Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1999 10:00:57 -0700 From: "Andrew Marshall" <andrewm@olywa.net> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2528$foo@default> Subject: Rpygmy/tuberous Drosera soil mix
HI Dave,
Yes, you are right you say it seems that some of these seem more
difficult to grow here in the US then down under. After finally getting the
hang of it, I think it is because in part we do not follow the particular
rythems of the plant exactly enough. We treat them to much like other
Drosera. From here on I will mainly talk on Tuberous D. as I was still
getting the hang of the pygmies.
As a soil mix I used 70/30 ultra-fine quartz sand/peat with a piece of
coffee filter in the bottom of the pot to keep the soil mix in. This is for
both types and seemed to work for the 30 odd pygmies and 50 odd tuberous I
had. I was assured that it would work for all of them, and in fact I have
successfully grown nearly all of them at one time over the past 10 years in
this mix. I was getting confident enough in fact that I was actually this
year going to bring a 5 gallon bucket of laterite soil back from one of my
many field trips to use instead on some species and see the results.
In tuberous D. the important thing is the drying out cycle. They need
to go through it rather slowly. Take a couple of months to dry them out and
a month or so to wet them again. I lost more to following the instructions
so frequently given, ie, when they start to die back, dry them out, when
they sprout again stick them back in the water. If you do this, they often
don't come back, or if they do will rot right off.
As to germination methods... for tuberous I simply spread them on the
surface and let the rain and cold do the job. It seems after a few months
of this they germinate. Not very controlled though and you do need to make
sure the pots don't flood or the seds will be washed away. Personally I
prefer to get the tubers as the seedlings are to time consuming and touchy
to be fun dealing with. I never know if they are going dormant or really
dieing. Too damn small to tell until it is too late!
Hope this helps.
Best wishes
Andrew
>Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1999 09:56:52 -0400
>From: "Mellard, David" <dam7@cdc.gov>
>To: "'CP List'" <cp@opus.hpl.hp.com>
>Subject: Drosera germination
>Message-ID: <F0DEEE37B071D211AB210001FA12DAAFCB6EAB@mcdc-atl-50.cdc.gov>
>
>I recently received seed of pygmy, tuberous, and petiolaris complex drosera
>from Allan Lowrie and would like advice on the best method to use for
>germinating them. Lowrie suggests several methods. First, the smoke
method
>using a BBQ and peat. I used the smoke method on some Drosera some time
ago
>and got about 50% of the species to germinate. Lowrie also suggests a
>method of soaking the seed in smoke water. I can use that method since I
>already have some smoke filters, although it does seem rather tedious once
>you get germination and have to transfer lots of seed to pots. I suppose
>the GA3 method might work, too.
>
>I opened one of the packets and was able to count the number of seeds in a
>few milliseconds, so it's not possible to divide the seed up and use
several
>methods. I'd appreciate advice on which method you think is the best based
>on your experiences.
>
>Also, Lowrie suggests using pure, sieved peat moss as a mix, although he
>does mention 50/50 peat/sand for the petiolaris complex. The pure peat
>suggestion doesn't seem right to me for the tuberous and pygmy drosera.
>Since so many of them come from soil based on laterite or sand (as opposed
>to the peat based soil we expect for so many drosera). I'd like to hear
>(probably again) what people are using with success for their tuberous and
>pygmy drosera. I've read that some of the Australian drosera are difficult
>to grow in the US. I wonder if the problem is the difference in minerology
>of the Australian soil and trying to grow them in mixes that might be
>missing certain minerals that they have evolved to depend upon.
>
>Thanks in advance,
>David
>Atlanta
>
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