Date: Sun, 18 Jan 1998 21:45:19 +0000 From: Phil Wilson <cp@pwilson.demon.co.uk> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg254$foo@default> Subject: Re: intro, questions and answer
Hi,
> I have two questions. Firstly, I have started growing pygmy sundews
>under lights. Can they be grown evergreen, or do they need a dormancy? I
>have conflicting information here. I want gemmae, but if I can vary the
>growing conditions to my own schedule this will take the hassle out of it!
>
Some pygmy species can be grown without a dormancy, others will take one
whether you give it or not.
> Secondly, my Darlingtonias set seed this year, but I am unsure of the
>best approach to raising seedlings. Slack simply recommends the same
>approach as Sarracenias, and I have had little success tracking down other
>recommendations. It seems to me that there are a number of obvious
>questions;
>
>i) Is it best to use live sphagnum?
>ii) Do they require a longer (colder?) stratification than Sarracenias?
>iii) Since the roots are closer to the surface, and therefore given less
>insulation from the growing medium, do you have to be more careful to
>limit the root temperature, than in the mature plants? Perhaps there is a
>dilemma here - how do the seeds know that the growing season is
>approaching if the soil temperature remains low - i.e. is germination
>(after stratification) triggered by increased photoperiod alone?
>
Darlingtonia seed do not require a cold stratification period. They are
best sown as fresh as possible. At this time of the year however you are
unlikely to get germination unless you give them heat.
I use a standard Sarracenia mix to germinate them
Darlingtonia is notoriously susceptible to high temperatures. However,
you are unlikely to have problems when growing in the UK unless we get
an exceptionally hot summer. We tend to get a marked drop in nightime
temperatures even during the hottest summers and this seems sufficient
to cool things around the Darlintonia roots. I've not found seedlings to
be any more suseptible in this respect that the adult plants.
Regards,
-- Phil Wilson
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