Date: Wed, 22 Jan 1997 11:37:09 From: SCHLAUER@chemie.uni-wuerzburg.de To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg313$foo@default> Subject: Re: D.uniflora cultivation tips
Dear Fernando,
First, I do not have any experience with the cultivation of _D.
uniflora_ (does anyone on this list?).
> Hopefully I'll get seeds to spread to in-vitro workers. The plants
> I intend to pass on to responsible cultivators here in Japan. Yet the
> plants should be at the height of their growing season at the moment,
> it being summer in the S Hemisphere.
Summer yes, hot no.
> Does anyone have any tips as to
> whether we should try and force this species into dormancy now or maybe
> keep it inside heated greenhouses for a while longer, maybe a month, and
> then put it in the refrigerator (or freezer?).
Under all circumstances, not heated greenhouses. Even in summer,
Tierra del Fuego is (despite its name!) rather frigid. The nights at
least (they still have nights because the antarctic circle is
still further S) are very cold (freezing temps possible).
> And should we keep them in
> the fridge/freezer until summer of '98 or maybe attempt to remove them in
> late summer and then let winter come again naturally?
The resting period can usually be prolonged. I do not know if this is
feasible for 6 months but at least several months should be possible.
If the plant survives the next season, this could be repeated, so you
could synchronize it with the N hemisphere. It will become a problem
to create long days with low temps in summer.
Another strategy would use artificial lights in the N hemishere
winter to simulate the summer of Tierra del Fuego. In this case you
must store the plant in the fridge as soon as temps rise.
The climate of Tierra del Fuego is persistently windy and chilly, so
I suppose that _Drosera_ can only grow in very wet conditions (to
compensate for the high evaporation rates to be expected).
Perhaps Juerg could give you some hints from his experience with
arctic _Pinguiculae_.
In vitro, the likewise extreme S-American _P. antarctica_ grows all
year through with "resting" periods (slower growth and higher
mortality) of about 3 months, a behaviour similar to that of the
arctic _P. villosa_ in vitro (which forms hibernaculae in a similar
rhythm).
Good growing, kind regards
Jan
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