I just wanted to share my bookeeping method with you all. When I am ready to ship gemmae, I go to my email folder and review the saved email there. I look for a name that matches the SASE you have filed with me. If you have followed my instructions, the most recent email from you will have a name that matches the address on your SASE, a current list of the gemmae you have received, and a request if you would like additional material. I then go by this list and send new species as requested.
If there is a name in the email folder that does not have a SASE on file or an updated growlist, I make an envelope and send whatever I currently have. The problems arise when I check my sent list and find a name of someone I have sent to that did not pplace a SASE on file with me, and did not email me with a current updated list and/or a request for more gemmae. In this case I do not know if the gemmae arrived, what I sent, or if more is desired.
If you have updated you list by way of personal messages here or at the UK Forum, or if toy have updated it on this post, then this is not enough. You MUST email me. Pondboy, this includes you ;-)
Every email to me should have 1) your full name and mailing address (unless you have a SASE on file and it wouldn't hurt even if you do!) 2) an updated list 3) a request for HOW MANY more species you would like. I need this every time you receive gemmae.
Don't think because you spoke with me on the phone, messaged me, or traded with me, or have been a friend for years, that this will carry the day. You must email me, without exceptions.
I am dealing with over a hundred seperate individuals and multiple sendings, and this is the ONLY way I can track things.
If there are any problems with blurred labels, inviable gemmae, etc. etc. please let me know. I will correct any spelling errors when I review your lists, and will resend inviable gemmae if it is possible.
The offer remains open, but new interested parties, please review my initial posts for the details regarding this giveaway.
My address will be found earlier in this thread.
As far as my own collection goes, there were many losses over the summer, but whatever is remaining is looking really good right now! The rosettes are like fat little marbles, every color of red and gold you can imagine. The weak have died off, giving room for the survivors. I recommend that you not sow the gemmae to closely: crowded plants will not have the distinction individuals with space around them have.
Right now the D. pulchella forms have begun to produce a few gemmae. Most of these will go to my supporters that have kindly sent their donations, but I hope there will be some to spare to the rest of you. There is no sign of gemmae yet from many of the more rare species, but I continue to hope. The season can extend well into Feb. for some of these species.
It's a lot of fun to me to see your excitement at growing these jewels of the genus Drosera, and I hope that you will all in turn do your best to spread gemmae from your own plants. The only way to keep this material in circulation is to share, and also to learn what they need. Remember, by summer the excitement will have waned a bit, and the plants themselves will not be as pretty. It's easy to forget them then, but this is when they need the most attention: once the initial prolific flowering starts to drop off, you need to be aware of how they are responding to your conditions. This is the sensitive time when many species go dormant, and if kept overwet they will rot. There is good evidence (thanks Vic) that removal of some of the flower scapes will better insure that they make it through the summer. My own tentative experiments are supportive of this.
These are sort of "hands on" species. Cruise control works only until the mid-flowering season, and then you need to be alert! If you can bring a couple of rosettes through the summer, you will have gemmae to repopulate in the fall and winter, if not......poof...and you will be looking for someone that has a better touch than you do next gemmae season. This is why the sensitive forms are so hard to find: they produce plenty of gemmae, but growers often lose these species and need the gemmae of the few survivors to repopulate their own collections. There are many of us that depend on the few that have mastered the technique needed to successfully grow the more sensitive types.
Also, please be SURE to be meticulous with your plant labels. These plants are best grown outdoors as has been mentioned. Weather and animals out there will try their hardest to erode your ID methods. Where possible, use both a stake labeled in PENCIL, (not laundry marker!) as well as a name inscribed directly on the pot itself. Labels fall out, are dug out, washed out, faded out, blown away, or pecked out! Every year I lose more species by confusion than I do to culture, so take heed all you pyggers!
Finally, many of you are trying some different methods: taller pots, pure sand culture, terrarium and windowsill culture: your experiences are vital to helping others learn what can and can't be done. Please report both your successes and especially your failures so we can all get an idea of what works.