General

As your plants grow, the lower leaves and pitchers will brown and die off. As this happens, make sure to remove the dead material to avoid fungal problems. They don't need fertilizer to grow, but in the absence of food (in an enclosed terrarium,) it is advisable to feed your plants. HINT: Only feed the the older pitchers. Even if the top is starting to die, they still absorb the nutrients and if you put too much in, you don't kill a new trap.  Flake fish food works well, as do small crickets, available from your local bait or pet shop. The following directions apply for terrarium growing only.

Temperature

Many people swear that heliamphora must be grown in cool conditions, but all our plants experience 80-90 F. in the summer without any problems. By no means are we advocating that you keep them warm however.... They do prefer cooler conditions (50-70 F.) and if kept warm for too long, they will decline. They generally just stop growing when kept too warm and once fall and cool conditions return, normal growth resumes.

25% cypress mulch
25% perlite
25% Canadian peat moss
25% live sphagnum moss

The first three ingredients are mixed together and the pot is topped with the live sphagnum.

Light

If your plants are lacking any red pigment, they are probably not getting enough light. We use shop lights with one cool white and one vita light. The light fixture is suspended directly above the tank with 4-6 inches between the bulbs and the pitchers. The closer to the artificial light source, the developed, as compared then when the plants are grown in dimmer conditions.

As with most Carnivorous Plants, it is essential to water with pure or distilled water. We do not keep the media soaking wet. It has been reported that this can be done, but our best results have been achieved when the media is allowed to dry slightly between waterings.

A combination of high humidity and good air circulation give us the best results. Two inches of water is kept from stagnating with an aquarium pump and bubbler. It also keeps fresh air coming into the tank. The plants grow on a plastic shelf suspended above the water on plastic pots. The tank is sealed with a sheet of glass. One corner of the glass is cut off on a 2" diagonal to allow the air tube to enter the tank.

Propagation

While repotting in the spring, break apart the crowns, making sure that each section has some roots. Heliamphora are VERY brittle so you must use extreme care when handling and dividing. If you break off a division without roots, place it in an enclosed terrarium in live sphagnum, and new roots should start forming within 4-6 weeks.

Germinating Seed

The seed is short lived and usually difficult to obtain. The best results were on dead sphagnum moss, with the pots placed in a terrarium among established plants. Fresh seed will start germinating within 4 weeks, but it may take as long as six months. Once your seedlings have one or two new leaves, transplant into live sphagnum and keep it trimmed to prevent the young plants from being smothered. Germinating heliamphora seed has been quite difficult for us. Since the plants divide so readily, we don't use this form of propagation frequently. This is where tissue culture really comes in handy.