Old mail ...

Paul Taylor [Falcon] (s882080@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU)
Fri, 21 Dec 90 15:01:03 +1100

>DOES ANYONE FERTILIZE THEIR TUBEROUS DROSERA? WHAT DO THEY USE? I WOULD
>LIKE TO KNOW BRAND NAME, AND DILUTION. ALSO, I WANT TO KNOW THE NUTRIENT
>TYPE, I.E. 10-10-10 OR WHATEVER. ALSO, INFO LIKE ``ORCHID FERTILIZER''
>OR ``AFRICAN VIOLET'' WOULD BE GREAT.
> Paul, you might know something about tuberous Drosera culture, or
>perhaps someone in the VCPS does? My greenhouse is relatively bug free,
>and so I'm afraid that my tuberous Drosera might be angry.

I haven't had much experience with species other than those that grow locally
(D. peltata, auriculata, whittakerii, macrantha sp. planchonii). I would be
very wary of fertilizing CP's - feeding them insects would be much safer, and
probably more beneficial.

>Oh, *Paul*. I have a Question for you. Up in Northern Australia, in
>the Darwin and Kununurra regions, what are the summer/winters like.
>In particular, I know that for the tuberous Drosera range (West. Aust.),
>you have hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters (or so I am told).
>Up north, is the rainy season during the summer or the winter? I
>want to know how I should treat my D. petiolaris `Kununurra.'
>I figure that Australia is a small continent, so you should know all
>the climatic regions like the back of your hand!

Small? Australia is about the same size as the US ... Victoria (my
home state) is around the same size as England, and Victoria is a SMALL
state!

The weather in Darwin according to my weather calendar is:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Max (*C) 31.7 31.4 31.8 32.6 31.9 30.5 30.3 31.2 32.4 33.0 33.1 32.5
Days >35*C 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 1
Min (*C) 24.7 24.6 24.4 23.9 22.1 19.9 19.3 20.6 23.1 25.0 25.3 25.2
Sun (hrs/day) 5.7 5.9 6.7 8.8 9.5 9.9 10.0 10.2 9.9 9.5 8.4 7.1
Rain (mm) 409 353 311 99 20 2 1 6 18 72 141 229
Raindays 21 20 19 9 2 0 1 1 2 6 12 16

Don't have data for Kununurra, but Port Hedland's weather is:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Max (*C) 36.3 36.2 36.7 35.0 30.2 27.4 26.8 28.9 32.2 34.4 36.1 36.6
Days >35*C 0 17 22 16 2 0 0 0 5 14 18 20
Min (*C) 25.4 25.3 24.3 21.1 17.1 13.9 12.0 13.0 15.2 17.9 21.1 23.8
Sun (hrs/day) 10.5 10.2 9.8 9.8 8.9 8.7 9.1 10.2 10.8 11.5 11.8 11.4
Rain (mm) 58 94 42 23 28 18 10 4 1 1 4 17
Raindays 5 7 4 2 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 2

Being in the northern part of Australia, the weather follows the tropical
wet-dry cycle. To the south (Perth, Melbourne etc.) we have the usual four
seasons, with generally hot summers and cool/cold winters. Snow doesn't occur
except on the "high" alpine areas of Victoria and New South Wales (D. arturi
country).

>Lots of D. glanduligera coming up... I'm keeping the pot FAR from my
>D. burmannii pot, to avoid contamination. Why doesn't anybody seem to
>like this plant (glanduligera)? Poor little guy.

D. glanduligera grows locally to me. It tends to grow in higher areas where it
is a bit drier, so this might be an important growing tip. You may find that
the plants will die before reaching maturity (according to Robert Gassin of
the VCPS who has tried growing it before) ... If not, let me know your secret!