My first Heliamphora folliculata flower...

[Sockhom]

Hello ;D !























Cheers ;D !


François.

[kby]

François,

Nice!

I have a question for you. Do you find that once a Heliamphora crown flowers it no longer produces leaves? I hadn't really noticed before (and have since lost most of those plants in a series of terrarium accidents), but the on H. heterodoxa that bloomed last year still has one leaf about the top half of which is dried, but no new leaves on it. The plant overall is fine as there are 4 other crowns, but I was curious if this is something you (or anyone else) has observed one way or the other.-kby

[wadave]

My minor x heterodoxa and pulchella seem to slow down their pitcher production during flower production. This may or may not be caused by the plant directing it's energy into producing the flowers or it could be environmental ie light or temp.

They certainly don't stop trap production completely.

Dave.

[kby]

wadave said:

My minor x heterodoxa and pulchella seem to slow down their pitcher production during flower production. This may or may not be caused by the plant directing it's energy into producing the flowers or it could be environmental ie light or temp.

They certainly don't stop trap production completely.

Dave.

I was speaking post-flowering, long after the flower has died and all that's left is the stem. I was also speaking only of the particular crown that produced the flower, not the plant as a whole. The other crowns are producing pitchers at a fairly good clip; just the one that has the dead flower stem hasn't produced a new pitcher since flowering.-kby

[wadave]

Hi Kby,

That's what I thought you were talking about.

My min x het is quite old and has four flowering points so the plant is quite dense. So, now that I think about it I couldn't tell if it behaves like cephalotus where the plant puts out new growth points and the growing point that has the flower dies off.

The pulchella, though a small clump, produced 1 flower spike this year and I've not yet cut it off so I will have to take a look to see where the growth points are.

I have noticed on the pulchella that the growth is tending to be more concentrated on one side. So I've started to rotate the pot every now and then to see if the sunny, and therefore warmer side, of the pot is a stimulant or a retardent to good growth on this plant.

The flower spike has eminated from the centre of the plant.

Dave.

[wadave]

I've just taken a look and sure enough the plant is putting out new traps right where the old flower stalks remain.

Dave.

[kby]

Thanks; that's a useful data point. I'm sure this hetero has flowered at least once before but I wasn't as observant on it or any of the other heli's I've had in bloom (minor & nutans), and don't have those particular plants any more :-( (but I have replacementes :-). The hetero is my oldest heli at 10 years or so with me. It is odd to me that the one pitcher left on that crown has been the same for the last 6 months (or so--haven't really been counting)--some of the top withered brown, but the rest the same, but no new growth yet there.-kby

[wadave]

I love the photos you've got here Stockhom,

Nice and crisp, and the colour of the flower is really quite attractive.

Dave.