Re: Proboscidea louisianica

From: Peter Cole (carnivor@flytrap.demon.co.uk)
Date: Tue Mar 03 1998 - 07:26:30 PST


Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 15:26:30 +0000
From: Peter Cole <carnivor@flytrap.demon.co.uk>
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg820$foo@default>
Subject: Re: Proboscidea louisianica


> Dear All,
>
> OK so Proboscidea is not carnivorous in the strictest sense
> just another sticky leafed plant. However I have got 4
> seedlings to germinate after about 2.5 weeks following Allen
> Lowries protocol, shaving the seed coat to expose the
> endosperm and soaking in GA solution for 24hr as for Byblis
> gigantea.
>
> I would appreciate any advise on the culture of this plant
> and recommendations on the best compost to grow them in as
> this is the first contact I have had with this species.

I use cactus compost for Proboscidea and Ibicella, and they seem to
thrive. I also find they germinate fine if you just soak the seeds
for 24 hrs and sow into a pot standing in water. Once they
germinate, let the pot dry out to just moist (not as critical as eg:
Drosophyllum, but the roots may rot if they're permanently
water-logged, especially while they're small.) They grow well in a
garden bed or border if you give them plenty of grit and compost, and
this will let them really show themselves off (they can get BIG!)
Otherwise use as large a pot as possible (they'll grow in a 3", but
they'll stay very small,) and feed with a phostrogen tablet or two
every 3-4 weeks.

 I have found GA to have an adverse effect at high (ie: B.gigantea,)
concentrations, though I only tried it once. I think perhaps
Allen's getting a bit carried away with the GA3. They really
aren't difficult - that's why they're such a menace in more tropical
countries. I guess we're lucky they can't survive our winters!

Keep pets and children away from the seed pods - they're very
hazardous (one of our cats got one stuck on its head the year before
last, and that was *not* funny!) You might want to poke corks on
the fangs (or cut them off before they lignify,) if you want to make
seed.

The flowers are beautiful and unusual smelling (not unpleasant, just
impossible to quite describe - lemon? chocolate?) and it is of course
an annual (you doubtless already know that,) so collect seeds when
the bees have been at the flowers (they like them, so I'm not sure if
it self-pollinates.)

Hope this helps,

                Peter

ps: If you can't wait, there's a photo of P.louisianica in flower on
my webpage (in my photo album,) and the foliage is just like the
Ibicella photos.

pps: I make my own cactus compost - equal parts of houseplant
compost, perlite and coarse sand. I've no idea if it's good for
cacti - I don't grow them :-)
+++ Peter Cole, 17 Wimmerfield Cr.,Killay,SWANSEA SA27BU,WALES,UK +++
mailto:carnivor@flytrap.demon.co.uk - http://www.flytrap.demon.co.uk/
++++ Carnivorous Plants, seeds and tissue culture kits for sale ++++



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