatics if you have some space for them. Many can be fussy (aquatic plants often are) but a few grow well with little effort (IME). Two which come to mind as more tolerant and good to start with (IME) are U. gibba and U. striata. I have literally thrown these into a glass of RO water with a little bit of sediment and had them thrive (key is to not forget about them and let them dry out, he he).
 
Never could get the sandersonii I had to bloom ... though it grew easily. Finally got rid of it. Was rather bummed about that one -- was looking forward to the "angry bunny" flowers.
 
Thanks everyone for such detailed responses. I had meant staying in Section Calpidisca to get my feet wet, but maybe I don't need to do that. I'm looking for non-aquatics right now. finally I was asking about difficulty in both terms of growing well and flowering..but I guess you need the first to get the second.
I have pics of the babies in my dew thread that I hope to use as future trading material.
 
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