And the Plants!

[NeciFiX]

http://terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=120193

Thanks to many of you, my obsessive perfectionism has been sated. I have finally been able to get an estimate as to how my grow-rack and situation will look like. However, I know Highland/Intermediate Nepenthes should do alright in this type of situation, as well as Cephalotus [well, it should, I mean, I grew one for two years in a Wisconsin windowsill where it got freezing temps and then scorching in the summer and it loved it, flowering and growing rapidly] and possibly Heliamphora [I'll try it sometime down the line].

I want some Dews to go with it. I've only grown D. capensis, really, I've had many types of VFT's, several Pings, a few Neps and a lot of Sarras, but, never have I tried Drosera extensively. I may have had a few D. filiformis, but, that's it.

What kind of Drosera might fit into this category and be fine with its Nepenthes brethren? I've done some research and found a few plants, but, really, the list is still rather small and I'd like some advice from anyone experienced with Drosera.

What my situation will be:

Humidity: 60-80% Humidity day and night, 70-75% or so average most likely

Temps:

Summer daytime: Up to 80F [average of low to mid 70's]
Summer nighttime: Down to 60F [average of lower to mid 60's, I like to sleep in the coolness so most likely lower though]
Spring Daytime: Probably a solid 65-75F [70F would be it 99% of the time, it'll probably hover around 68-72F without a lot of variation]
Spring Nighttime: 55F to 60F
Fall Daytime: Up to 75F [average of 68-72F]
Fall Nighttime: Down to 55F [average of 60F]
Winter Daytime: Up to 70F [average of 66-70]
Winter Nighttime: 50F to 60F [possibly slightly colder, but, I'll try to maintain in the 50's, I like to sleep in 20F in the winter, it's such a nice feeling, but, I can easily do 50's as well]

Brightness: 4x T8 Fluorescent Bulbs [around 40 watts each, 6000K Lighting] on each rack [there will probably be around 4 racks?]

The Drosera must also not need a winter dormancy, mainly, what I mean is it can't really be a temperate species. I have no way to overwinter them.

These are rough estimates. There will be a temp drop of at least 7F at night, in the winter the temp drop will be a bit more dramatic, in the Fall it will be a little less pronounced, in the summer/spring it will be about even since Spring is emerging from Winter and it's still a little chilly and in the summer I have the power of an Air Conditioner.

This sounds like sketchy conditions, I believe D. aliciae, D. capensis [obviously lol], and even D. adelae [possibly? I think it may be a bit too cool though], D. regia [again, might be a bit too cool but some sources say it would be fine, I've often wanted to try out a regia!] might be suitable. What others? Is this unsuitable for any Drosera? I kind of want an extensive Drosera collection as well, so, I'll be a bit bummed if my choices are extremely limited!

Thank you!

NeciFiX

P.S. I can always make a terrarium with lights and put Drosera in there, it wouldn't cost a lot, but, some of the larger Drosera would be off limits, and I'm not a big fan of pygmies and would prefer not to grow them.

P.P.S. I forgot that even though many CPs go through a dormant period, not all are temperate, and some go through small dormancies when temps dip into the 40s and such, similar to my set up, in which case, they would be fine. Maybe I'm not so limited!

P.P.P.S. Would Byblis be off limits? If not, which species might do okay?

 

[Not a Number]

You can grow anything except tropicals and temperate Drosera that require dormancy.

Almost all the South African including D. regia, Almost all Australian. Most of the South American except perhaps the more tropical lowlanders.

 

[NeciFiX]

Hm, surprising, I was looking at this and scratching my head and going, "This is gonna be tough..."

But, thank you. Anyone have any other opinions or comments?

So, anything that doesn't require dormancy and isn't a tropical lowlander? That's a lot of Drosera still! Nice to know I got lots of choices. Thanks!

 

[Not a Number]

You could always build a tank with heating for petiolaris complex (which I forgot to exclude). The South Americans like a good temperature drop at night unlike petiolaris.

If you keep the night temps during the winter in the low fifties you might be able to get away with Dionaea and temperate Drosera. Of course you could always get Drosera that don't need dormancy like D. anglica 'HI', D. anglica "CA x HI" , D. rotundifolia 'Charles Darwin', D. 'Ivan's Paddle', or D. filiformis var filiformis "Florida Red".

I see no reason why South Africans and Pygmy Drosera wouldn't flourish in you conditions.

 

[NeciFiX]

I actually do not like pygmies very much, but, South African Drosera is a large group, which will do me just fine. The Sundews you just mentioned would work well too probably.

Yes, Dionaea might work, actually, now that you mention it, since temp is the most important [just put them on the bottom rack and give them lower light as a result] and they may survive. Good idea! Sarracenia would grow far too big.

Yes, I could probably grow the petiolaris complex pretty easily with a well built aquarium.

But, the South African complex of Drosera is a large amount of plants, and I like many of them too, so, that's a bonus!

Would Byblis liniflora work too? I think it would, from my research, but, I'd just like to check.

 

[Veronis]

Sarrs (with the exception of purpurea) typically don't do too well under fluorescents. And yes, part of the problem is they grow right up into the lights.

As for drosera, I'd agree with NoN. Based on what I personally have and what I want, you can probably get any of these and have great results: D. Adelae, Aliciae, Slackii, Dielsiana, Burmannii (granted burmannii are annuals but in tropical conditions they will grow for years), Spatulata, Capensis, D. Regia “Big Easy” (gets pretty tall), Prolifera, Cuneifolia, Madagascariensis (Botswana), Tokaiensis, Indica, Capillaris, Admirabilis, or Intermedia.

Check up on their individual growing habits (I use this, this (look to the far right navbar and scroll down), this (scroll down), and this), check Google Images to see pics of what they look like, and decide which one(s) you want.

With your high attention to detail, you'll do fine.

Good luck

 

[NeciFiX]

Thank you, those list of species shall prove useful. I've always wanted a regia, and might give one a try. Hopefully it doesn't get too gigantic! Haha. I may also start with aliciae, spatulata and capensis [of course] and adelae. They all would work in this setup [according to theory] but, they all have some variations, so, determining which of these four do better would help me determine better in the future. If all four do well, then, I'm a lucky guy! Would glanduligera, binata or cistiflora work out? All four have very interesting features and I'd possibly be interested in growing them.

 

[Veronis]

I love my spatulata. They have mohawks. There's a pic of mine on my TF public profile. Just click my username.

As long as those species you mentioned are tropical, sub tropical, or annual you are probably fine. Just look them up to see if they have special requirements. Glanduligera make great additions, they're the fastest drosera and close on their prey in seconds. Even if you don't meet the exact requirements of a plant, if you're in the ballpark you can usually pull it off. It depends if that species is temperamental about a particular requirement; some really do need higher humidity, and adelae can be a little temperamental with regard to whether or not they'll produce dew.

 

[NeciFiX]

Yeah, I heard that about adelae. Luckily, it's cheap and I meet the requirements, so, it might just do okay! That's exactly why I want glanduligera! It's like a Drosera trying to be a VFT.