Thanks for the comments.
Here’s a pic of the over 2 and a half year old plant….. Dead.
In it’s better state, alive last summer.
Flowers.
I have never tried the Slack method for growing Drosophyllum lusitanicum. It sounded more complicated then I was willing to try……
Drop some seed in a pot. Now that’s my speed, well maybe just a touch more involved, but not much.
Let’s start with the pot. I grow my Dewy Pine in an 8” plastic pot. I place the seed in the pot that I want it to grow and spend its entire life span in.
I have read where some people germinate them in a small pot and then transplant the plant to a bigger pot. I think most unestablished small plants are touchy when transplanting, and knowing that this plant is extremely touchy, why chance it?
Place the seed in the 8” pot and be done with it, almost (see seed preparation).
My old soil mix was perlite, vermiculite, and play sand in equal parts. This time I use a soil mix of perlite (30%), vermiculite (30%), play sand (30%), and a touch of peat (10%).
As for watering; after mixing my soil and filling the pot I soak the soil till the water runs out the bottom of the pot.
Seed preparation: I use fine sandpaper to sand the seed coat before placing it into the pot. When I can start to see some white through the seed coat, it is sanded enough.
I have read where some people will soak the seed 24 hours in water before sowing. I myself have never tied this and so far have not seen the need.
As for keeping the soil moist, I mist it everyday to keep the top of the soil damp. I continue misting like this till the plant is bigger. Then I no longer mist and water the pot twice a week, letting it dry out more. If you let it get too dry, you can tell the plant is stressed by floppy leaves.
Currently the pot is in my south facing window and will stay there till the plant is larger and can be moved outside.
During the Spring / Summer / Fall: I grow my Dewy Pine outside in full sun. During this time the plant gets watered every other day.
During the Winter time I bring the plant inside and grow on the wooden shelf in front of the window.
Winter humidity: 30 - 50% (Lower humidity in the day. I have the humidifier on my furnace set to around 45%. Furnace does not run much, sun shines in the room where I grow the plants and heats the area up.)
Winter / Fall temps: I keep the house cool. Heat set to 64 degrees. (Humidified air feels warmer then dry air) During the day it can hit mid 70's with the sun shinning in the room where I grow the Dewy Pine. Nights can drop to low 60's.
Hope this helps.