Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 15:58:07 -0400 From: Kit Halsted <kit@kithalsted.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2799$foo@default> Subject: Intermedia Questions
Hello, fellow CP'ers:
More questions about Drosera intermedia flowers:
Do they ever actually bloom? My plants have had flower stalks for
ages, but I have yet to see a flower. I've seen bits of white peeking
through the green, but the petals all seem to have turned a dingy
yellow-brown before the sepals fully open. I know these flowers
self-pollinate, so I'm holding out some vague hope that this doesn't
mean that my flowers are just rotting on the stem.
Will these plants stop flowering? All of my plants seem to have third
& even fourth flower stalks coming up.
Assuming they are okay, how will I know when the seed is ready to harvest?
Questions about Utricularia intermedia:
First of all, is anyone else growing this? I ask because it seems to
be a fairly obscure plant.
Barry suggested growing these as affixed aquatics, but mine don't
seem to be very motivated to affix themselves. The few stalks that
did affix themselves didn't stay affixed through Friday's
thunderstorm. Is it worthwhile to poke one end of each stalk down
into the muck, or should I just leave them be?
Barry was also kind enough to tell me how to construct a proper
habitat for them, putting down a layer of peat followed by a layer of
sand to hold down the peat with water to the top. I did just that,
but when I got the plants they were in a big ball of peat so I now
have a layer of peat on top of the sand. Is it worth burying the peat
under the sand, or is it okay as-is?
Dormancy: the plan is to leave them out over the Winter, as I know
they spend a lot of time under snow in their native habitat. Should I
drain most of the water out of the pot, or just let it freeze? I put
them in a tapered bowl so that it wouldn't crack if the water freezes.
These plants were apparently going dormant before I got them, but
they seem to have changed their minds; the leaves have doubled or
tripled in length & they're producing traps up to about a quarter of
an inch in length.
Thanks,
-Kit
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