Date: Wed, 07 Apr 1999 13:49:55 PDT From: "Sundew Sundew" <sundew@hotmail.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1228$foo@default> Subject: A few of my Drosera growing secrets...
HI List..
I was chatting with another long-time CP grower in intant messages
and it occured to me that not too many people know a few very
important things so decided I'd write the list about it.
Ive struggled with seed germination in the past due to the almost
immediate appearance of algae which quickly overgrows both seed and
seedling. In order to prevent this, I do the following:
1.NEVER use containers previously used for other plants, keep seed
pots separate from all other plants - pretend youre keeping them
sterile. Nasty things hide in your pots, regardless of how well you
wash them.
2.Plant on "No Damp Off" by mosser lee or similar. This is DEAD
milled sphagnum moss, great stuff for germination and early growth.
Live sphagnum will probably outgrow seedlings in no time.
3. Once sown, mist seed well with a *fine* mist. Dont overdo it.
4. Cover pots / containers with plastic and try to create an air- tight
seal.
5. Place pots in dim light - seed does not need light to germinate.
The surface of your medium will probably start growing a fuzzy white
fungus type of thing - I never use chemicals unless absolutely
necessary so, rather than use fungicide, I tend to mist lightly again
as fungus grows. This seems to keep it in check.
Seed can take a couple weeks to months to germinate - make sure you
check your pots regularly for germination - once either a majority of
seed germinates OR it's been a week or so since initial germination,
pots are ready to be moved to a well lit area. I have noticed that
pots introduced into my main collection where algae and moss has
become established to some degree end up becoming overgrown a lot
sooner than pots Ive continued to isolate from the rest of my
plants. After a certain point, this is OK as the larger the plant,
the less it is effected, but initially its best to continue treating
your seedlings as material which must be kept "sterile". I usually
wait until my Drosera seedlings have 4 or 5 leaves on them before I
separate them. I break off a clump of seedlings and manually / with
tweezers select the largest and get rid of the others (often sending
them out to lucky listmembers). These fine specimens are then
repotted in a small pot with fresh medium (often 2:1:1 peat sand
perlite) topped off with about 1" of No Damp Off and spaced about
3/4" away from each other.
There you have it... One extremely important thing to point out is
that DROSERA DISLIKE PURE PEAT MOSS. I'll even go as far to say that
they do much better in milled sphagnum+perlite. This probably doesnt
apply to pygmies and tuberous drosera which do fine for me in well-
drained sandy mixes but Ive had great results with the others.
Anyone have any feedback? I hope what Ive said isn't too obvious...
Just wanted to share some tips with others.
( *YOU* *TOO* CAN GROW DROSERA!!!!!! NEPENTHES AND SARRACENIA PEOPLE
OF THE WORLD, BURN THOSE HIDEOUS PLANTS AND START A NICE SUNDEW
COLLECTION!!!!!!!!) ;) (or send those Nepenthes my way - I think
I'm going to start growing some lowlanders once I build a suitable
chamber - anyone have any ideas / plans for a growth chamber for my
living room / eastern exposure?
Happy Growing,
Matt
_______________________________________________________________
Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Jan 02 2001 - 17:31:56 PST