Drosera and Darlingtonia

Barry Meyers-Rice (barry@as.arizona.edu)
Thu, 10 Mar 94 09:31:26 MST

Seosamh, that's a great story about the tuberous _Drosera_. The easiest
and most commonly grown type is _D.peltata_, so that's most likely what
you have. Now you have to wait for it to flower, because when that happens
you can see if it's _D.peltata ssp. peltata_ or _D.peltata ssp.
auriculata_ (some people put the latter as a separate species).

>I also have a pot of U. lividia. It has not thrived under my care. A
>posting the other day mentioned growing them with the water level within 1cm
>or so of the top of the soil, I have it about 1 cm up the base of the
>pot.. can an experienced person advise?

Really, all you have to do is make sure the soil stays wet at all times. Exact
water level doesn't matter too much. The reason I water mine so heavily is
that in the desert, where I live, if things dry out in the greenhouse they
*really* dry out, so I keep things on the wet side.

Clarke, your weird tuberous plants certainly sound like a ``fan-leafed''
sundew. Maybe _D.ramellosa_. Are the flowers borne at the end of the
leafy stems or directly out of the rosette center?

This weekend I'm taking a quick trip to Sacramento to visit my
brother while the wife attends a convention. I was hoping to spend some
time meeting with some of the CPers in the Bay area and Davis, but I won't
be able to this time. But I'm certainly hoping to take a quick visit out
to some _Darlingtonia_ seeps I know of in the mountains, some at Donner
Pass, which is fitting for carnivorous plants, I suppose.

Cheers,

Barry