Date: Tue, 10 Aug 99 23:52 EDT From: Dave Evans <T442119@RUTADMIN.RUTGERS.EDU> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2886$foo@default> Subject: Re: Queensland cp sites or nurseries; propagating D. filiformis
Dear Tierney,
> Second, I need a bit of advice on propagating my D. filiformis. When it
> started to bloom, I cut off the stalks and on a whim I stuck them into the
> soil in the same pot; not laying down flat but just the cut end in the soil.
> In a few weeks a bunch of baby plants had formed up around the flower buds,
> so I laid those stalks flat in a tray of milled peat so they could root.
> Those are still doing fine, so figuring that D. fili is easy to propagate by
> flower stalk cuttings, I took off all the rest of the stalks and just laid
> them flat in the same tray of peat with the others. They are now starting to
> rot, not root. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Yes, don't cut off the flower stalks. Each flower will self, if
not pollinated by some helpful bug. From these flowers, you will
get hundreds of seeds. All very fresh. Ready for planting. This
species may require stratification, but many people report good
germination if the seed of VFT and some other plants are sown right
away. I just let mine seed themselves in my bog and they come up the
next spring where they may. If I could give them the room, I would
have thousands of plants in just a year. BTW, I sent in a whole
bunch of D. filiformis (Manchester, Ocean Co., NJ) into the ICPS
Seed Bank, so they would also be good source for seed, in place
of the missing flowers.
To make pups from the leaves, just remove a not very old, but
at least nearly fully formed leaf and nestle it in some living
Sphagnum moss, where it will still get good light, but never dry
out. Wet it down with a hand sprayer so it makes good contac with
moss and/or soil the whole length of the leaf. Don't let the moss
overgrow the pups which should start to form in or before a month's
time. If your cuttings last for more than a week, then this is a
very good indication that your conditions are right and that the
leaf is getting ready to make pups. If it's brown, that's it, end
of story, no pups. Try again.
I'm being flip, but I can't tell you many cuttings I have
tried which didn't work the first time and tried again with
something a bit different (or radically different, like floating
bits of leaf--the more intact w/ petiole included the better--in
water in little glass vials) and have this work good. Brighter
or lower light, more moisture or less, you name it, it can have
an effect on the growth, vigor and number of pups produced.
Dave Evans
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