Re: Drosera glanduligera

John Taylor [The Banshee] (s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU)
Sat, 22 Dec 90 12:29:42 +1100

The two locations near me where I have seen D. glanduligera growing in
the wild have different habitats. The closer of the two (approx. 5km)
grows in natural bushland, in the same reserve as the other Drosera,
Utricularia etc. species I've mentioned before (CP hunters heaven! :-)
Unlike the other Drosera species growing there, D. glanduligera grows on
the tops of sand dunes. The ground is more or less bare (a few native
shrubs as well as terrestrial orchids). It appears to be almost pure
sand, and presumably very well drained. The sand was quite dry when I
saw them (mid-late Spring), when the plants had just finished flowering.

The other location (in a new botanic gardens approx. 15km away - the
VCPS has a area allocated for growing CP's) also had sandy soil, but the
D. glanduligera were growing on an exposed grassy bank. Again this area
was higher than were other species (e.g. D. spathulata) were growing,
suggesting that drainage is an important factor. The plants here were
larger - this may be due to a higher level of humus etc. in the soil,
but this is just a guess.

I'm going to try growing some of my seed in *pure* horticultural sand,
and some in a 2:1 sand/peat mixture (maybe more sand if it looks too
peaty). I'll let you know the results as they come to hand ...

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My D. adelae is growing bigger as predicted (lost original note so don't
know who made the comment - sorry). The new leaves are around 5 inches
long - quite a difference from Adrian Slack's 3 inch "limit" in
cultivation! I may need a bigger terrarium at this rate (or put it in
the less-ideal conditions of the glasshouse the terrarium is in).

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Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!!!!