Question
QUESTION: I am growing 3 Heliamphora plants in a terrarium under four 40 Watt Cool white fluorescent bulbs.  The terrarium is in a window to supplement light, but the window location may also add temperature variability since I'm in zone 7.  I top water daily with distilled water, and pour distilled water liberally through the soil once weekly.  The soil for each is as I've received it this year from Sarracenia Northwest.  I have the lights 4 inches above the tops of the plants, but can easily adjust this height if suggested.

In the past (windowsill only), my young heliamphoras have always died gradually.  The demise is usually characterized by less growth, pitchers are small thin tubes with brown tops.  I am hoping that the terrarium and grow lights (I got this set up from your DVD) will make the difference.

My question:  My small (3 inch pot) H. minor is starting to show mainly decreased pitchering with small thin tubes with browning tops.  However, since I moved it a bit closer to the light a couple of weeks ago, I think I am seeing the beginnings of better pitcher morphology (pointed totally green new growth that looks like it could grow into well formed pitchers.  To encourage good pitchers and a long-lived plant, is it believable that moving them closer to the fluorescent lights could be helping?  And how close to the lights can I raise them?

Jon in Long Island

ANSWER: Hi Jon,

Thank you for the information. Here's an interesting story, and you may have already seen the photos on my Facebook wall.  I recently picked up a very large H. minor specimen from one of my customers.  He wanted to divide it, but he preferred that I did it for him.  The plant was very large, almost filling an 8-inch pot.

When I went to his home to pick up the plant, he had it growing under a single 20-inch fluorescent light that was about 6 inches above the plant.  The plant was also sitting in about 1/4 inch of water, no more.  He also had the plant on a bookshelf without a terrarium.  It was a very simple setup.

There are three things regarding your setup.  The first is the light source.  You mentioned 40 watts, but is this actual or equivalent output.  Make sure it's actual output.  Having the plants 4 inches above the plants seem close, and the symptoms you're describing is mostly associated with poor lighting.  I'm suspecting that the light source isn't adequate, which is why I would like to clarify if you're quoting actual or equivalent output.  (The fact that your plants developed better pitchers when you moved them closer seems to suggest this.  You mentioned that you're using four bulbs, so I'm also not sure if you have only one plant under each bulb.)

The second issue is the location of the terrarium.  Avoid setting the terrarium near a window where direct light will hit it.  The direct light will increase temperature.  When you combine it with the heat output of the artificial lighting, you risk baking the plants.

Finally, you may be watering too frequently.  While these plants may experience frequent rain and mist in their natural habitat, their soil conditions are also very different.  In cultivation, when you use the recommended soil mix, you need to back off on the watering.  At our nursery, we may water the plants daily during the hottest parts of summer, but when the temperature cools, we only water until the top of the soil dries slightly.  Even with daily watering during the summer, the pots drain freely.  We rarely allow them to sit in water.  If you do, keep the water level very low, and top water again when the soil feels slightly dry.  

So that's my assessment based on the information you gave me.  The most important thing is to skip the daily watering.  Maybe the plant did better when moved to the light because the increased heat improved evaporation.  It's hard to tell, but based on what I've seen with my customer's growing conditions, Heliamphora really don't like to be babied.

Let me know if you need further assistance.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks Jacob.
My lights are exactly the long 48 inch 40 Watt cool white tubes that Jeff described in your DVDs 2 and 3.  And my set up is that I have my Heliamphoras in a 10-gallon tank in the middle, and I have Nepenthes and sundews outside the terrarium, but under the same fluorescent long bulbs.  The  Nepenthes and especially the sundews have done fantastically under this set up, with great coloration and dew.  Again, identical to the set up in which Jeff showed Heliamphora on your DVD.  When I say I top water daily, it is actually just by spraying in a morning mist of distilled water from a squirt bottle.

I do think that having my 2 small heliamphoras very close to the lights seems to help their pitcher morphology and prevent the premature brown color that I used to see when growing small helis in a windowsill or lower down under the lights.

So, again my question is simply how close can I keep the lights to the tops of the small helis?  Can the lights be just 2 or 3 inches away from the pitcher tops, or is it very important to keep them farther away (like 6 inches)?  My concern is that 6 inches is more like the condition that did not give good pitchers.

Thanks.

Jon

Answer
Sorry for the confusion.  You mentioned bulbs, so I was thinking compact fluorescent bulbs, which are often labeled with equivalent output.  Given more details about your setup, I can at least say that what you're doing is fine.  

In regards to the light distance, always use the growth of your plant as your guide.  The symptoms you described are mostly related to poor lighting.  If you find that you get better growth by moving the plant closer, then that would be an appropriate step.  Just pay attention to leaf burn.  If you see it happening, then simply back off from the lights.  

Keep in mind that growing instructions are guidelines.  Plants are living organisms and never read textbooks.  While your particular specimens may be genetically predisposed to needing more light, other plants, such as my customer who wanted me to divide his plant for him, seemed to get by with slightly less lighting.  Part of growing plants is observing your plants and making appropriate adjustments to an ever changing microclimate.

As for daily misting, it's not at all necessary, especially if you have your plant in a tank.  Even when I was growing a Heliamphora in my home, I never misted it.  I had it in a 55-gallon tank with other plants.  I just watered it whenever I saw the top soil drying up.  The plants in our greenhouse are also top watered when the soil feels barely damp.

Let me know if you need further assistance.

Jacob Farin