As you may know, if you follow this blog regularly, I have grown all my Heliamphora outdoors this year. Now that winter is coming and that we experienced our first light frost, my marsh pitchers have joined the conservatory plants where they are now sitting under lights (that level the dim light that the current season hardly provides).
Four of my plants are now producing flower scapes. I don't really know if it has any relation with the season as it seems to me that after more than 10 years of experience with the genus, Heliamphora could virtually flower at any time of the year. I might be wrong though. Anyway, one plant has caught my eye lately: a nice specimen of Heliamphora parva which has developed a stunning 15 cm large flower with huge white petals. It is almost and odd sight as, exception made of Sarracenia, my other carnivorous plants usually produce rather smallish flowers.
This parva scape only bears two flowers alas and as I intend to produce seed from this plant, that means I will only have one opportunity to achieve my goal: I will collect pollen from the first flower to pollinate the second in a few weeks. It's been years since I last produced my own Heliamphora seeds. I hope I will be successful. Stay tuned ! ;-)
