Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 17:48:26 +0100 From: Rand Nicholson <writserv@nbnet.nb.ca> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1439$foo@default> Subject: Re: Was - "Men & CPs"
Hi Matthew:
>"doug bosco" <dark@popmail.mcs.net> wrote:
>
>>Quite simple. Men are by nature (thanks to evolution) hunters. It
>>isn't surprising that we would be interested in plants which hunt. It
>>should be no surprise that Carnivorous Plants are a male preserve.
>
>C'mon! Do you really think that stationary plants can be called hunters
^^^^^^^^^^
>and thus compared to males? They attract bugs with scents and colors and
^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>then engulf them. That doesn't sound too "male" to me.
Don't be too sure, Matthew. I know some guys that fit that description in a
strict Darwinian sense.
>Question:
>
(snip)
>However, to avoid disurbing the roots too much,
>I left much of the old growing medium on the plants and mostly
>replaced the lower part of the pot (with shredded sphagnum, vermiculite,
>and a little sand). Now, I'm thinking this was a mistake
>and I should have rinsed off the roots and given them totally fresh
>growing mix since they may be rotting. Should I redo my repotting?
>
>
>Matthew Baggott, mbagg@itsa.ucsf.edu
Your second thought was the correct one. Old growing media may transfer old
problems and create new ones. It will certainly hasten the degradation of
any new media you use. Think of a compost pile. The more old stuff you have
in it, the faster the new stuff decomposes. This old stuff you refer to is
around the roots and the base stem of your plant. Not a _good_ thing.
Probably, it would be an excellent idea to wash off your D. capensis root
system. I shake and pick most of the old mix off the roots and wash the
rest off under medium pressure from the kitchen tap. Then, any damaged, old
or dead roots are cut off, as well as any lenthy roots, depending on the
size and vigor of the plant (In spring, any capensis that has bloomed
once.) In my experience with _this_ plant, a good root trim encourages a
better root system and better growth all around.
I prefer to not use vermiculite with any CPs as this easily compacts, turns
to mush after a short while and inhibits soil respiration and drainage. As
an inert absorbent material ("exploded" mica) it may also absorb and retain
salts and other more lively nasties not desired.
None of my capensis have slowed down for any length of time after this
seemingly rough treatment (I _might_ draw the line at a wire scrubbing
brush and a chipping hammer.) They sometimes lose the dew off their leaves
for a few days or a week, but then, I don't even bother to put a plastic
bag over them afterwards, although I do layer the surface of the medium
with green, live sphagnum moss, as I tend to do with most of my large CPs.
The mix I use, in a large pot (15 cm or more), allows me three years
between re-pottings. I repot capensis in a live chopped
sphagnum/perlite/sand mix at: 1/1 to 1/2. Also, it may (probably) encourage
new plants through suckers or lateral shoots. Certainly you may expect
volunteer seedlings after the thing blooms, whether you want them or not.
People on this list can tell you of many other mixes they have success
with. Capensis will probably grow on damp blotting paper.
I am (obviously) fairly casual with my capensis and for good reason. They
are nearly indestructible compared with almost any other Drosera. They can
shrug off a light frost as well as a ground frost, as long as the roots do
not freeze (and you do not mind losing most, or all of the top). Last
summer I had to pick several seedlings out of an outdoor geranium pot where
they had volunteered to grow in regular potting soil containing fertilizer.
I don't think that many on this list, familiar with the plant, would object
strenously if I called Drosera capensis the weed of CPs. And a quite nice
one, at that. They don't seem to need much of a rest: Indoors they bloom
over a Canadian winter on a chilly sou-west windowsill. And set seed. And
seem to get into pots no-where in their vicinity.
_Don't_ dust anywhere near them with "Endust"!
Kind Regards,
Rand
Rand Nicholson <writserv@nbnet.nb.ca>
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