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Wolfn

Agent of Chaos
Well, I found a Drosera Regia on sale for a good price. However, I hear it's difficult to grow. Would I be successful at growing this plant with the following conditions:

1) On my screened-in porch which gets partial sunlight (Venus Fly traps, Sarracenia Purpurea, Cape Sundews, Mexican Pinguicula, and various Nepenthes species are all happy here)
2) A well-drained soil (2 parts perlite, 1 part peat moss)
3) Chilly temperatures in the winter, but in the summer it would be about 85 degrees (maybe a little higher, but it's in a screened in porch so it won't get as hot as if it were outside in full-summer sun.


What do you think? Should I give it a shot?
 
I don't know anything about Regia.

However I have a recommendation, have you thoroughly reasearched this plant? what it needs, likes, hates etc?

You seem to like to take on the harder plants immediately which isn't necessarily bad, but it might be a bit discouraging if something happens to them. IMaybe you should expand your collection with easier species and spend some time with them, see which ones like your conditions and such and use them as guidelines for the more difficult ones.

If you feel like you can grow it, and if your conditions match those recommend for the plant go for it. Also if you grow it outside I think they need a bit more attention, outside conditions can be pretty random. LLike in the case of your cephalotus which maybe got killed because of the sudden rains and cold weather. So maybe keeping an eye on the weather and predicting whats to come can help a lot, and have a back up plan for when outside gets to unsuitable, if you have to aboslutely grow them outside.

Good Luck!
 
Sounds like it might not get enough light, and since your in Florida, in the summer it might not get enough of a night time cool down. If you do get one, you might want to consider taking some root cuttings. Trust me, its good to have backups!
 
I have 2 D. regia's that I have grown for 3 years, I got them when the leaves were around 3-4 inches, the leaves are around 10 inches or more on each plant currently, although I have read they can be up to 2 feet. They grow with my highland nepenthes and cool growing paph.'s, I keep them in a south facing windowsill. As for night time temperatures, I get the temp. to drop to 60 degrees F. MAX in the summer time to 50 degrees F (spring, fall, winter) the later being ideal. Day time temps are around 70 degrees F, 78 MAX in summer (i get the AC going when it gets beyond 78). Soil is 50/50 peat-perlite mix, and I keep them in saucers of RO water making sure they never dry out. Give it a shot if you want, they are great plants. However I do know they like cool temperatures, so 85 may be too warm unless you want to protect it from being fried. I might suggest bringing it into an air-conditioned room at night, and moving it to a cooler location in the summer if you can. Good luck with a decision.
 
I agree with Celtics. I tried growing a Regia this summer indoors with 85-90F temps and my Regia did go dormant, as predicted by everyone. But it did come back once I moved it to the cooler basement, where it is now doing fine. I've heard of people growing it in windowsills, but I always add fluorescent lighting since D. regia seems to love light (and will turn reddish if given plenty of it).
 
I don't grow it, but I have heard that it likes cool nights (about 50F, like highland neps).
 
Probably what stands out to me the most with this species is the requirement for high intensity of light. Other wise you get one leaf declining, one leaf peaking, and one leaf emerging, perpetually.
 
There are a couple extensive threads about this species on the ICPS forum. It looks like these plants do best with a nightly temperature drop. There is some input from growers in Florida, and of course Brian Barnes posts on TerraForums too.
 
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