Re: Byblis stem cuttings

John Taylor [The Banshee] (rphjt@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU)
Sat, 2 May 92 13:45:26 +0000

>My D. peltata auriculata from the Brothers Taylor is
>flowering already. The sepals are glabrous and the petals barely
>flushed with colour---maybe almost pure white.

Is D. p. a. the new classification for D. auriculata? Ours haven't surfaced
yet, but our erythorhiza has just hit the top of the soil, as have most of
our Greenhood orchids. We're still waiting for the stolonifera too...
Oh, yeah. The flowers are pretty pale, but they do definitely develop a pink
tinge - maybe they need a bit more sun or time.

>In contrast, my peltata peltata `Kandos area pink flower' is producing
>pink flowers with distinctly pubescent and possibly dendiculate sepals.
>They certainly key out as being true!

[Searches frantically for "Plants of prey", and remembers that it is currently
in Canberra, ACT - Rats!] Umm, yes, peltata should have hairy sepals. How
does it compare in size with the auriculatas? The ones I've seen in the wild
are only about 4-5" tall, at most, whereas auric. is often double this height.
Which reminds me, I must plant out the peltata and auriculata (a red form, I
hope) seeds I, er, obtained.

>Oh Bros Taylor down under....
>
>Any success with stem cuttings and B. gigantea? What is your method?
>Any best time for it? Both of the growth crowns of my biggest Byblis plant
>are in a long internode growth phase, and the plant is getting
>unmanageable (each branch is about 30 cm long).

No success with the one we tried (as the plant was beginning to die back -
definitely NOT the time to try it). Our byblis's main shoot is about 50cm tall
and the side branch is about 20-30cm now. We just stake them up to keep them
from falling over and just let them grow. It's also a good idea to put them
in some out-of-the-way corner.