Perhaps the Last Batch of Ant Plant Seeds this Year

These plants keep fruiting, but it is October already.  We'll see if there are more, or if these are it.

Curly leafed Myrmecodia tuberosa, Myrmephytum selebicum, and the regular Myrmecodia tuberosa fruit (left to right).

Ant Plant Status - Late March 2018

All the plants in the garden are sending up new growth - I wanted to document where these plants are currently before too much time (and new growth) pass.  These plants spent a lot of time last year getting acclimated to my sideyard micro climate.  I'm hopeful these take off this year!

New Media Mix for the Epiphytes

I've had it in my head to try out a new mix for the epiphytic plants I have (ant plants, orchids, cactus).  As I have been fiddling with these plants for some time now (roughly 18 months), I have noticed other growers using really gritty mixes, and others (including myself) leaning more towards sphagnum moss.  I figured why not combine the best of both???...  So I soaked a bunch of reclaimed long fiber sphagnum moss, cut it up relatively fine and combined it with equal parts vermiculite, pumice, dry stall, and black gold succulent mix.  Here is the new mix in a pot with some seeds from a curly leafed Myrmecodia tuberosa and a Hydnophytum formicarum.

I also ended up repotting the two curly leafed Myrmecodia seedlings and a Drosera (carnivorous plant) into this mix also.  I'm guessing the new mix will not compact against the roots and the drainage will be really good.  Good qualities for ephiphytic plant media.  We'll see how it shapes up.

Unhappy Plants

Not everything is green and blissful in my backyard.  Unfortunately when I repotted this Euphorbia ramena, it flourished for a little bit, then just collapsed.  The stem/trunk is not mushy, but it has lost some firmness.  I'm going to examine the roots, and if everything is ok there, I'll wait a bit and see if it recovers.

This Myrmecodia tuberosa is growing, but there are lots of "lesions" and dark spots on the leaves.  I have a smaller one that I've separated from this one, bu tit too has some issues on the leaves.  Not sure what is affecting them, but I think it may be viral.

I'll still count myself as lucky - two plants having major issues - I'll work harder, but still the odds have been good

A Closer Look at the New Growth on the Ant Plants

Lots of new activity with these guys. At some point in the very near future, I'll try to get the seed out of the almost red berry and see if we can't get it to germinate. The tiny plants we've seen have inspired us to try. I haven't seen the M. beccarii flowers turn into fruit, but I have read it takes a while - much longer than the Hydnophytum formicarum.

New Ant Plant Growth

Finally!!! This Myrmecodia tuberosa is getting ready to push out some new leaves. I suspect it has been adjusting to its new pot and environment (I got this from Perla at the Kunia Orchid Plant Show and Sale - but her house/nursery is in the Salt Lake area - and she grows these under a shade cloth). Both of the Hydnophytum formicarum have been pushing out new growth for a bit now. It'll be neat to see how much these grow this year, and even neater to be able to harvest some seeds and grow a few keiki. The telltale sign is a red berry... I got nothing red from these plants yet... more waiting... but at least it seems as if they have all made the adjustment to my backyard.

Ant Plant Potting

I potted the new ant plants in long fiber sphagnum moss and placed them in super well draining orchid clay pots. These were originally potted in black cider, pumice and some organics - but I wanted to get them growing in the sphagnum moss sooner than later. Here's the Myrmecodia tuberosa. And here's the Hydnophytum formicarium. From what I've read (and seen with the M. beccarii), these plants will put down roots into orchid mix (mainly bark, large chunks of pumice, and some charcoal), but most people seem to do well with these plants in the long fiber sphagnum. The sphagnum also makes it easier to up size when the time comes. I'm happy with these set up the way they are.

Myrmecodia beccarii not Myrmecodia tuberosa

Since I've been researching the different types of Ant Plants, I'm beginning to think the plant I have is a Myrmecodia beccarii and not a Myrmecodia tuberosa. Here's the original one I've had for a few weeks now (and what I believe is M. beccarii). And here are some pictures of the one I bought yesterday at the Kunia Orchid Plant Show and Sale (labelled as M. tuberosa). Well - that's my story and I'm going to stick with it - any references I make to the first one will be as Myrmecodia beccarii, and any references to the newer one will be as Myrmecodia tuberosa. I'm actually pretty stoked that I've got one of each!

I'm Not Sure What These White Protrusions Are...

I try and look at my plants at least once a day. If for screening for mealie bugs, wind damage, or ensuring any recent efforts (repotting, propping, or trimming) aren't going sideways, or just for trying to unwind after a day of commuting and working, watching plants grow is a luxury I've never had before settling down and it is one that I do not intend to take for granted. My latest observations yielded this - I noticed white protrusions growing out from the Mymercodia tuberosa (Ant Plant). When I get some down time (like when I'm not posting plant pictures and writing a bunch of gibberish) I'll research what these growths could be - but for now I'm betting they are good growth (new leaf nodules, or incentives for ants to colonize) and not bad growth.

New Plant - Myrmecodia tuberosa - Ant Plant

This is one of the new plants I got from my recent mail order - a Myrmecodia tuberosa. The roots make the care of this plant more like an orchid than a succulent. Hopefully I can keep up with the water requirements (I have been only watering my group once a week, maybe twice - the beauty of succulents - I can leave them alone for a bit and they are better for it). I used black cinder at the base of the pot, orchid bark, orchid mix - placed the plant - and topped it off with more orchid bark. I also am keeping it in a spot where it gets plenty of sunlight. Crossed-fingers....