Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 10/13/2010

Question
Hi Jacob and Jeff

 Well, it looks like I am diving head long into Heliamphoras and I have a quick question

 I have set up a terrarium as you suggested in your third video,  the plants sit on fluorescent light diffuser grating. It is in an room that will be kept for the most part unheated during the winter. This should meet the temperature needs for the time being.

What I was wondering is, I have a seedling mat I am considering putting under the terrarium.  Because the plants are not sitting on the bottom of the terrarium it should not have a direct effect on their temperature, though it may raise the temperature in the terrarium slightly. My thought is that it would cause the water that is below the grates to evaporate faster raising the humidity. The question is , would the slight increase in temperature be outweighed by what I assume is a large increase in humidity ?

Thanks as always for your help

Nicole
The room the Heliamphoras are in is 90 miles north of NYC  

Answer
If you possible, purchase a rheostat for your heat mat.  I found one at a local garden shop for just undr $40.  The rheostat will allow you to set the mat at a particular temperature, depending on what you're heating.  Place the rheostat probe in the water, set the rheostat to a specific temperature (such as 70°F), and the heater will come on only when the water temperature drops below 70°F.  You can also purchase aquarium heaters for this purpose too.

Water is also a very good tempering medium.  It holds heat for a relatively long period, and it also requires lots of energy to heat; so you don't really have to worry about overheating or underheating as much as you would if you didn't have the water reservoir.  The temperature will be fairly stable in your setup, which is what Heliamphora likes.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin