Tuberous Dormancy...

[kath]

Hi.
This is my first year growing tuberous sundews, and I started with a pot with 2 D. Auriculata in it. They grew fine, died off, went dormant - but they've been dormant for over a month now and I wasn't aware that you were supposed to protect them from dryness and the sun - so I left them out on the windowsill... and there soil looks pretty dry now! Tomorrow I'm planning on putting them in a bag and transferring them to a warm but darker spot and putting them in a humid zip-lock - but is it too late for this? I am wondering if I may have already killed them - and I was thinking if I put them in darker place with more moisture/humidity they might think it's winter and start growing again if they are alive?
What should I do?
And also, would it be fine to sprinkle my other tuberous sundew seeds (D. Auriculata 'hamilton' and D. Peltata) in the same pot, in different corners? Would this work?

 

[Not a Number]

I think the main thing is not letting the pots overheat in the sun and cooking the tubers. Some people just move the pots into a shady area and don't water them until growth resumes.

The only way to find out is to move them bagged or otherwise and see if they come back to life in the fall.

No reason why you couldn't seed the pot with other species or varieties just so long as you are willing to take the risk of forgetting or confusing which plants are which.

 

[Pyro]

I have allowed pots to turn into bricks and still had plants pull through. They prefer to be treated a little less roughly but they can survive.

Moving them now likely will not trigger a reup in growth, I find that it takes a drop in temp to trigger that (usually down to 5C) so if they are kept warm all should be good.

I would advise against sowing multiple seed in the pot unless you do not care about not knowing what is what. D. peltata and auriculata are very similar and it would take an expert to tell the difference between them. And even if they are initially sown in different corners, things have a way of shifting around.

 

[seedjar]

I've variably been told that you need to let them go completely dry, kind of dry then cover them, or not worry at all and treat them like a dryish houseplant while dormant. Once mine die back I usually water just enough to dampen them every few weeks, kind of like a succulent. Last summer I left them outside and between the rain and the temperate climate here they were actually growing actively before summer was even half done, and are still going strong in the dead of winter now next to my Ceph, Helis and highland Neps. I don't expect them to die back for at least a few more months.
~Joe

PS - I got flowers from my D. stolonifera this year. In fact, they've been flowering for at least two months and show little sign of stopping. The buds that have shed their petals now appear to be swelling. Is stolonifera self-fertile? How do I know when to harvest? Do they turn brown and crack open on their own like other Drosera? The excitement!

 

[Pyro]

Hey Joe,

Interesting results thanks for sharing.

D. stolonifera is not self fertile, at least none of the growers I know have ever been able to pull off a self fertilization. But it is possible you have found the fluke plant that does,

 

[seedjar]

They probably aren't... I can hope, but for whatever reason, I'm not totally convinced that the buds have been fertilized. They've been swelling and everything, but they look like they're still growing somehow and not like there are seeds being sheltered inside. I can't really explain it. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed.
Thanks,
~Joe

 

[kath]

I sowed the other tuberous seeds in the pot... on different sides.
The D. Auriculata are exactly in the middle - I know where they are because there wilted stems are still standing

I also assume that the other baby tubeorus sundews will start out looking a lot smaller? They'r enot just going to go from seed to the size of my adultish D. Auriculata's

I will transplant them once they have reached finished theri first year, so they don't have time to ge tmixed up

 

[Pyro]

I would be extremely careful when you decide to transplant out, make sure you key out each individual plant because I guarantee the seed will shift, they always do.

For example:

See what the tag says?

A macro crop from the same photo and another. That sure ain't erythrorhyza growing up out of that pot LOL

 

[Not a Number]

Yes, the Drosera seed pixies have a way of moving things around. For instance I got a tiny clump Drosera brevifolia in trade in a pinch of Sphagnum no bigger than the tip of my thumb. I planted this dead center in a 3 inch pot of sand and peat moss. Some time later at Drosera burmanii sprouts near the edge of the pot. At the time I did not have this species in my collection although the person I had traded with does. But how did the seed get from the center of the pot to the edge? Perhaps it floated there when I top watered to settle the freshly planted clump.