Sounds fine, although I use sand instead of perlite (only recently
discovered a source for perlite & vermiculite - are there any plants
which LOVE these in the mix instead of sand?). Germination varies, but
should be only a couple of weeks at the most. Best just to keep them
watered and see what happens...
>I got it yesterday. Thanks much! Are there
>any special instructions to plant them? Currently
>I have them in the 'fridge. Should I just plant them
>and keep them warm & wet, or do they require a regimen
>of heat/cold/fire, etc?
Just plant them! Since they would be germinating in autumn-winter in
the wild, cool & wet is probably closer to the mark. Fire would most
likely destroy the seeds - their tubers would survive the fire, so they
don't need to produce asbestos-lined seeds like other plants!
>Subject: How does D. peltata grow?
Up of course! :-)
>Mine has produced the rosette, but has not started climbing
>yet. This got me curious as to what the cycle is for the
>tuberosities, or specifically, peltata. How many months
>does it grow for? Of that, when does it start climbing and
>for how long does it climb. I sort of wonder why it starts
>as a rosette and then starts climbing later too.
It grows for up to 6 months (autumn-spring). Actual times depend upon local
conditions, phase of the moon, stock market prices etc. etc.
"Climbing" as you put it is also quite variable. Some plants I have had
(D. auriculata dressed up as D. peltata) don't bother producing a
rosette, and just start "climbing". Others spend a fair amount of time
as a rosette before producing a rather short "climbing" stem. 0-2
months in the rosette phase would be about right.
The rosette may be for the plant to gain some energy before producing
the "climbing" stem - remember that it has been feeding off its tuber
while struggling to the surface. The rosette may also act as a brace
for the stem to protect it against strong winds ... any budding
engineers out there want to test this?
Must dash ... off to the Victorian Carnivorous Plant Society show -
details in a later edition!
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| Paul Taylor [Falcon] Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology |
| C/O s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au Melbourne, Australia. |
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