My Drosophyllum

[DJ57]

This pot of drosos are looking a little messy, but it is flowering again this year.

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Here are a couple seedlings from 4 seed dropped into a pot outside not meant for drosos and left outside forgotten and exposed to the elements all winter. Hmmm, I think I will try this again instead of actually trying to germinate seed inside the house in "special" soil medium and "contolled" conditions.

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This seedling is from seed planted inside the house under "controlled" conditions, haha.

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[mato]

I think you're going to have to write me a manual..

 

[EntHerptology]

Looks great! Reminds me more of a pot of grass than a carnivore because of its vigor.

Good growing,
Kenny

 

[mylesG]

i can hear that big plant crying out for a trimjob

 

[Exo]

I wish I could get em to sprout that easy!

 

[mass]

Looks beastly Deej!

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Woot looking might fine! Looks like you need to have a 'controlled burn' on that mature specimen ;>


I have to start a few more plants..

I am considering trying a large pot out on the deck this year which I can toss into the garage to overwinter.

 

[DJ57]

I think you're going to have to write me a manual..

I am trying to start one for you, haha. Running out of things to bring to the rendezvous anyway.

Looks great! Reminds me more of a pot of grass than a carnivore because of its vigor.

Good growing,
Kenny

It does kinda look like that, haha. There are technically two original plants from seed in there somewhere, one of which put out an offshoot from the stem at a very early age making it look like three plants in the pot. The rest are offshoots that grew out from flower stalks and stems last year.

i can hear that big plant crying out for a trimjob

I wish I could get em to sprout that easy!

Last year they sprouted easy for me, this year I tried different methods and not as much luck except for the ones I threw outside and ignored.

Looks beastly Deej!

Yeah, thought I would go for that unorganized look. Have you put yours outside yet?

Woot looking might fine! Looks like you need to have a 'controlled burn' on that mature specimen ;>


I have to start a few more plants..

I am considering trying a large pot out on the deck this year which I can toss into the garage to overwinter.

Controlled burn, It needs something. Wonder if it would sprout anew if I torched it? hmmm.

Yeah, I pull mine into the unheated garage after the first couple frosts and put them in a large south-facing window under a shop light. I spray them with 1/4 strength orchid fert every so often through winter and provide an occasional bug or two like tiny baby crickets and they are happy.

Do you need seed?

 

[jimscott]

I think you're going to have to write me a manual..

That's how I feel!

 

[maxima]

Awesome DJ! Two of my plants have like 15-20 flowers each, they look just terrible right now.

 

[bluemax]

Those look totally awesome, Dj. Is that first pot 12" across?

 

[DJ57]

I think you're going to have to write me a manual..

That's how I feel!

Here ya go. I have tried several methods with these, and here is what has worked best for me for droso seed germination to date in my PNW conditions...your results may vary. I have gotten germination anywhere from 14 days to 3 months.

I use 6-cell plastic seedling inserts and small Jiffy pots, although it seems easier to me to control moisture in the plastic seedling inserts.

I scarify the seed with a small file on the side of the bulbous end, scraping off the surface of the seed and being careful not to get down to the "white" part. All you need is a small area scarified. Sometimes I put the seed in distilled water while I prepare the inserts and sometimes overnight, but have not noticed any difference in germination rate or speed whether I soak them or not. Before planting the seed, I place a very thin layer of pure peat on top of the soil media to keep the seed from falling down into the bulky medium and to retain the moisture the seed seem to need for germination as I don't top water or spray the seed as my conditions seem to encourage mold on the seed. I place the seed on the surface of the media scarified side down, two in each cell. After planting, I mark the calendar and completely ignore them except to keep enough water in the tray to keep the soil surface moist.

Media: Roughly equal parts perlite/pumice/washed play sand, and just enough peat to retain some moisture. No scientific measurements, I eye it and thoroughly wet the mix, grab a handful and squeeze the water out, and if the soil ball falls apart easily when I open my hand I call it good.

Water: Tray method, keeping the moisture as you would for sarracenia. I don't top water as in my conditions the seed tend to mold.

Light: A south-facing garden window that gets full sun 8-10 hours a day, and also outside with less sun as I put the inserts under a table so the rain does not wash the seed out.

As I stated at the top, this is what has worked for me in my particular conditions and in no way implies this is the only way to get droso seed to germinate (see below). Many others have had success using different methods than mine. I don't have indoor setups with strong grow lights, climate control, fans, etc., so work with what I have.

Last year in August I threw 4 seed straight from the seed pod into a gallon nursery pot with the standard soil mix used for sarrs and left it out exposed to the elements in the hot August sun and through winter, which was a particularly mild winter. I did not scarify the seed and did not protect them from the weather (actually forgot about them until I tripped over the "empty" pot in early spring). Two of the seed germinated, but was obvious the rain had bounced the seed around as one of them germinated between the soil and the edge of the pot. Both are thriving in that pot, so resisting the urge to transplant them into a "proper" soil mix and pot to see how they do as they grow.

 

[DJ57]

Awesome DJ! Two of my plants have like 15-20 flowers each, they look just terrible right now.

Awesome, just love those big yellow flowers and with that many must be some sight...pics? Are you hand-pollinaing them? I get better seed set when I do that, but since they only stay open for a day it is hard to catch them.

Yeah, mine don't look as good when they are flowering either, but they bounce right back after the seeds have matured.

 

[DJ57]

Those look totally awesome, Dj. Is that first pot 12" across?

It is a 10" terra cotta pot. This year I am going to use 12" pots, maybe two to a pot.

 

[maxima]

Awesome, just love those big yellow flowers and with that many must be some sight...pics? Are you hand-pollinaing them? I get better seed set when I do that, but since they only stay open for a day it is hard to catch them.

Yeah, mine don't look as good when they are flowering either, but they bounce right back after the seeds have matured.

Unfortunately I've missed their bloom, DJ I was out of town for a month so I was able to pollinate only a few flowers. I'm at least thankful none of the plants died in spite of being dry for 3 weeks.
This one has 20+ flowers on it. There's another plant like this and the others have about 6-7 flowers on them.
I collected my first seeds today!

 

[DJ57]

Unfortunately I've missed their bloom, DJ I was out of town for a month so I was able to pollinate only a few flowers. I'm at least thankful none of the plants died in spite of being dry for 3 weeks.
This one has 20+ flowers on it. There's another plant like this and the others have about 6-7 flowers on them.
I collected my first seeds today!

Nice one! Easy to miss the flowers even when not away as they are only open for like half a day. They do get a better seed set if hand-pollinated, but they self-pollinate also so you should get some seed from some of the ones you missed especially if they are outside attracting bugs. Congrats on the seed you collected.

 

[DJ57]

Okay, update on some of the droso seed I planted...germination begins! Some were sown in a plastic 6-cell seedling insert on a very thin layer of peat on top of the bulky media to keep the seed from getting lost between the perlite and pumice, and some in small Jiffy pots without the thin layer of peat. Media is perlite/pumice/sand/peat. I have 10 successfully germinate so far.

The first 5 pics were taken the day after a rain storm had beaten them up a bit, the last 3 were protected under a table that day.

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This pic is an update of how the two seedlings are doing from seed I planted in a standard peat/perlite soil mix last year and left outside all winter. The tiny one on the left growing between the soil and side of the pot is not doing too well and I may try to transplant that one.

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[maxima]

Wow DJ, awesome! I was about to send you a pm the other day to ask if you tried sowing any fresh seeds. I have better germination in autumn so I was wondering if I should wait with my own fresh seeds. Your pics are very encouraging, loving the red hue on the tips, I guess this is as healthy as they can get.

Have you noted the germination time ?


edit: What's that big red plant in the background in the first photo ?

 

[DJ57]

In the little pots, germination time took 3-1/2 weeks to 3 months. The ones with a thin layer of peat germinated the quickest. The two growing in the standard CP mix were planted last year in late August and germinated in February or March of this year.

The red plant in the background is some kind of Japanese Maple.

 

[DJ57]

Update on the droso that germinated from seed sown in a gallon nursery pot in the standard soil mix for sarrs last fall and left outside over winter.

At the end of June, I finally decided to uproot and repot this droso into a 12" terra cotta pot with my normal droso soil mix, knowing full well I was pushing the limits according to the literature. I carefully removed the plant with the soil intact around the roots and discovered the root was near the bottom of the one-gallon nursery pot when some soil fell away at the bottom of the soil plug. I immediately transplanted the plug into the large pot and below are the results of my stupidity (trying to transplant a droso past the seedling stage).

What the plant looked like before trying to murder it, very nice

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What it looked like just after transplanting

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What it looked like 15-20 minutes later, leaves laying flat on the surface of the soil

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After throwing up and a day or so of mourning, I put the pot in the shade and put a dome over the top to see if it would recover. Over the next few days the leaves started browning from the ends down and it was still laying flat. I knew it was toast then, so removed the dome and put the pot back out into full sun. I decided I did not want to waste all that fresh soil in the large pot, so was going to give the plant a proper burial and replace it with one of my small Jiffy pot droso seedlings. I got busy with other stuff and so did not get to doing that for several days. When I went out to take care of the "dead" plant and put a fresh seedling in the pot, this is what I found:

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And this is what the droso looks like today, I guess it really wanted to live...and I almost threw it in the compost pile!

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I will never again try to transplant a droso past the small seedling stage, lesson learned! I guess though that pushing the limits once in a while furthers our knowledge.