Wisdom for the day

Barry Meyers-Rice (barry@mips3.as.arizona.edu)
Tue, 10 Jan 1995 13:06:23 -0700

>though. What sort of conditions does _P.caerulea_ require? I've been
>keeping them quite warm under fluorescent lights for most of the
>winter; I hope I haven't kept them from going into dormancy. Could
>these reddish leaf formations at the center be winter rosettes?

They are from the coastal plain of South Carolina. So they are looking for
seasons, but not freezing conditions. During the winter my plants are
exposed to temperatures about 30F colder than during the summer---that is
they drop to around 40F at night. The growth slows, and the plant draws down
slightly into the Sphagnum or sand. I suspect contractile roots.

This species does not, however, form genuine winter rosettes. Look, wonder,
and wait, I suppose. The highly esteemed CP grower Rob Maharajh once
described this aspect of CPing as the ``Dreaded P-Word....patience.''

The inestimable Dr. Maharajh once told me, in reference to the high frequency
with which a _D.binata_ clone he had sent would flower, ``Yep, that plant
flowers faster than you can say _Drosera binata multifida extrema_!''

Such a man's suggestions should be heeded.

Barry