>alone. Last night I got the bowl set up perfectly--the peat
>floated
>to the bottom, and even though there was quite a bit floating on
>the
>top, I should have just gotten a net or strainer and cleaned
>that out
>carefully. Instead, I mucked the whole thing up hoping the stuff
>on
>the top would float to the bottom. I would put peat in a
>stocking
>like Terry suggested, but it's U. gibba I'm trying to grow, and
>it
>needs to be in contact with the peat or else it won't bloom.
>Maybe I should just try it again and be more careful this
>time--thanks for the advice.
Speaking of U. gibba... I have a specimen that is growing
naturally in association with U. prehensilis as a semi-aquatic on
sphagnum peat with a very high water level, i.e. the container is
very nearly flooded. These two plants were collected from the
edges of a swamp not far from where I live in southern
KwaZulu-Natal. The U. gibba and U. prehensilis are both very
prolific and flower very regularly - they are both flowering at
the moment. The moral of this story is that U. gibba does not
require the complexity of an aquarium to grow and flower well - I
grow mine outdoors (we have a mild climate) under approximately
40% shade cloth with periodic overhead misting.
I hope this is of some help.
Best regards
Rogan Roth (from a gloriously cool, wet and rainy South Africa).
(ROTH@GATE2.CC.UNP.AC.ZA)