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texaskelley

Brocchinia Reducta Qs

texaskelley
12 years ago

I posted this under another message but wasn't getting any results, so I figured I'd make my own post.

I ordered a seedling Brocchinia reducta that should be showing up in the mail late next week. I would like to grow it outside in the sun so it will develop the more natural tight tube shape and light yellow-green color they have in nature.

Question(s): I am in zone 8b/9a here in TX. It is HOT and HUMID. Will it be too hot to grow this Brom. in full sun? My back porch has really good air movement and gets morning/noon sun, but is shaded in the afternoon. Would that be better than blasting a young plant with the scorching Texas sun all day?

I welcome anyone's opinion on this. Anyone who grows this plant, please share their experiences and growing conditions.

~AOK

Comments (5)

  • hotdiggetydam
    12 years ago

    If it is seedling you will need to acclimate it. I would be cautious about throwing any plant into the sun let alone a seedling.

  • texaskelley
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I'm pretty sure they are sending me a seedling. Even if it's not, it's definitely a small plant. Should I put it in full shade for a while until it's a little more mature? Or just until it gets used to the heat?

    ~AOK

  • hotdiggetydam
    12 years ago

    Here is a few questions to ask your self about a new acquisition.
    How does the climate/growing conditions differ from yours?
    (like in a greenhouse or outdoors)
    Is it a seedling or pup?
    These questions will give you and idea of what growing medium to start with too.
    Most of the time plants acclimate easy but our average daily temp here has 102.3F for almost 2 months.
    I had to cut back feeding my plants since fertlizer softens the plant to speed up growth. This weakens the plant structure.
    It is more susceptible to heat or cold.
    This plant likes temps in 50F range to 90F
    Sorry I didn't mean to write a book.

  • texaskelley
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    My B. reducta came in the mail today, and it looks good. It's a little green and spread out, but I'm going to try and get it to form the more tube shape and yellow color they have in nature.

    I have it planted in LFS. It's sitting in full shade for now. I'm going to slowly move it into full sun over a period of weeks.

    Hopefully it will do okay. It's only about six inches tall... Wish it luck!

    ~AOK

  • mitche
    12 years ago

    Broc. reducta comes from the tepui tops (table top mountains) in the Guiana Highlands on the border of Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil. It's habitat is about 2 - 3,000m above sea level and the environment is nutrient poor bare rock because the Tepui summits are deluged by 10,000mm of rain annually and the diurnal temperature range is between 3 and 26 degrees C. So your reducta is a super tough bugger that can take more water and UV than you have on offer in your garden!

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