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Drosophyllum seed sowing

Hi,

I'll be sowing some Drosophyllum seed and I've done my reading (scoured old posts!), but still have a few questions:

1. Potting mix: I think I'll use a 1:1 sand:perlite mix. I'd also like to use the slack-method for potting. Is the potting mix good and, more importantly, is it appropriate for slack-potting? Any info on slack-potting (is it freqently used, is it "good/bad", etc). The inner pot will be 4" and outer will be 6" (both clay)

2. Seed germination: I think I'll try the method in which seed is soaked in gibberellic acid for 24hrs (with seed endosperm exposed), and seed kept in shallow water (with daily changing) until it germinates. Another popular method, it seems, is placing the seed on pure perlite until it germinates. Any favorites out there?

3. Placing seed in pot: I read that the seed must be placed 1/4" into the potting mix and covered. Am I correct? It seemed a bit strange to me, considering most CP seeds shouldn't be covered.

4. Any other germination and cultivation tips would be appreciated.

Thanks for your time. Looking forward to any replies (and to successfully germinating some Drosophyllum!)

Best regards.
 
Is that the same as dewy pine? Elegecko has one. Ya may wanna contact him about it.
 
I used equal part sand, perlite, and and vermiculite mix for my plant. I do not use the slack-method. I just use an 8" pot.

For seed germination I did not use gibberellic acid. I just lightly sanded the seed pod. I did not bury the seed, just placed on top of my sand perlite mix and let it go.

I kept the soil fairly moist for the first few weeks after germination, and keep it fairly dry.

Dlusitanicum.jpg

Drosophyllum lusitanicum

edit: added and vermiculite in soil mix
 
Thank you for the info; it's much appreciated.

That looks like a plastic pot--is it?  I would prefer using plastic over clay as the latter tends to grow algae and fungus when constantly damp (as it would be for the first few weeks).
 
Looks great Steve.  Is that just indoors with the rest of your plants?  I was thinking of trying some in the house here in my South window.   How old is your plant and how does the plant fare through the Winter?

Oh yeah.. for anyone that hasn't read it. Jan and Kamil have a fantastic article on their website D. lusitanicum

Tony
 
Hi Tony,

I have grown Drosophyllum on my south facing windowsill for the last year. It has done very well. I bought it as a seedling, and it flowered a few months ago and has just released several seeds, although I must admit it looks slightly ratty at the moment as the old crown seems to stop growing when it flowers and it'll take a while for the new shoots to grow large. I use a mix of approx 2:1:1 sand/peat/John Innes, as recommended by Slack. My plant's also Slack-potted. Elgecko's plant looks great, however, so there must be more than one way in which to grow this magnificant species successfully.
 
chloroplast,
It is a plastic pot.

Tony,
I started the plant from seed around this time last year, so about 1 year old.
It grew indoors as a windowsill plant in a south facing window until this year, late spring when it finally warmed up. Now I have the plant outside in full sun all day. If they are calling for rain I bring the plant back inside the house.
It was definitely wanting more light then it was getting in the winter. Growing toward the window. I do not supplement the windowsill plants with extra light, which they could use in the short daylight hours of winter.
 
Greg Allan,
Thanks for the complament.

I just remembered something. My soil mix was equal parts sand, perlite, and vermiculite. I forgot about the vermiculite.
 
Elgecko, thanks.

Greg, I'm curious, what are the diameters of your slack-pots?

I'm at a cross-road.....the single pot method seems so much more straightforward, but there will be a few times when I won't get a chance to water my plant for up to 7d and with such a free-draining potting mix I'm afraid it couldn't handle such long periods between waterings.

My main concern with slack potting is that the root system is required to travel through the small hole at the bottom of the smaller pot in order to reach the larger pot. This must necessitate extreme caution when moving the pot, otherwise the inner pot may shift and damage the roots.

Now that I think of it....here I am worried about my mature plant's large root system.....and I haven't even sown the seed yet!
smile_n_32.gif
 
  • #10
I was reading this because I'm concidering getting a Drosophyllum sometime soon, but probably not until next year. I was wondering, what is the slack potting method?
 
  • #11
I've always started the seed by lightly sanding it to expose a tad of the white in one spot then putting the seed on top of wet coarse sand until germination in about ten days. I will then transfer seed to a large 12" or so pot filled with a 40/40/20 mix of perlite, pumice, and peat. Looks funny for a while having a tiny plant in such a big pot but by the end of the first season it will fill th pot nicely as the plants grow very fast.

Brian
 
  • #12
Had to look back a ways to find this picture.
I took these shots 23 days apart. This helps to show how fast the plant does grow.

133dewy-pine.jpg
 
  • #13
I can give a thumbs-up for the sanding method. Also for your pot dilemma - I used a plastic pot with a rather large hole underneath, which I taped up. I figured that if I needed to slack-pot later, I could do so by removing the tape. My plant died due to gusty wind that knocked it over, but I was having success with it up until that time. I used 1/3 peat and sand at the bottom, middle 1/3 was sand, perlite, and dirt from my backyard. The top 1/3 was sand and dirt with chunky rocks to hold it all down ;)
 
  • #14
[b said:
Quote[/b] (ChronoKiento @ June 20 2005,5:57)]I was wondering, what is the slack potting method?
It is explained in the link I provided.  Along with a nice photo showing the setup.

double pot method or pot in a pot
 
  • #15
There's a lot of interesting info....

Purp-guy, at first, I was thinking the same thing. When potting, I live by a simple equation: small plant + huge pot = overpotting = root rot = plant death. But after I considered the potting mix I'll be using and after seeing Elgecko's series of pictures, I don't think an 8" pot will suffice!

Wickedthisle, even after having all those rocks it still blew over? Perhaps you should move out of typhoon land!
smile_m_32.gif


And my favorite line from the awesome link Tony provided:

"For the first time we tried burning the old leaves in December ’00 in place of laborious and long mechanical removal performed previously."

I just have one thing to say about that:

BURN THE PLANT! ON PURPOSE!?
confused.gif
smile_k_ani_32.gif
smile_t_32.gif


THAT's JUST EVIL! >;-D

Well, that's enough sarcasm for one night.....
 
  • #16
Chloroplast,

My larger pot is around 5 1/2 inches in diameter. Perhaps it is slightly small. I may have to Slack pot for a second time if the plant continues to flourish for a second year. It is an ideal setup for watering purposes. I water it every few days, in the summer, but the soil in the inner pot is always bone dry. This seems to suit the plant. My inner pot is stuck fast in the peat/sand/John Innes mix. I suspect that root damage due to pot movement may only be a problem if a lighter mix containing perlite is used. Interestingly. however, Slack himself reports that his plants always died when he transported them to shows. Maybe this was a result of his otherwise exellent potting method.
 
  • #17
Hi Greg,

Hmmmm....a slack-potted slack pot!....in just under 2yrs!
smile_m_32.gif


I can imagine what It'll look like after (God willing).....10yrs!

More seriously, whether or not it was your intention, I think what you did makes sense for people who don't have enough space to start their seed in a 8-12" pot.

What you said about your inner pot has convinced me that slack-potting may not be the way for me to go. There will be times when I'll be gone for up to 7d and though the dewys like being on the drier side, I've read from most people that they detest being totally dry. I think this is what would happen if I used a really free draining mix and slack potted, and didn't water for 7d. Maybe I'll put a couple in slack pots and a couple in regular to see which do better for me.

One helpful tidbit.....on the ICPS website, they suggest placing the seedlings into small peat pots (with holes in them), and then when they become larger, place the peat pot into the large final pot. The peat pot will decay over time. This saves space at the beginning (which helps if you're using artificial lighting to get these guys going), can save a lot of potting mix (I'd hate to throw away 4 8" pots filled with potting mix if the seed doesn't germinate/dies), and prevents the possibility of damaging roots by repotting.

Thanks again for the help/advice.
 
  • #18
i just got my seeds, now how do i prevent them from dieing of damp off fungis, does any one have tips on keeping it alive in new york, (mostly about winter requirements, not dormancy but tips on keeping it indoors in winter)
 
  • #19
Hi Santiago,

I sowed a few seeds in July on small clay pots. I now have three seedlings that are around 7cm high. They are on a sunny windowsill. I don't think you need worry about damp-off if you are growing them indoors. Also, I believe that seedlings are quite tolerant of flooding; I keep them standing in a little water most of the time on the advice of a Dutchman named Jan Vissee who is an expert Drosophyllum grower. I have grown the seedlings' parent plant on a windowsill for well over a year now, and I believe the UK's winter conditions are not too dissimilar from New York's. I keep my plant pretty dry in winter, giving it a little water every 7-10 days. The soil surface is always bone dry. The room in which it is kept is pretty cool all winter, but it never freezes. I think it is important that your plant receives as much sunlight as possible. I know one UK grower who grows his Drosophyllum as bi-annuals as they get too straggly during their second year, and I suspect that my own adult plant will go the same way by next autumn. Fortunately, as I have already mentioned, I am already growing the next generation of seedlings, however. If your plants germinate and survive the winter, they should flower in the spring or summer.
 
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