What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Tuberous Sundew help: Temps

johnnyfrye

I like drosera.
Hi all,

I've always wanted very very much to own a D. Erythrorhiza, and now that a certain vendor is having their dormant tuber sale, this is my chance. However, I'm not sure I'll be able to take care of it for one reason: temperature.

My CPs are all grown in one room. This room has no heat, and since I live in California it stays about room about temperature nearly year round. All of the plants are in terrariums (10-gallon tanks with plenty of lights) around the room, and all of those are a little bit above room temperature inside. If I were to order a tuber, once it breaks dormancy it would have to grow with my other plants in this slightly-above-room-temperature enviroment.

My question is; is this possible, or will it die? Is there a solution? If there isn't a solution, might it work with Macrophylla or another rosetted?

Thanks,

-Johnny
 
you dont list your temps but tuberous dews grow during cool wet times of the year and are dormant during the hot dry times.....if this helps.....my zigzagia are growing in temps of around 60-65 right now.....they went through 85* last summer.......
 
Drosera erythrorhiza is a difficult species. Starting from a good rhizome is a definite plus, but unless you can provide intense light the odds of success for long term growing are probably not high. You're likely to get a seasons growth, but the tuber must prosper to return after the needed summer dormancy. It isn't so much the cool temps that are the issue but rather the photoperiod and light intensity. California is a sunny state, so that's good if you can grow outdoors. Cool temps always intiated growth here in upstate NY, but I can't say how likely this would be in warm Ca. This species is likely to be pricey, so I would suggest starting with easier and more ammenable tuberous species like D. peltata, D. auriculata, D. stolonifera to hone your skills and test if it is possible under your conditions. Under 8 flourescent tubes, it wasn't for me long term although other tuberous species did well enough.
 
just a heads up, read the rules....your not allowed to name vendors other than FlyTrapShop.com
 
Price: Price isn't much of a problem; I can get a hold of dormant tubers for only $25 each with a wide selection, rosetted and erect types both, from an online nursery that's having a winter special. I can also probably get some from my friends at LACPS meetings.

Species: I've always admired Erythrorhiza, but Tamlin is right; I might go for an easier one such as Macrophylla and then try to find Erythrorhiza when I'm more experienced with tuberous dews. My tanks are too short for most erect tuberous dews, and I like the rosetted better anyway.

Note: One thing you might want to know... my house has absolutely no place outside or at a windowsill that gets more than a couple hours of sunlight. We're surrounded by trees and connected to another house on the north side, so no outside CPs for me. However, I do have two 40-watt T12 tubes and two 40-watt EcoLux tubes over every terrarium in my setup, for a total of four bulbs that span the entire width of the top of the tank. I also have white posterboard attached to the back and sides of each tank. The bulbs are on a timer for about 12-14 hours daily in winter/autumn and 14-16 hours in summer/spring. Trust me, my plants get plenty of light, even though I can't grow outside.

Summary: Again, my main and only problem is temperature. Does anyone have any experience growing Macrophylla or other rosetted varieties in a slightly-above-room-temperature tank (it never gets too warm in there though... when you stick your hand in you notice it's just a bit warmer than the outside air) with optimum lighting and photoperiod? Will they survive in higher temps?

Thanks,

-Johnny


P.S. - @SirKristoff: Oh yes, I forgot! Fixed.
 
Note: One thing you might want to know... my house has absolutely no place outside or at a windowsill that gets more than a couple hours of sunlight. We're surrounded by trees and connected to another house on the north side, so no outside CPs for me. However, I do have two 40-watt T12 tubes and two 40-watt EcoLux tubes over every terrarium in my setup, for a total of four bulbs that span the entire width of the top of the tank. I also have white posterboard attached to the back and sides of each tank.

Trust me, my plants get plenty of light, even though I can't grow outside.

Having 8 years experience with the tuberous complex I am going to refute this a little. Tuberous by and large do not do well under tubes. Yeah you can get them to grow but they do not thrive. For the last couple years I have had mine under a 1000w HID system and they have done wondrous. Prior to that I had them under a 400w HID and while they did well the difference between then and now is an order of magnitude.

To say that your tuberous will get plenty of light when you do not have any experience with tuberous just seems overly optimistic to me.

The bulbs are on a timer for about 12-14 hours daily in winter/autumn and 14-16 hours in summer/spring.

Your photoperiod is not going to be amicable to tuberous. As winter growers they are used to very short days. My timer is set to a 9/15 cycle. I push it to an 11/13 when I want to start triggering the drop into dormancy. 12-14 hours on is going to confuse the plants


It isn't so much the cool temps that are the issue but rather the photoperiod and light intensity.

I am going to disagree with Tamlin on this a bit. Temps can and do play a role independent of the photocycle. The occasional spike to a higher than normal temp will not have a great impact on the plants, especially if there is a dramatic drop in temps over night (10-15 degree drop.) However, sustained higher than normal temps without an obvious difference in day/night temps will tweak the plants. There are a few exceptions to this, most notably the less stringent species like peltata.

Summary: Again, my main and only problem is temperature.

Again, I think it is folly to make this claim when you have no experience with tuberous and if you go into it convinced that you are not going to have any problems then you are almost guaranteeing failure.

Does anyone have any experience growing Macrophylla or other rosetted varieties in a slightly-above-room-temperature tank (it never gets too warm in there though... when you stick your hand in you notice it's just a bit warmer than the outside air) with optimum lighting and photoperiod? Will they survive in higher temps?

I have not grown macrophylla but I have plenty of other rosette species. THe only one that I have been able to grow at a "constant" temp (i.e. no major flux between day and night temps) was my D. orbiculata in my highland grow area where, in winter, the temps basically run 20-23C. And while it grew it did not do so strongly. All others I was trying to grow there suffered and I eventually gave up that experiment.
 
Oh, maybe you're right. I can't grow them outside, I don't have a greenhouse, my tanks are too hot, and you say they don't do well under tubes... and I have almost zero experience with tuberous dews. It sounds like a pretty thick predicament.

I'm pretty sure now that I won't get a tuberous rosetted for a while, unless I make an entirely new setup specifically designed for tuberous dews. But that's another project.
 
Reading back over my post I came off a little harsh. Sorry about that. I was not trying to say you can not ever grow tuberous, just that I felt your mindset going into it was almost certainly setting you up for failure. And I really hate to see people do that.

By all means I think you ought to try tuberous. I just think you should start with something that is a little more forgiving and a little more common. Plus something you can get here in the US already on a N. Hemisphere cycle is going to make your life easier (trust me, getting the S. Hemi ones cycled right can be a bear of a project, even when you have been doing it for years.)

See if you can track down some peltata or auriculata or menziesii. Go a couple rounds with them (I would say at least one full season so you can get a feel for everything they will do.) Make sure you have a good feel for what it really takes to grow this section. Once you get that down then you can start stepping it up to the tougher ones.

Cheers
 
No problem! Even so, I was probably being a bit too optimistic.

I should be able to find a Peltata/Auriculata at the LACPS meeting on the 21st. If it does end up doing well and I find out what works, then maybe I'll go gradually up to more challenging ones like you said.

Thanks,

-Johnny
 
  • #10
I'll thank Pyro for that correctiion regarding the importance of temperature variances. Here in Upstate NY, we get a good differential at almost all times of the year and my observations and experience with this group are limited. Warm weather always sent some into dormancy, esp. the rosetted species, but the climbing species were not so quick to go.

Don't feel bad Johnny, when Phill Mann stayed with me back in the 70's he brought me a collection of tuber's I weep over still. BIG tubers! I was living in a trailer and had only a terrarium in a sunny window with some flourescents over it. I failed with every one of those tubers. These plants are best grown outdoors. SIGH, we can always admire the photo's, right?

If I remember correctly, I had Drosera whittakerii growing when my pygmy species were blooming fully, say around May or June. Temps were in the 70;s and max 80's with a 5-10 nightime drop. For me this was the easiest of the rosetted species. Remember, it's always fun to try, even if there's only a little hope of success.
 
  • #11
Remember, it's always fun to try, even if there's only a little hope of success.

never hurts to try.....just is best to have realistic expectations going in......ive learned interesting things about CP's doing things my own way and not following "the rules" but its usually best to establish a baseline to go from before you start going off the beaten path and the best way to do this is to follow the advise of those that have had success......starting with peltata and such and doing your best with them will establish this baseline for yah Johnny......
 
  • #12
I found this thread and since it is relevant to my question I post it here if you dont mind:
UPDATE: I have a question. The weather here is beginning to look like the spring one...finally (God that was a long winter!). So I placed the pots with tubers outside to get some sun. To my sincere joy I doscovered that Drosera whittakeri ssp. aberrans is waking up (and also D. menziesii ssp. menziesii-but is too small to take picture with my sh.tty camera). Others are still sleeping. So since some started active growth I began to sprinkle some water on the substrate. My question is about the temperature: during the day it is 10-17C so it is ok but at night we still experience 1-4C sometimes. Are the growing plants in danger if I leave them outside 24/7? Thanks:) Some pics:
Daberrans.jpg


detail:
Daberrans2.jpg

(I hope for some flowers soon:)
 
  • #13
Klasac,

Growing outside 24/7 under the conditions you describe should be fine. In my sunroom my plants experience temps down to freezing and do just fine. The big thing to remember is to protect them from frosts, especially a hard frost. Other than that you should be good.

Cheers
 
  • #14
Thank you Pyro!

We do not expect any sub-zero temperatures so the plants should be fine. Cant wait for the other tubers to come out! :)
 
  • #15
I have a question about D. whittakeri ssp. aberrans......is it a slow grower?> Because we have had perfect weather lately and after two weeks from the shot above it looks like this:
P4090004.jpg


P4090002.jpg


I am afraid she will not have enough time to grow before it gets too hot (in 2 months)...
 
  • #17
Don't start drying them out until they start to die back on their own. D. peltata, auriculata, and whittakeri don't seem to mind being kept moist all year anyway.
 
  • #18
k thanks :D
 
  • #19
Yeah, my tuberous have started to die back, I guess it's time to get them out.
 
  • #20
Here is what aberrans looks like now when we get 20-25C in day and 8-12C at night:
DSCF0006-4.jpg


DSCF0008-6.jpg


Does she flower every season or not?
 
Back
Top