TerraForums - Carnivorous Plant Community
Welcome to TerraForums — a long-running carnivorous plant community established in 2001. Register for free to join the conversation, ask questions, and connect with growers from around the world.
NASC Auction will open in...
Read the rules first :)
NASC auction is OPEN!!
All Things Petiolaris
- Thread starter bluemax
- Start date
Share this page
pappydew
I hate bugs. Carnivorous plants get me.
10 gallon aquarium + heater = instant petiolaris terrarium. My ambient temp range is consistently 65-75F but I can keep the plants at 80-95F (with excruciatingly high humidity) pretty easily. I suppose some of y'all with more temperate climates might have a bit more of a struggle this time of the year if your grow areas get a bit colder than my apartment, but there are other ways to insulate to keep the heat in.
Last edited:
I should reword: where I currently live, I have no place that I could convert to a proper environment that isn't already taken up by plants and animals (and my family probably would not smile on me putting a plant tank in my sister's or my parents' bedroom, about the only spaces left).
I'm guessing that many, if not most, who read this will know exactly what you are saying.
More Drosera fulva
I've been very happy with this form of Drosera fulva, with its pinkish-red traps and brilliant green petioles but I want more of them and don't want to wait for seed. And I haven't been too successful with leaf pullings. Here's how I have been multiplying my petiolaris plants. I take a very sharp knife, generally an X-acto but anything razor sharp will work, and carefully removing the plant from the soil with as much root intact as possible I cut it into quarters. I then plant each section in fresh soil and keep it in the same conditions it was growing in before. I have had very good luck with this technique, sometimes even getting more than one plant from each quarter. It does take some courage the first couple of times but it really is pretty safe. It can also take some patience requiring two months or so before new growth is seen on each portion that is going to strike (you may not have 100% success but will likely increase your number of plants.) More sure than leaf-pullings and less involved than growing in sterile media.
I've been very happy with this form of Drosera fulva, with its pinkish-red traps and brilliant green petioles but I want more of them and don't want to wait for seed. And I haven't been too successful with leaf pullings. Here's how I have been multiplying my petiolaris plants. I take a very sharp knife, generally an X-acto but anything razor sharp will work, and carefully removing the plant from the soil with as much root intact as possible I cut it into quarters. I then plant each section in fresh soil and keep it in the same conditions it was growing in before. I have had very good luck with this technique, sometimes even getting more than one plant from each quarter. It does take some courage the first couple of times but it really is pretty safe. It can also take some patience requiring two months or so before new growth is seen on each portion that is going to strike (you may not have 100% success but will likely increase your number of plants.) More sure than leaf-pullings and less involved than growing in sterile media.
A few new photos
Life has been hard in the hot tank for the last few months :concern:. I have treated for a nearly-microscopic fly and some of the plants have been assaulted by black mold. Spraying all of the inhabitants of the terra with tobacco tea set things back but did seem to remove the insect pests. In addition I have lowered the humidity, increased the circulation and sprinkled a lot of powdered cinnamon and the mold is now diminishing. On the plus side I have added some spectacular specimens that I hope to highlight more in the not-too-distant future. Here's the best of how it is now:
Drosera petiolaris
D. lanata
D. (ordensis x falconeri) x brevicornis The photo doesn't quite get the amazing color of the traps which is a bright orange/red.
D. ordensis - one of many possible forms. This one's obviously on the mend.
Anybody else have petiolaris photos to post?
Life has been hard in the hot tank for the last few months :concern:. I have treated for a nearly-microscopic fly and some of the plants have been assaulted by black mold. Spraying all of the inhabitants of the terra with tobacco tea set things back but did seem to remove the insect pests. In addition I have lowered the humidity, increased the circulation and sprinkled a lot of powdered cinnamon and the mold is now diminishing. On the plus side I have added some spectacular specimens that I hope to highlight more in the not-too-distant future. Here's the best of how it is now:
Drosera petiolaris
D. lanata
D. (ordensis x falconeri) x brevicornis The photo doesn't quite get the amazing color of the traps which is a bright orange/red.
D. ordensis - one of many possible forms. This one's obviously on the mend.
Anybody else have petiolaris photos to post?
Wow. Glad to find this thread.
I started growing petiolaris group last year, but I've had some failures.
D.dilatato-petiolaris and D.lanata (maybe D.derbyensis) good multiply many times. D. paradoxa, D. falconeri remain small or death.
You're doing great, I think I'm probably wrong.
My petiolaris box is 12 inch aquarium tank that is much shorter than yours, and the LED array light is directly exposed. I don't use a glass cover for the tank, and there is a gap for the LED array. It is very hot inside the box.
In Japan, planting in Sphagnum moss is mainstream, so Japanese hobbyists prefer this. But they smell rotten.
I don't use a fan and a heater.
Looking at your post, it seems like you're using tall pots and tall boxes. Is this the root length of the petiolaris group, or a reproduction of the local soil?
I recently got D x (broomensis x paradoxa) and D. caduca so I don't want to let this one fail.
I started growing petiolaris group last year, but I've had some failures.
D.dilatato-petiolaris and D.lanata (maybe D.derbyensis) good multiply many times. D. paradoxa, D. falconeri remain small or death.
You're doing great, I think I'm probably wrong.
My petiolaris box is 12 inch aquarium tank that is much shorter than yours, and the LED array light is directly exposed. I don't use a glass cover for the tank, and there is a gap for the LED array. It is very hot inside the box.
In Japan, planting in Sphagnum moss is mainstream, so Japanese hobbyists prefer this. But they smell rotten.
I don't use a fan and a heater.
Looking at your post, it seems like you're using tall pots and tall boxes. Is this the root length of the petiolaris group, or a reproduction of the local soil?
I recently got D x (broomensis x paradoxa) and D. caduca so I don't want to let this one fail.
I grow my petiolaris with a wet/heated bottom and have found some of them love to send roots down into the very hot water. Here is an example of 3' long root on one of the plants! Petiolaris complex roots... 3' long.
Do the roots thrive in warmer water? If so, I might need to get an aquarium heater, pump, and a deeper tank.
Based on my experiments with D.lanata, the effect of soil will affect leaf development.
In this photo, 100% dry Sphagnum on the left and peat and perlite on the right. They grew up in the same tank.
It seems easy to turn an aquarium into a bathtub.
If I keep water in it, I think I can maintain the humidity and temperature.
I'll try transplanting it into peat/perlite.
If I keep water in it, I think I can maintain the humidity and temperature.
I'll try transplanting it into peat/perlite.
I have upside down pots with light diffuser grid over it. Thwn I fill the bottom with water where an aquarium heater running. When its time to water the plants I raise the water level to the pots and within a day it's below the grid again.
My plants: Post in thread 'adnedarn's photo thread' adnedarn's photo thread
My plants: Post in thread 'adnedarn's photo thread' adnedarn's photo thread
