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Biting the bullet... i want pygmies!

Clint

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i want to try pygmies.... but i'm afraid they won't grow in the hot Georgia weather! i need all advice and any beginner species to start out with. i really wanna try them because i've never grown them before.
 
Grow them inside under lights or on a sunny window sill. They want a lot of light. They like to be close to growlights depending on the model. Pygmies don't seem to require highland temps but genenral room temps 65-78f suit them well for growth. They can grow outside in the spring and fall provided there isn't frost. Try to grow species and hybrids that don't require a dormancy and can grow in room temps year round. eg. D. pulchella, D. scorpioides, D. pygmaea, D. occidentallis etc. These and more can be grown like D. capensis, although they like it moist, not sopping wet or sitting in water, and they are better suited to house humidity than terrerium humidity although they would enjoy a pebble tray(Shallow water not touching the pots) especially when heating or cooling is blowing full blast and lowers the house humidity into the 20's. Many pygmies grow well this way, but without a dormancy and changing photoperiod they won't form gemmae and in some species, flowers, They will still thrive though.
 
In habitat the weather is seasonally very hot to very cool (only occasional frosts). I grow mine indoors during the months where there is freezing weather close to the light tubes, and outside all other times. As Slurm notes the pygmy species are happier with much less water in the mix, I have grown them in mix that was bone dry at the surface, and some of the more sensitive types really need this sort of treatment. It is easily achieved by using a higher quantity of silica sand in the mix. I use 70/30 sand/peat to good effect with a layer of pure sand at the top for the summer sensitive species. These sensitive types should not sit in tray water unless in flower, and the top of the mix should be allowed to dry off as the summer progresses, the goal being to keep moisture in the depth of the pot where it can be reached by the long and hairlike roots. These roots are fragile and care must be taken not to damage them when considering transplant (better to start them all from gemmae as transplants have a high rate of attrition) The easier species are ammenable to wetter conditions (even submerged for periods). The real issue is light: they are very light demanding and will seldom prosper in terrarium settings.

More of my methodology can be found at:

http://www.cpzine.com/article.aspx?cid=13&y=2002&m=10&d=12

They are truely amazing plants which will reward you with amazing flowers and jewel like variations of form and color.
 
so then i can't grow them outside in the summer? what a bummer! i'm afraid it'll be much warmer that the temps in NY.. who knows. i don't have nearly enough light by the sounds of it in my terrarium and our house is surrounded by big oak trees on 3 sides and big fig trees on the side my room is on...

i had no idea D. scorpioides didn't require a dormancy.
 
I had some D. Scorpiodes last year but they got attacked by mold. My terrarium was in a horrible condition last year though. ONly one of the gemmae actually grew. I hope I can try again and grow it on my windowsill. I think it faces like.. Southeast? Yeah southeast.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (JustLikeAPill @ July 08 2005,8:19)]so then i can't grow them outside in the summer? what a bummer! i'm afraid it'll be much warmer that the temps in NY.. who knows. i don't have nearly enough light by the sounds of it in my terrarium and our house is surrounded by big oak trees on 3 sides and big fig trees on the side my room is on...

i had no idea D. scorpioides didn't require a dormancy.
Why not? They grow in close to desert conditions in nature and mine are in my very hot but half finished greenhouse and they are thriving
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Starman @ July 14 2005,1:37)]Why not? They grow in close to desert conditions in nature and mine are in my very hot but half finished greenhouse and they are thriving
Not true. Those that do grow in drier habitats (nothing like a desert) look terrible during summer and most of the population dies. They are replaced by gemmae produced in autumn.

Having said that, I doubt whether most of the more commonly grown species (which also happen to be the easier to grow ones which originate from damper locations) would have any problem growing outside in full sun. A bit of shadecloth may be beneficial though to ensure that they look healthy.
 
fantastic! could you list a few extreme-beginner species/hybrids? i'm in the dark here.
 
a lot of pygmies around are easy, such as D.scorpiodes and D. 'Lake Badgerup'
 
  • #10
A number of the easier to grow species include- D. pulchella, pygmaea, nitidula ssps, occidentalis ssps, ericksoniae, callistos, scorpioides, paleacea ssps and a host of others. The species that are easy to obtain are generally the easier to grow species.
 
  • #11
fantastic! thanks for all your input!
 
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