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Post by dvg on Dec 9, 2019 21:29:30 GMT
Yeah, it's a bit of a process involving a few steps, from having to collect pollen from a flower onto paper, to then storing that pollen in the fridge until the next flower opens and is ready to be pollinated. Guess timing is everything there, so good luck with your continued efforts and hope to hear of your success in getting some viable Heli seeds soon.  dvg |
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Post by corky on Jan 13, 2020 21:02:12 GMT
Well DVG you spurred me on to trying again and I seem to of been successful  we will see what the future holds, this is h.pulchella x h.minor if all goes to plan |
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Post by dvg on Jan 14, 2020 17:26:59 GMT
Congratulations Corky!
That cross should make for a compact plant with hopefully lots of hybrid vigor.
Betting that you haven't had an opportunity to sow fresh heli seeds before either.
Good luck to you with growing them out.
dvg
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Post by corky on Jan 14, 2020 18:54:40 GMT
Compact is a good thing at the moment due to lack of space and why I only grow these two small species, fingers crossed for viable seed, I read they are slow growers though
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Post by dvg on Jan 14, 2020 19:31:37 GMT
I prefer the compact heli pitchers too. Corky, did you do anything differently with your pollinating this time, to achieve your successful results? Did you collect pollen and then store it in your fridge, or were both of the flowers open and receptive at the same time? dvg |
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Post by corky on Jan 14, 2020 20:17:47 GMT
I was going to wait to see if i was successful or not before telling my secrets but you've twisted my arm . To start the flowers were ready at the same time, if I had used this technique earlier I would of almost certainly had more pollinated flowers( I'll withhold the right to edit this post if all goes pear shaped). I then took the stamen off the h.minor flower when I thought was the right time ,a healthy yellow and not too dark a yellow ( i chose banana skin), then allowed to dry for a day or two open to house humidity, this is the bit I thought of myself ( maybe a common way to do it ,but worked it out ) I held stamen in tweezers one at a time above and close to a square of aluminium foil. I had no success with the tuning fork before but when held in tweezers and tuning fork struck and held onto tweezers the stamen gave up the pollen, only small amounts as expected. Previously I'd read about the tuning fork and drying out but tried to hold the fork directly onto the stamen with no success, vibrating the tweezers worked a treat for me. Then simply picked up a small amount of pollen off the foil with a fine paint brush and brushed onto the stigma of a freshly opened h.pulchella flower. Probably jinxed myself but that was my technique
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Post by dvg on Jul 31, 2020 17:38:59 GMT
Hi Corky, do you know if your H. minor "Auyan Tepui" is a Wistuba clone?
I recently acquired a division of that clone, and wanted to compare it to your clone's growth rate, if in fact, they are the same clone.
Could you share some of your growing conditions for that particular Heli, such as photoperiod, daytime/night temps and types of fluorescent bulbs that you're using?
Also how close are your lights to your plants?
Having that info, will give me a better idea of the time frame necessary for this clump to grow out to be similar in size to what your's have done.
I'll post a pic of my clone next week, once i'm back from the upcoming long weekend here.
Thanks,
Doug
dvg
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Post by corky on Jul 31, 2020 23:23:41 GMT
Hi DVG It certainly is the same clone, the plant is grown open to house environment under t5 ho lights and have a photoperiod of 14 on 10 off , lights are around 10 inch from top of the pots but a few months back I moved them a further 6 inch away . Plants are not as coloured up now but other plants seemed to be getting too much sun so it's an experiment. They're in net pots in a take away container so when I water from above I generally let about an inch of water sit in the bottom, I don't mind if the water is used and sometimes leave dry for a few days before topping up, seems to work for me . They did dry out too much a couple of years back and I lost some pitchers and a set back of growth after re potting and media change so am sure better growth is easily achievable. Humidity can range between 25 and 60 and temps from 10 to 28 ,I try to open a window at night with a fan in summer for cooler temps ,they grow much better than I was expecting them to in house conditions, I should try growing on the windowsill
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Post by corky on Jul 31, 2020 23:29:00 GMT
Re reading your question night temps in winter can get as low as 10c and summer stay as high as 26c ish ,don't really know the average, they don't seem to like mid summer heat too much
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Post by dvg on Aug 1, 2020 14:20:45 GMT
Hi Corky, thanks for sharing your growing conditions for this one - it is appreciated.  Hopefully in a few years time, my clone will clump up nicely, in the way that your plants have grown out and multiplied. Thanks again, and good growing! Cheers, Doug dvg |
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Post by corky on Oct 7, 2020 20:08:44 GMT
A couple of pics for DVG after the plant and Moss had a good clean up,  a flower on its way ,my previous attempt at pollinating failed to produce viable seed but I shall try again and again until I get bored,  this is what the pitchers look like when light starved, not the best pics and a bit of a rush job but the plant ain't looking at its best either |
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Post by dvg on Oct 7, 2020 21:02:54 GMT
Now that's a healthy helpin' of Helis!  corky , i see what you mean by the Heli pitchers spreading out to fill the top of the pot. Looks like you'll have a few divisions available for sales or trades the next time you do a repot - and those'll be nicely sized mature divisions too. With regards to pollinating Heli flowers, some growers like to use a tuning fork in the 440 Hertz range to help the pollen release onto a piece of paper held just below the flower. You can pick one up on the cheap on Amazon, for just a few quid.  dvg |
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Post by fredg on Oct 8, 2020 11:19:44 GMT
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Post by corky on Oct 8, 2020 16:36:54 GMT
Yep I used a tuning fork last time, does no one read my long winded e explanations  |
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Post by dvg on Oct 8, 2020 16:56:16 GMT
Yep I used a tuning fork last time, does no one read my long winded e explanations I assure you that we do read all of your posts here corky, it's just our short term attention deficits affect our long term memory - blame it all on that CRAFT Disease... ... can't remember a flippin' thing!  dvg |
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not here it isn't