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D.adelae

It has recently come to my attention that there are two different populations of adelae in cultivation. One is the green/reddish leafed plant offered by Home Depot etc. The other clone has very narrow leaves and can turn deep red under good lighting. This clone grows with lots of sun in its habit. Does anyone cultivate the second clone?
 
I have the second clone, but so far it has not offset for me.  When it does I will remember you are seeking it.  There are also pink and white flowered clones which I am looking for as well.
 
D'Amato mentions in The Savage Garden that white flowered clones of D.adelae often change to red flowered forms. Maybe it has something to do with the soil mix or something else...
 
That sounds like quite a reversion! Well, I hope I have the chance to answer this question :)
 
Hmmm...I wonder if that is like roses reverting back to their wild rose "heart."

I also wonder if that is what Martin has. I remember his photo of his adelae and it had long thin leaves and was very red. Whichever it was, it was a beautiful plant.

Too bad those varieties aren't readily available.

Suzanne
 
Yes, I think the adelae that Martin showed is the red form. It is said to be much more tolerant of lower humidity and higher lighting. I have also seen this form grown at the botanical garden located at UC Berkeley when I went there a year ago. The plants were growing in long-fibered sphagnum alongside a sarracenia.
 
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">D'Amato mentions in The Savage Garden that white flowered clones of D.adelae often change to red flowered forms. Maybe it has something to do with the soil mix or something else... [/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

That's quite common in "sports" after all. I've often wondered about the mechanisms involved. I think is a selection deal, with certain growing points "reverting" and being favored by the environment.
 
My understanding of D. adelae is that when the plant is grown in brighter light condtions it turns red and grows more compact with narrow leaves. If its grown in less light, it will stay green and produce large leaves.

I have 3 D. adelae that had green leaves when purchased but now have turned red. I will check my photos to see if I took a before and after photo.
 
Well, I'm no sundew expert, but many plants are known to have drastic flower color changes in varrying pH's. The most common shifts are blue/white to pink/red. I can see a red flower turning white in higher pH's.
 
  • #10
Darcie,

Higer Ph would kill a CP as it would be basic
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I am currently growing a form of D. adelae know as 'Red Giant' that I recieved from the ABG. This plant has a distinct red colour to it even under light that is not promoting extreme red colouration in other Drosera
 
  • #11
My adelae is a nice green with red dew driplets. It also produces red flowers. I have noticed when it gets alot of light it will turn more reddish. Also in the reddish stage it seems to grow slower and has shorter leaves. The opposite when it does not get enough light it produces longer narrow leaves and it has a nice green color to it.

Travis
 
  • #12
Darcie's comment coupled with comments made by Tamlin when I visited him and a few observation by myself have got me thinking on the flower colour thing. Tamlin noted to me that plants grown in peat or any media with a slight mineral content tend to show more colour than plants in a totally devoid media. I have noticed this same phenomina in plants that I grow.

I wonder if it is possible there is some trace mineral that the plants are picking up in cultivation that is not found in their native habitat and this is why we see the colour shift. If would not be the higher pH noted by Darcie but possibly something else, trace Fe, Mg or the like.
 
  • #13
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Pyro @ Mar. 31 2003,11:20)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Darcie's comment coupled with comments made by Tamlin when I visited him and a few observation by myself have got me thinking on the flower colour thing. Tamlin noted to me that plants grown in peat or any media with a slight mineral content tend to show more colour than plants in a totally devoid media. I have noticed this same phenomina in plants that I grow.

I wonder if it is possible there is some trace mineral that the plants are picking up in cultivation that is not found in their native habitat and this is why we see the colour shift. If would not be the higher pH noted by Darcie but possibly something else, trace Fe, Mg or the like.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Please remember that higher pH is all relative.  You can still have acid conditions at more then one level.  Also, it should be noted that Live Sphagnum lowers the pH more then peat alone does. And soil that is in use will start becoming more and more acidic over time. I would guess the red pygment shows up once you hit a certain threshold. But it could also be a mineral thing. Their is an easy test though, if anyone has a suspect color changer take a pice of the plant and dunk in acid or basic solutions and see how the color changes
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The only CP I know to grow in both extream acid and extream base conditions is the Northern Purple Pitcher.  In acid it grows normal, but is Basic soils it turns green and is thinker and brittle.
 
  • #14
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Darcie @ Mar. 31 2003,11:39)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Please remember that higher pH is all relative.  You can still have acid conditions at more then one level.  [/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
I am well aware of the trends of pH, I was a chemistry minor and I did tutor 4 different chemistry classes for 4 years
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The examples you cited where flowers change colour were over an extreme pH range, from true acidic to true basic. And so, in this case I am correct in saying that a similar experiment for a plant as sensitive as D. adelae would result in the plants death

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Also, it should be noted that Live Sphagnum lowers the pH more then peat alone does.  And soil that is in use will start becoming more and more acidic over time.  [/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

Not quite the case. I believe peat and sphag are equal in their acidity. And over time media tends to lose acidity hence the need to repot or water with peat tea.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I would guess the red pygment shows up once you hit a certain threshold. But it could also be a mineral thing.  Their is an easy test though, if anyone has a suspect color changer take a pice of the plant and dunk in acid or basic solutions and see how the color changes
smile.gif
[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

Considering the colour change in this hypothesis would be the result of gradual uptake "dunking" it in a basic solution would not show any change (and would probably kill the plant to boot.)

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">The only CP I know to grow in both extream acid and extream base conditions is the Northern Purple Pitcher.  In acid it grows normal, but is Basic soils it turns green and is thinker and brittle.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

D. linaris can grow in both (prefers nutral/basic) Cephalotus has been reported to take high slat concentrations. N. mirabilis is a weed and can grow most anywhere, ditto U. subulata and D. capensis. Almost all Mexi-Pings and many (if not all) North-temperate Pings enjoy neutral/basic conditioins.
 
  • #15
oh thanks for the CP info pyro. Hee hee, I didn't mean dunking the whole plant, lol! I meant a piece of it. I'm sorry for misswording my origenal statement, my bad. As for acid levels in peat and live sphagnum your right in that they start about the same, but the peat will loose it's acidity as you mentioned while the live sphagnum consistantly produces acid. When you first add sphagnum to a system, the pH may be higher then ideal for it, so the sphagnum will work to adjust the pH to proper levels, hence some medium becoming more acidic with time. Basically, Sphagnum manipulates it's own inviornment, thats why it's such a successfull group of plants
smile.gif
 
  • #16
I have never tested pH, so I may be blowing smoke, but a lot of Sarracenia people say if you want your red tube form to show more red, to use peat. Now maybe they were comparing peat to LF sphagnum(dried), which would not have as low a pH as living)I presume).
Interesting banter, though.
Pyro, is it possible to get another specimen of that clone from ABG, you think?
I don't grow adelae like I used to, but I started with a plant and they reproduced from plantlets all over and some grew narrow leaves that were purple and some next to them were green, but it was all from one original plant. It was not fussy if it was in LF or peat mixes.

Regards,

Joe
 
  • #17
A lot of people use 100% inorganic materials to grow plants in so maybe thats what they ment.  I've got a batch of seedlings like that, but I'm not sure they are all the same spiecies, although I think they are mostly if not all a form of spatulata, if anyone want to help ID them they are in the "Darcie's sundew pics" topic, hint hint, lol
 
  • #18
there are 2 flower colour forms, red and greeny white. all adelae grow reddish narrower leaves in full sun & lower humidity. the young leaves of the species are more round and become narrow as the plant matures.
 
  • #19
This is a very interesting topic. I have noticed a definite trend towards less coloration in plants grown in sphagnum moss. when I first started growing my D. falconeri in a mix of LFS and pearlite I got very little red to my plant, despite conditions of full sun. I top dressed the medium with iron rich laterite, and the plant colored to a deep red in a week.

(Joseph, could you post those comparison of your D. capillaris grown in both live moss and peat?)

I have little doubt that plants in peat are taking up something via the roots that is present in peat but
is missing in LFS. I think also that PH does play a role in coloration, but I have not determined how great an effect this variation of Ph has.

Regarding the forms of D. adelae, light intensity dictates both lamina shape and coloration, but as CPk2 noted, there is a long thin leaved form that is distinct from other D. adelae, being almost linear with little widening of the lamina at the middle. Also, as a matter of observation, humidity levels are optional with this species. It will do fine in lower humidity conditions if weaned to them over time. I have also had them growing in nearly bone dry LFS! The trick is in acclimating them over time, or starting them in the conditions in which they will grow. Remember, even tropical Australia experiences very harsh summer conditions, and these plants have adapted to survive.

As always, I urge growers to experiment, and to push the limits. Don't accept the literature as gospel truth, but rather use it as a guide until you have sufficient material to experiment with. Once you have spare plants, try the "nevers" and forget the "always", but keep it in mind to go slow, or to start out hard from the seedling stage and let nature take its course. The best plants I have were grown outdoors from seed in as harsh an environment as possible, not from babying them in terraria.

D. adelae is a perfect example of "traditional" cultivation advice. Although the plants grow very well and quickly in wet conditions of low light, they assume a different character when grown in full sun and lower humidity. I grow mine both ways, and they all do well.
 
  • #20
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">D'Amato mentions in The Savage Garden that white flowered clones of D.adelae often change to red flowered forms. Maybe it has something to do with the soil mix or something else...[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

I don't think it has anything to do w/ soil mix or pH as I have a clone of his plant. When I first got it had red flowers. I think during Fall of last yr, they turned yellow. Now the flowers are red again. I have been using the same type of water and have not replanted. The plants have been in the same general location, so I don't think it's the light level either.
 
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