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Drosophyllum Killer Babies

Shadowtski

Supporter
My first Drosophyllum germinated July 18th, the second a few days later. They have both caught prey already. They are between 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch tall. I did not help them in any way. I did not put the bugs on the plant. They did this on their own at only a week old. Way to go! Sorry about the poor picture quality.

Drosophyllum02.jpg


Drosophyllum01.jpg


Drosophyllum03.jpg



Good growing,
Mike
 
Too cool. That's such a large fly on that small leaf. How many more seeds are you waiting on for germination?
 
I would really like getting into drosophyllum, if you don't mind my asking. How often do you water and what soil mix do you use?
 
I had 18 seeds but dropped one in the grass while scarifying it. Graceful I'm not. So 17 got planted and 3 germinated so far. The first germinated 15 days after planting. I'm waiting on 14 more seeds but to be honest, I would have been happy with just one seed germinating.

Good growing,
Mike
 
Mix is 80% Perlite, 10% Peat Moss, and 10% sand. I'm watering by the tray method until they have 6 leaves, then I'm switching to top watering, letting it get somewhat dry between watering. I planted the seeds 1/4 inch deep. and covered the pot with a clear bowl until the first seed germinated then I removed it. It looks like the captured prey are Fungus Gnats. They are pretty large compared to the size of the plant.

Good growing,
Mike
 
Are they already in their permanent pots? Or are you going to transplant them after they get bigger?
 
Mix is 80% Perlite, 10% Peat Moss, and 10% sand. I'm watering by the tray method until they have 6 leaves, then I'm switching to top watering, letting it get somewhat dry between watering. I planted the seeds 1/4 inch deep. and covered the pot with a clear bowl until the first seed germinated then I removed it. It looks like the captured prey are Fungus Gnats. They are pretty large compared to the size of the plant.

Good growing,
Mike
Thanks, I'll probably get a plant that's already germinated, since I doubt my parents would approve of me burning seeds in my backyard :p
 
Are they already in their permanent pots? Or are you going to transplant them after they get bigger?

They are in a 6 inch pot that's 6 inches tall. I'll see how this works. If it doesn't, I'll try a bigger pot next year.

Good growing,
Mike
 
Thanks, I'll probably get a plant that's already germinated, since I doubt my parents would approve of me burning seeds in my backyard :p

Scarifying is scratching the outer seed wall until you can see the lighter colored endosperm inside. No fire is involved, unless you want to barbecue some burgers and brats while you're working.

Good growing,
Mike
 
  • #10
I use a scalpel to remove a portion of the seed shell from the side. It's fast and I've not lost a finger yet.
 
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  • #11
They don't let me have sharp or pointy objects. :)
I soaked the seeds for 24 hour, scratched the outer seed-coat, then soaked the seeds again.

Good growing,
Mike
 
  • #12
They are in a 6 inch pot that's 6 inches tall. I'll see how this works. If it doesn't, I'll try a bigger pot next year.

Good growing,
Mike

Nice job, looking good! Don't give up on the other seed, it can take months to a year for some to germinate. Their roots go really deep quickly and might be coming out the bottom of a 6" pot before the season is over. If you plant more seed, consider using Jiffy pots (peat pots) so you can just plant the whole peat pot into a larger pot once germination takes place without disturbing the plant/roots. I would suggest not going smaller than an 8" pot. If you have the space a 10" terra cotta pot provides good space for the root system and the life span of the plants will be longer.

If enough of the seed you have planted germinates to get enough to play around with, the size of the one in your photos is a good size to transplant them into larger pots, being as careful as possible not to disturb the roots too much (go deep and wide when scooping them out). At this size they are not as delicate as the literature suggests and I have transplanted many successfully at this size. Might not want to try this if you only have one though.

My soil mix is similar to yours and I can keep the soil for seedlings as wet as I do for my sarracenia until they are a little less than half the size of an adult plant before cutting back on watering. Smaller seedlings are not as tolerant of letting the soil dry out as adults are in my experience/conditions (in the wild they germinate during the rainy season). However, I germinate and grow mine outside during the growing season so growing in greenhouse conditions might require a different watering regimen. I have seen a lot of people lose Drosos due to keeping them too dry than to rot from keeping them too wet.
 
  • #13
Scarifying is scratching the outer seed wall until you can see the lighter colored endosperm inside. No fire is involved, unless you want to barbecue some burgers and brats while you're working.

Good growing,
Mike

Oh, I had heard that wild drosophyllum needed fire to germinate in the wild, so I thought that was what it meant. Thanks for correcting me.
 
  • #14
"...no entanto , I germinar e crescer mina de fora durante a estação de crescimento tão crescendo em condições de estufa pode exigir um regime de rega diferente. Eu vi um monte de pessoas perdem Drosos devido a mantê-los muito seco do que a apodrecer de mantê-los muito molhado..."

DJ57, This is rare topic q talks about greenhouse. My first attempt here, is also being a greenhouse.
A doubt, this is spring and I reside in the coastal area, high temperature.
After germination, which approximate time you leave in greenhouses?
I leave my thanks.
 
  • #15
Here in the Pacific Northwest I germinate my Drosophyllum outside in early spring and they grow outside until the first or second frost of fall, at which time I bring them into my unheated garage in a south-facing window with shop lights overhead. So, I have no experience growing them in a greenhouse.

Your seasonal temperatures look to be fine for Drosophyllum year-round so you may be able to move them outside anytime after germination in spring. I am not sure about growing them outside in your rainy summer months if you get high humidity as well because they are very susceptible to rotting, but again I have no experience with that as we don’t have high humidity here and not anywhere near the rainfall you get. Perhaps a consideration in your climate if growing outside would be not leaving them in water trays especially during the rainy season, or growing them in a greenhouse during that time.

I don’t keep mine sitting in water trays at all during the growing season, just top water until the water runs out the bottom when they need it (I grow them in 10” or greater Terra Cotta pots). They enjoy lots of sunlight and don’t seem to be bothered by high temps, even 37 C doesn’t seem to negatively affect them here in the PNW, and they tolerate light frosts well also. Mine are kept in full sun throughout the growing season, from germination until fall frosts. The advantage to growing them outside here is that they have big appetites and they catch plenty of prey on their own. In winter when they are in the garage I foliar spray them with diluted orchid fertilizer or Maxsea about once a month. They tend to slow down in growth in winter.

I would be interested to hear of your growing experiences with Drosophyllum in your climate! Good luck with your seedlings.
 
  • #16
It is my first experience with Drosophyllum. I see we have a lot of information to be exchanged if my results are positive. If ok and good results.
I know nothing, I tried to inform me and general videos. I made a summary and this being:
- 70% of river sand and 30% sphagnum + charcoal + perlite. I chose well, more sand and less substrates that store moisture. I note that you just use river sand, I the opposite. It is my first attempt. I watch newly germinating seeds 2 in 21 days. Unfortunately here only rain and no sun. When the sun, I expect better results.
Achieving germination, they will be transplanted to the pot at 60 days.
I will pass on when more germination.
 
  • #17
It's been 4 month since germination and the largest one is now 4 1/2 - 5 inches tall. What's interesting is that the first one to germinate does seem to be inhibiting the growth of the others. I was feeding them equally but the second to germinate is only about 2 inches tall and the third to germinate is only 1 inch tall.


Drosophyllum%20004.jpg


Good growing,
Mike
 
  • #18
I think this is a myth. They probably would have even different growth in different pots.
These are now two years in the same pot.
http://www.terraforums.com/forums/s...sophyllum-company-sandy-pine-forest-soil.html

I cant make out now which one was first. There are between 5 and 11 adult plants in one pot. None died yet. Only one was very small at the beginning. It flowered in the first year and stayed small all the time. All the others flowered in the second year up to three times each.
 
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  • #19
It is a myth, it's been pretty thoroughly debunked. Most likely what happened here is that the first seed that germinated is just a more vigorous plant and hence is growing faster.
 
  • #20
It is a myth, it's been pretty thoroughly debunked. Most likely what happened here is that the first seed that germinated is just a more vigorous plant and hence is growing faster.


I'm sure you're right. It just seems funny that their size is so disparate and follows their germination sequence. I'll just keep feeding them and hope that #2 and #3 catch up eventually.

At any rate, I'm happy that one has made it this far and looks so healthy.

Good growing,
Mike
 
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