Heli photoperiod

[normando]

So first off I hav my H.heterodoxa x minor in a terrarium with 2highland Neps,2mexican pings,2 chephalotuses and a couple of subtropical drosera. Is this combo of plants acceptable? I mist the Heli as much as posible (bout 3-c+ times a day) is this too much misting? And lastly I hav the photoperiod at a 12/12 light cycle to simulate winter and by spring ill bump it up to 16 hr days. Will this work for my Heli as well as my other plants? Thanks for any help provided. Also any tips on any aspect of Heli cultivation would be great. I live on the central coast of california, my terrarium never gets above 80 F then usualy drops to 50-60 @ night. 55 gal w/a 4 bulb t-5 fixture and a floor fan rhat comes on w/the lights to keep temps from climbing obove 80 during day. How am I doin so far? Iv been growing outdoors here since 2004 but this is my 1st year trying terrarium growin. Thanks again and much peace n love from Cen Cal!

[normando]

oops! I meant I mist my heli 3-8+ times aday. Too much? Not enough? Anyone wana trade a H.heterodoxa x minor established devision for a H.heterodoxa x ionasii established devision in the future? Prob round spring of 2013? Thanks again and hopfully ill have som pics of my plants/setup soon!

[av8tor1]

Questions such as these rarely have black and white answers... and what works for one may not work for another, etc.

Having said that, I grow mine indoors under totally artficial conditions.

a. I like to maintain temps below 78f
b. Very intense lighting
c. Gentle airflow
b. frequent watering
e. High humidity
f. Loose substrate
g. Monthly Trichoderma atrovirde applications
h. Monthly feedings via pitcher and occasionally root.
I. While I dont mist per say, I do "fog"

Some species love to turn red, others almost refuse to under the same conditions. A few will need cooler temps and higher humidity levels... etc etc etc

Watch your plants and listen to them, they will tell ya when they are happy and when they arent.

Oh, and Im not so sure i would place Cephalotus in the same growth chamber as Heliamphora. In cultivation, Cephalotus seem to do better with slightly drier conditions and different substrate.

Hope this helps, I know its awfully generalized....

[normando]

Thank u that does help! So my terrarium is a 55 gal long rectagular aquarium and I hav my neps and heli on one side w/my cephs and pings on the other side devided by a conainer of suptropical drosera ontop a very tall upsid diwn white "hydro pot" (for hydroponics) I had lieing around. The cephs stay clear of any misting and I only mist my neos at night after the lights go off. No matter what I do it seems like the humidity stays between 40 - 60% or so. Think I should still seperate these plants? Perhaps grow mu neps and heli in another tank? I hav a smaller aquarium but its only a 20 or 30 gal I think and im afraid that my t-12s wont be intense enough light for them because thier under a 6bulb t-5 set up w/2 bulbs takn out to make it a 4bulb set up and since my floor fan is blowin on it constantly it keeps the lights cool enough to put the olants very close to the bulbs w/out having the soil heat up at all so im affraid my other t-12 fixtures would be too weak for them. Should I invest in a shorter 4bulb t-f fixture for the smaller tank maby? I saw a 2 ft 4bulb t-5 at my hydro store that would be oerfect I think but do u kno if the 2ft fixtures would have the same output as the 4ft fixtures? Or would I be better off seting a 4ft fixture over the top of a smaller tank? Sorry for kinda geting off topic w/all the lighting questions and for asking like a hunfred questions in one thread. Thanks again for all the help

[av8tor1]

I have grown what I would consider some very nice looking helis under T12's and 40-60% RH....
But when you do, bulb selection and reflector efficiency become much more critical.... and even then you probably will never see "blood red" helis.
Always remember with linear fluorescent lamps, 66% of the bulb is pointed in the wrong direction. It is better to have one bulb with a good reflector than 2 bulbs with no reflector.

Your primary concern will be temp mitigation.... my advice for Heliamphora is to add as much light as you can and still keep temps on target.
While helis can and do grow at higher temps, failure rates will rise rather dramatically....keep 'em under 75f if possible.

In my setup, the lighting is too intense for Nepenthes... In a community setup, you will likely find those to be the limiting factor on how much lighting you can use.

I cant answer specific question about number of bulbs, etc etc... you will just have to monitor conditions and determine that for yourself. Jeremiah has posted a recent thread on his new Heliamphora setup... and if you google around you will find in-depth threads on this forum and others concerning lighting and cultivation techniques.

My basic design philosophy.... keep it simple and have critical system redundancies. Parts that arent installed cant fail, and parts that are installed can and do fail.... so plan for it.

There is always a learning curve, if we all did it exactly the same and had the same results... where would the fun be