TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk
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How are your babies doing? In 07.29.11 pic, you had more than 25 little plantlets coming along. So -- how did they do? How many are separated & growing? That was a huge number of sprouts for a species that doesn't reproduce via leaf propagation!!
I've had much better luck with root propagation babies than growing from seed babies but haven't tried D. regia leaves yet.
Another great thread debunking CP myths - similar to Aaron's D. graomo leaf propagation debunking. Supposedly D. graomogolensis couldn't be propagated via leaves either ...
potted_plants
101% noob
These were cuttings from my typical. No Big Easy anything here.
According to him it was not a 'Big Easy'. Though it could be a mistake... I doubt it, but it is still indefinite.
Again it doesn't prove or disprove anything. I can give you D. rotundifolia 'Charles Darwin' and tell you it is just D. rotundifolia. You'd never know it was 'Charles Darwin' just from looking at it. If you treated it as any other D. rotundifolia and let it go dormant you'd never know it was 'Charles Darwin'. If you passed it around as just D. rotundifolia maybe somebody down the line years later might find out it doesn't need dormancy and think they have something new. And the person that gave it to them might swear they have no 'Charles Darwin'.
And again it is possible to have a plant that is not a clone of 'Big Easy' but have some of the same properties such as easily grown for leaf cuttings.
As for D. graomogolensis Fernando Rivadavia's write up in the Carnivorous Plant Newletter 25(4):134-137 1996 he states the plant is very easy to propagate from leaf cuttings. It's just a matter of getting the optimal temperature range.
And again it is possible to have a plant that is not a clone of 'Big Easy' but have some of the same properties such as easily grown for leaf cuttings.
As for D. graomogolensis Fernando Rivadavia's write up in the Carnivorous Plant Newletter 25(4):134-137 1996 he states the plant is very easy to propagate from leaf cuttings. It's just a matter of getting the optimal temperature range.
Sadly, the majority of the plantlets didn't fair so well, though it was more due to my neglect than anything on their part. Moved recently and so my dews suffered a few months of neglect with minimal attention. When I finally came around to noticing the majority of them had died, I sprang into action and saved the remaining 4 plantlets. Didn't feed them much so they remained relatively small during that time as well.
When I repotted them about a month ago, I started feeding them more regularly (soil and leaves) and since then they have put on some nice size. I soil fed 3, and soil fed and leaf fed 1 to see what difference it made. The one that was leaf fed is now about 3 times the size of the ones that was only soil fed.
As for whether it is 'Big Easy' or not, it stands to reason that if one Regia plant can successfully propagate via leaf cuttings, than certainly others are able to as well. That's not to say I am stating all Regia plants stand to have he same level of success with leaf cuttings, but surely, there exist other seed grown that have similar ease of ability to propagate via leaf cuttings. Where there is one, there are likely to be others.
Given the ease of propagation from root cuttings of the species, I would venture a hunch that a majority of growers have simply heard of the difficulty of leaf propagation and opted to forgo even attempting it. I would certainly not be surprised if more people had success if they were ready and willing to let go of preconception and to just give it a try. Experimentation is after all half the fun in growing plants.
Just my 2cents; its worth declines more each day.
When I repotted them about a month ago, I started feeding them more regularly (soil and leaves) and since then they have put on some nice size. I soil fed 3, and soil fed and leaf fed 1 to see what difference it made. The one that was leaf fed is now about 3 times the size of the ones that was only soil fed.
As for whether it is 'Big Easy' or not, it stands to reason that if one Regia plant can successfully propagate via leaf cuttings, than certainly others are able to as well. That's not to say I am stating all Regia plants stand to have he same level of success with leaf cuttings, but surely, there exist other seed grown that have similar ease of ability to propagate via leaf cuttings. Where there is one, there are likely to be others.
Given the ease of propagation from root cuttings of the species, I would venture a hunch that a majority of growers have simply heard of the difficulty of leaf propagation and opted to forgo even attempting it. I would certainly not be surprised if more people had success if they were ready and willing to let go of preconception and to just give it a try. Experimentation is after all half the fun in growing plants.
Just my 2cents; its worth declines more each day.
Thanks for the info.
How do you leaf feed (foliar, bugs, fish food, etc)?
Gnats and springtails when I happen to see one while checking on the plants, but amount of gain from those seem to be somewhat less than betta fish pellets crushed and placed onto the leaves. The amount I used is dependent on the size of the leaf. Using the crushed pieces, I've actually not had much burning or die back of leaves as I originally thought I would have, but regardless, I never attempt to feed the same leaf. Occasionally, I've been as bold (or lazy 
) as to just stick a whole betta pellet onto a filliformis leaf and even then, I haven't had it burn (full grown filliformis, I wouldn't suggest people read this and stick a pellet onto a seedling). I've yet to try that amount on other dews however.
When I soil feed, it's usually a low concentration in a spray bottle. This is mainly to allow for me to spray the leaves gently as well. Not sure how much noticeable benefit this has on the sundews, but I have tried this on many with little ill come from it over the past year. I emphasize that the dosage is very low though (about a 1/4 - 1/8 of recommended concentration).
And to conclude, I leave the usual disclaimer - what works for me may not work for everyone (especially as it pertains to ferts) so proceed with caution and happy growing
edit: On a side note, I am planning on trying osmocote on the regia. I believe this has been tested with adult plants, but not sure I've read it being done with seedlings/plantlets. I could be wrong. In any case, worth a shot to see if my soil feeding lack of results is merely due to the dilution of the ferts I use. Osmocote pellet should be a bit more of a kick to the plants system I am hoping. Time will tell.
) as to just stick a whole betta pellet onto a filliformis leaf and even then, I haven't had it burn (full grown filliformis, I wouldn't suggest people read this and stick a pellet onto a seedling). I've yet to try that amount on other dews however.When I soil feed, it's usually a low concentration in a spray bottle. This is mainly to allow for me to spray the leaves gently as well. Not sure how much noticeable benefit this has on the sundews, but I have tried this on many with little ill come from it over the past year. I emphasize that the dosage is very low though (about a 1/4 - 1/8 of recommended concentration).
And to conclude, I leave the usual disclaimer - what works for me may not work for everyone (especially as it pertains to ferts) so proceed with caution and happy growing
edit: On a side note, I am planning on trying osmocote on the regia. I believe this has been tested with adult plants, but not sure I've read it being done with seedlings/plantlets. I could be wrong. In any case, worth a shot to see if my soil feeding lack of results is merely due to the dilution of the ferts I use. Osmocote pellet should be a bit more of a kick to the plants system I am hoping. Time will tell.
