Extreme terrarium tuning :D

Remember my old Nepenthes terrarium, made from an old rack?

As I said before, it's getting a totally new design. This time only a small teaser - some photos. Work in progress! :)

Best Regards,
Mateusz

Getting into Heliamphoras

Been a while since my last entry...I just had some busy time. Anyways, this time I'm gonna show you my main Heliamphora growing setup. It's not big (50x35x40 cm), but does its job pretty fine. It has a 4x24W fluorescent light panel and stands close to the window, so every day it gets some extra sunlight. I also added a small computer fan to provide some air flow and an ultrasonic humidifier. It's a simple and not very expensive setup, and despite the fact that it doesn't have any cooling system, the plants seem to like it. I've been using it for more than 3 years now, and all plants are doing well. The pitcher colouration is just perfect. One and only drawback - during summer, when it gets very hot, the plants start to grow slower.

Why did I choose to grow Heliamphoras? To be honest, it was a simple decision after visiting Mr. Andreas Wistuba and his nursery. I had an opportunity to share some experiences and - of course - to buy some new species. 3 years ago they were nothing more than small seedlings...now I have no more free space for them. Especially my Brocchinia reducta, Heliamphora nutans and H. folliculata have grown so big, that I have to do some repotting...but first I need to finish my new terrarium to have somewhere to put them!

Species I grow in this terrarium

Brocchinia reducta
Heliamphora nutans
H. glabra (Serra do Sol, Guyana)
H. huberi (Amuri tepui)
H. folliculata (Murosipan Tepui)
H. ciliata
H. ceracea (Cerro Neblina)
H. heterodoxa x minor
H. heterodoxa x nutans
H. minor (Auyan Tepui)
Nepenthes hamata (Gunung Lumut, Sulawesi)

H. ciliata

Terrarium in 2010

...and in 2013. Something definitely needs repotting...

I have to say that the days of that setup will be over soon. Currently I got rid of most of my Nepenthes species and decided to focus on Heliamphoras. My bigger terrarium (described in my last post) is now crammed with new pitcher plants, which grow under my self-designed LED grow panel. The results after 2 months of using it are very encouraging...but that's something I'd like to talk about later. Anyways, I managed to buy some very interesting species for very low prices. They were definitely far from a good condition when they arrived...but after 1 or 2 months they're all finally starting to grow well! My "Tepui" project is developing faster and faster. New terrariums under construction, basement conservatory is being prepared...I'll share the news soon!

Old setup, new plants

Best Regards,
Mateusz

Bigger collection = bigger terrariums

N. lowii (Trusmadi) - pretty impressive for a highlander
 grown with no cooling. Still one of my favourite plants!

As I promised, now I'll show you my current set-ups. When my first, self-built terrarium started to leak, I decided to buy a new one; much bigger (100x40x50 cm) and made of glass. I bought 2 fluorescent lighting panels (2x39W + 2x24W), a PC fan and also used the humidifier from my older set-up. Finally, all my tropical plant species have had a new home. It took me only a few months to make a pure carnivorous jungle inside it. And Nepenthes, epiphytic Utricularias, a Heliamphora and Brocchinia seemed to like the new growing conditions and all looked beautifully. Though I didn't have any cooling system, my highland species were doing pretty well (and they still are!). But, anyway, I think that the pictures are gonna talk for themselves :)

To be continued...

My second Nepenthes terrarium, as it used to look like in 2010