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Journal Utricularia Graminifolia Tepui

TBRO

Member
Joined
8 Feb 2009
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947
I bought a pot of UG to use in my DOOA Wall scape but decided it wasn’t right there. I still think it’s an awesome little plant, especially if it can be induced to flower.

I wanted to do something to go on the window sill where my propagator was (now ransacked to do other scape).

I found an old vase and some florists Oasis and started to carve. It’s quite challenging to create any sense of depth in such a small, round space. I ended up with a concave tower + another piece to make a dark gully.

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I then went to work with the moss and cotton. I chucked the whole lot in a bowel of water to soak the Oasis and wash off loose moss.

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I poured in some of the substrate from my propagator (tropica I think?), this should be biologically mature. I planted this with the UG. I topped it up with rain water.

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Hopefully as the UG gets going it will emerge from the water and start climbing the tower. I hope the Oasis stays moist enough to support the plants. I will keep it under a glass cloche until it’s very well established.

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Thanks for looking. T




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Fingers crossed.
Love the little vase with the cloche over, looks like an awesome science experiment :thumbup:
 
Think it will be a question of how much water the Oasis can support in a vertical column. I can always cut it shorter.

Pretty sure I will need a dish under the cloche, condensation will run down the glass....


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Are you guys using any substrate? Or is it just in Water? I tried to grow UG in my aquarium but it kept dying. I tried twice and spent quite a bit of money towards trying to keep it. Before it all died I took some out and placed it with some gravel in a windowsill. I think it's starting to grow upwards about now


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I think it’s not a true aquatic species. It tolerated periodic submersion for me but seems to do best emergant. I’ve previously used old ADA Amazon successfully but would guess it prefers low nutrient environment. I use rain water with it. T


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Little update. The oasis works surprisingly well. Even moss right at the top is growing.

I decided I didn’t like the high vase it was in so transferred the lot to a Petri dish. This now sits under the cloche.

UG was starting to grow till I uprooted everything. I’m sure it will rally.

Added some tiny sundews I got for free. They also seem to be growing with some king of Urtricularia sp

Thanks for looking. T


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Thanks, Hendre. My friend who grows carnivorous plants says sundews and urtricularia are pretty much weeds in amongst the other pitchers plants, fly traps etc. One man’s weed is another man’s treasure!


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Can’t believe how well this is working. Probably going to need a trim soon.

Java moss emergant

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Weeping moss emergant

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Added some little anubias around the cave, UG slow but steady.

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Thanks for looking. T


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Utricularia graminifolia is what they call <Affixed Aquatic> it loves some free flowing water around its Utricles or bladder (hence Bladerwort)

This is how it mainly feeds


Thus creating an invironment where micro organsime can freely swim around will greatly benefit the plant to catch it. You make it rather hard on the plant in a compacted damp substrate. Best is obviously also to feed what the UG feeds on. This you can do to mix some crushed dried leaf litter in the substrate, rotifers etc. feed on that while it slowly decays also the released tanins are beneficial, keeps the fungus out. Dried peatmoss or sedge leaves are a popular Affixed Aquatic Utricularia substrate.
 
Thanks Marcel, on your advice I’ve raised the level of the water in the pool. There is free water beyond the Petri dish of substrate. Definitely some daphnia in there from my rain butt.

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UG spreading slowly

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That will work, also you will probably get ferns etc germinating in the moss.

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Anubias growing aerial roots


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Thanks for sharing this mate as i have been growing this plant using the dsm. filled/ spread out during but didn't sprout roots until I flooded the tank. seems to grow better in a slight shadow.
 
This is superb, I'd like to try something similar; I see you're using the IKEA led, is this to supplement window light?
 
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