Re: D.sp Floating

Nigel Hurneyman (NHurneyman@softwar1.demon.co.uk)
Fri, 2 Aug 1996 18:15:51 +-100

Thanks Eric. Although I don't knowingly grow D. Aliciae (a cynic once
said that half the cultivated rosette sundews in the UK are D Spatulata and
the other half are D Aliciae), I have seen it in other people's collections
and I don't remember the long stem that this thing grows. I tried growing
it in a container which I kept topped up with water so that the rosette
floated on the surface, but like others here in the UK I couldn't keep it
going for long. Seed sown in a conventional way produced plants with a
long sprawling stem that also looked unhappy, but now I pack round the
stems with Heinz moss (57 varieties, clipped from colonies of pygmy
Drosera with nail scissors) which keeps the rosettes upright and the plants
look a lot happier. If only they would flower, then perhaps the experts
could diagnose whether they are a new species or just a curious form of
D Aliciae. (I suppose I wouldn't object to some seed of D Aliciae if any
Brits have some spare - at least I could then compare foliage).

Good Growing, NigelH