Actually there are very few native winter growers in AZ. Most plants
grow in the spring and summer, but of course spring starts early there :-)
> know what AZ's climate is like but I assumed that the bulbs would
> stay dormant through the summer and grow in the winter, just like
> they are doing anyway. How much does it rain there in the wet
> season? Is AZ a drier desert than where bulbous Drosera grow? In
> The Private Lives of Plants, they showed a bit a the area they grow
> in and it was very dry until the rain and then Sundews popped up!
I think both regions are arid, but otherwise quite different. I'm led
to believe the CP zones in west Australia have a Mediterranean climate
and the Drosera grow around pools which stay wet for most/all of the
year. There is available sub-surface moisture, hence the deep placement of
Drosera tubers (unless that's to avoid predation of the tubers).
> > Second, up on the rooftop of this 5-story building there was a good deal o
> > radiant cooling at night (here Barry can fill you in with all the dirty
> > details of thermodynamics!) High night temps seem to be the limiting
> > factor for heat-stress tolerance when cultivating in Arizona. After I
> > graduated and lost the greenhouse I tried growing these plants outdoors
> > near ground level on an open balcony. there I experienced the effect of
> > this heat-stress on CP firsthand. :-(
>
> Sorry your plants suffered so, but since the ones I'm thinking should
> grow in the winter how does that effect water needs?
If you can train your Aussie Drosera to grow during the cooler months
and go dormant through the summer that would be ideal. I think that's
how Barry has grown them in his greenhouse. I had trouble coaxing them
into dormancy as summer heated up, and I think they started to fry outside
before they built new tubers. This can be avoided in a swamp-cooled
greenhouse. I think it might take a lot of experimentation to get
these plants to adapt well to the Arizona outdoors. After all, these
Drosera haven't been in cultivation long, and in the end they might want
a longer growing season than can be provided in Arizona's winter. These
Drosera seem to do well in the Mediterranean climate of coastal southern
California, so perhaps that's more like their native climate.
Michael Chamberland