Question
H. hetero x minor
I ordered one of the 4" H. hetero x minor recently. When I received it the plant was beautiful and larger than I thought it would be. Thanks guys.
I've been growing it in 90%-100% humidity with 75-80 degree day temps and 65-70 degree night temps. Watering overhead using distilled water. With about 60 watts of florescent bulbs for it's terrarium (two tubes, and two sockets florescent bulbs, all about 6"-8" away). It hasn't produced any new growth in almost a month now...but the nectar spoons are still oozing, so it must be somewhat happy. Today I noticed it is browning on one side. I'm worried this will continue before new growth starts to happen. Is there something else I should be doing in addition to make it happier? I attached a pic but the lighting isn't quite right. It is much greener, I just wanted to show you the spot developing.
Thank you,
Adam
AnswerHi Adam,
The red spots are usually of no concern since they always begin to appear on older leaves. You should be seeing new growth by now however.
Here's a few things to try. See if you can get the night temperature a little cooler. Make sure the light is on a timer. When watering, let the pot use up the water in the tray before adding more. I've found Heliamphora to be a bit like Darlingtonia in that they are not real fond of standing water on their roots, even though they like the soil wet. When you water, definitely top-water. (It may sound like a contradiction, but it has to do with root oxygenation.) Also try foliar fertilizing. Spray the plant every two weeks with a 1/4 tsp. per gallon of water solution of orchid fertilizer. They tend to respond very well to this.
Let us know how it goes.
Good Growing!
Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com
