Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 18:08:16 -0500 From: "Mark Pogany" <markp@en.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg171$foo@default> Subject: More Drosophyllum info
I'd like to add my 2 pence advice to the following:
>I received some Drosophyllum seed today and was wondering what
>techniques people use for germinating seed and for planting afterwards
Hi Chris,
I use a mix of 10 - 20 percent peat with the remaining ingredients equal
parts (roughly) sand and perlite. Seeds are placed on top of the mix
and the pot is placed in a tray of water. As each seed germinates and
form a seedling (maybe 0.5 to 1 inch), I repot the seedling into the
same mix and start watering from above when the mix gets almost
completely dry. The seeds and plants grow under fluorescent lights all
year long. I now have 2-year-old Drosophyllums and numerous seedlings.
It's best to have only one plant per pot as any extra plants seem to
slowly die off. As you know, Drosophyllums don't like overwatering and
are actually very forgiving when it comes to underwatering. I've found
wilted plants occasionally having misjudged when the mix's dampness.
They come back upon watering.
I plan to put a few outside this spring in an area that gets some direct sun
but no rain and may try one outside that gets rain.
David
Atlanta
Browsing through the back issues of CPN I picked up a good way to water
Drosophyllum. Sorry, but I can't recall which volume or issue it was. This
technique, though in its early phases with me, is a modification of the late
great Adrian Slack's design in his book Insect Eating Plants and How to
Grow Them.
Sow at least 3 seeds an inch or so apart in a 6" CLAY pot, the bottom hole
being covered up and sealed with a bit of aquarium repair silicone before
adding media, such as described in David's letter above. Once they germinate
and are about an inch high remove the weaker one( s), leaving the most
vigorous for your plant.
Take an 8" PLASTIC pot and fill the bottom inch with living or dead sphagnum
moss. Add your clay pot, positioning it in the center of the larger one.
Pack the space around with more sphagnum, filling in to just below the top
of the inner pot. Place this nested pot into a shallow 1 inch saucer.
>From then on watering is only done to the sphagnum moss surrounding the
inner pot with the saucer to catch and store the drainage. The inner pots
soil will dry out at the surface, remaining barely moist further down. The
wicking action of the porous clay sides and bottom will serve to regulate
the slight moisture that Drosophyllums require without rotting the roots.
Just be careful not to let water get on the surface of the inner pot!
Mark Pogany
Cleveland, Ohio ( 40f and sunny for once!)
markp@en.com
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