Alot of people say U. longifolia

[adnedarn]

Alot of people say U. longifolia needs to be root bound (or is it stolon bound?   ) to flower.  How much more root bound can it be?  Should I expect flowers soon from you experts that have flowered this plant once?  hehe

Thanks and enjoy!
Andrew
OH, and does anyone have a idea why there aren't traps here?
??

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Mine was even more densely rollon bound when mine flowered. Since this happy event was a one off for me, I hesitate to conclude too much from this. I know of other growers who have had more prolific flowering from the plants they grew unrestricted in an outdoor setting.

Nice plant though!

 

[SnowyFalcon]

Darn! Mine does not have nearly enough rollons! How long has yours been growing Adnedarn and in what size pot?

SF

 

[adnedarn]

SF, that sits in a 4 3/4 square pot.  And to tell you the truth.  I have no idea how long it has been growing.   I have another in a 5 inch round pot that has the same density of growth, but also don't know how long that one has been growing.  
The one in the round pot has plenty of traps.  Does any one have a clue why the one pictured doesn't?  There are two differences the one pictured is currently growing with the pot in a bad due to a bug problem a while back and i just havn't decided to take it out yet and the one pictured is 50/50 peat perlite and the other is 50/50 peat sand.  But would these things make no traps on the plant?!
Thanks andrew

 

[dodecatheon]

Mine is in a three inch pot, and has been for quite some time. It is so root bound that it is nearly dead. It has two scapes at the moment. I have had it flower just a few months after repotting too.

I will offer this theory, for your consideration: flowering in U. longifolia is related to conditions other than "pot binding". These conditions may be subtle, and not immediately obvious. But, since it is a fast growing plant, it has usually filled its pot by the time the condions are right for flowering.

Therefore, even though being pot bound and flowering are often observed together, the former is not necessarily the cause of the later.

 

[Darcie]

a lot of CPs stop making traps when they get enough micro nutrients from other sources. That could be why you don't see any traps.

 

[pond boy]

Root binding and flowering are interrelated,the reason for this is because when a plant gets root bound it believes it is about to die,and so it flowers and sets seed to perpetuate the species,another example of this is if you drive a few nails into a citrus tree that is reluctant to bloom\fruit it will start blooming shortly afterwards again the reason is that the plant believes that it has been girdeled and is therefore close to death and wants to perpetuate the species,however in cultivation the plant does not die and in fact continues to bloom and live a happy healthy life!

 

[adnedarn]

Dode, please forgive me if i missed a previous post on this, but could you elaborate on what conditions seem to be right for yours to flower?
Thanks.
Andrew

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Andrew,

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The only way to predict that the plants will flower is if you actually see the little fairies with their wands as they do their work. If the fairies don't come by, the plant will not flower.

In other words, no one has yet come up with a convincing rationale to explain flowering mechanisms in Utricularia. It is too difficult to isolate variables to test any particular theory.

So, what we are left with are a bunch of isolated observations, which may or may not accurately reflect what is true.

 

[Pyro]

A couple variables that seem to be forgotten are light and temp. I believe that a change in photoperiod may have an effect on flowering and I also think that seasonal temperature variations paly a role. Nothing ever grows in a static state in nature and so it is little suprise that plants in cultivation in terrariums do not seem to follow any predictable patterns. I was only ever able to get livida and dichotoma to bloom when I grew my terrestrials indoors. Since moving to my new house and getting all ov my terrestrials outside/in the sunroom (only heated to stay above freezing) I have had blooms on 2 forms of livida, both forms of sandersonii, dichotoma, a plant labled monanthos that may or may not be, flaccida, pusilla, parthenopipes, simulans, welwieschii, and a few others I can't recall at the moment.

So something to consider when trying to get plants to flower would be changing up the conditions so they are not so static.

Just my random babblings

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Nice babble Pyro! It stands to reason that if what you are doing isn't working, maybe something else will!

 

[adnedarn]

Hmm... slight changes eh? A little while back I did toss one pot of longifolia in the fridge for 2 weeks.... didn't do anything but set the plant back. It is back to growth now but nothing else.
Andrew

 

[Tom]

I flowered mine in a shallow styrofoam tray, water was half the way from the substrate surface, soil was 1/2 peat, 1/2 sand. It flowered on a 12/12 photoperiod, under a bench in my growroom ( I had almost forgot it when i found the flower stalk), lighted by a 400W HPS. The tray was on the cement ground, in a cool basement, so the temperature was around 15°C. But still, I don't know if any of the factor listed here was primordial for flowering or not. The tray wasn't rootbound, but there was a lot of stolon and nice leaves though.

Since then, no flowering, but the plant has been carried here and there, and suffer quite a lot in this period but now, with a little stability, I hope to put it back flowering by trying lowering temp and photoperiod (windowsill growing in Quebec's winter are perfect for such conditions).

 

[Jeremiah Harris]

Mine has only flower once (right now) here is a photo of it.

tell me what you think
-Jeremiah-

 

[adnedarn]

Wow! Jeremiah!!! Great job!
Andrew

 

[Jeremiah Harris]

thanks

yeah its a beauty, well worth the wait and effort

 

[Darcie]

light intensitiy as well a photoperiod tends to play a big role in flowering for many plants. Anyone looked into the intensity thing?

 

[UtricSeb]

Hi all.. i grow a clone of U.longifolia i got from Jan Schaluer some years ago. Here in Colombia i have constant photoperiod and light intensity all year with only humidity and temperature changing slightly during dry/wet seasons. My U.longifolia is not root bound but spreading among 2 or three pots and has bloomed twice during the last 6 months. I am not sure about what triggers blooming but i notice it might be during the change from the rainy season to the dry season in July and January.

Hope this adds some good ifno to this topic.

 

[JanW]

I think he got the U. longifolia var. forgetiana. This is widespread in Germany and told to be an easy flowerer. I do not know why there is that great difference, but I know no one who flowered the normal species, but many who flowered the var. forgetiana!

Jan

 

[UtricSeb]

Thanks for that info Jan. What are the distinguishing features between the forgetiana and normal varieties??