Great sigh of relief

[DJ57]

I moved my two Drosophyllum pots that I started from seed this year from outside into the garage for the winter and I was worried they would not get enough light. Well, it has been almost 2 weeks and they did not miss a beat being moved inside and look great! I have them close to a south-facing window for lots of natural light with a shop light above with two 40-watt cool white bulbs just inches from the plants. There is 1 plant in the one pot with an offshoot growing out the side and in the other pot what looks like 3 plants (4 if you count the offshoot coming out the side of the big one) is actually only 2 plants (second pic). One started to flower when it was only a few inches tall and I cut that flower bud off, then it started to grow another limb where I cut it off and then fell over and continued to grow still attached to the other by a limb on the soil surface. weird. It did not form any roots of its own. Daytime temps in the garage are in the 60s and at night it ranges from mid 40s to mid 50s depending on the temp outside.

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This is the one that fell over and is attached to the other one

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[jbradt]

They look great!

 

[maxima]

Had a single seed germinate a couple of days ago. I only wish it will live + grow to be as gorgeous as your plants, I really want this plant in my collection.
Thanks for sharing!

 

[thez_yo]

OMG jeez those are the nicest I've ever seen! Great job!!

 

[cpsammich]

What!?!?!!!!?!!?!!!!
Those are only a year old?!?!!?!!!!
They are huge!!!!!
the Droso Queen

 

[DJ57]

Thank you all for the compliments. This is my first try at these, was afraid to try before from all I heard about the difficultly in raising these. I have no idea what they are suppose to look like after one growing season, good to know they look normal to others. I started them in the house around December, 3 seed germinated out of 7 in about 14 days, and then put them outside when the chance of frost was over, where they got full sun like from sun up to sun down. There is a pond close by, so it caught lots of bugs and ate very well all season. Hopeful I will have lots of seed to share next year if I can keep them alive over winter.

Any suggestions on what to feed them over winter in the garage?

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Looking good DJ! What size pots are you using? You will know pretty quickly if you have enough light if the centers of the plant start to elongate noticeably between the new leaves. Sounds like you are doing what you can though. Overwintering them can be a challenge. I basically do the same thing with mine and leave them out all Spring/Summer/Fall when the weather is over 50. They sit on a table that is in full blazing sun all day. Usually they require watering every day in the heat of the Summer. During the Winter I keep them indoors under CFL bulbs with the bulb down in the crown of the plant with the leaves up around the sides! Our sun here is very unreliable and when it does shine it is pretty weak.

As you have noticed they are fast growing plants and very heavy feeders and benefit greatly from catching lots of food. Mine still catch lots of flys and other things that get into the house all Winter and are attracted to the lights so I have not tried to feed them. I would probably try freeze dried bloodworms. They work really well with Drosera. You might need to moisten them first though? Or put them on and spritz them with a little water bottle. I think that would require caution though in overwetting the plants and causing them to rot. One thing I found interesting is my plant never flowered. The first Winter I ran the lights on for 16hr and put the plant back outside when it warmed in the Spring. It grew great but never flowered. Maybe because it needed some short Winter days. Unfortunately I lost that plant during the 2nd Summer when we had days and days of wet wet overcast cold rain. I should have brought the plant in but it was too late... It turned black from the bottom up.
Keep us posted on your plants!

Here is a photo from it's first Winter indoors under the 42w CFL bulb.

 

[DJ57]

Tony P:

Thank you for that great information, appreciate that. You have a better set up than mine, looks very efficient and very nice uniform plant.

The pots are only 10" terra cotta, wish I had gone bigger though. I could not bring mine in until after a couple of frosty mornings, surprised they did not look any different after the frost. We get very little sun in winter here also, but the light from that south window is unobstructed and very bright all day even on cloudy days, wish I had that kind of light in the house, LOL. I also open the window a bit for air circulation during the day. I have the lights on a 12-hour cycle for winter, don't know if that is enough but will watch it. The garage is not heated, but never freezes in there as it is attached to the house and is insulated, so hoping for the best.

Have you ever known one to flower when it was just a few inches tall? I thought that was really weird. I know some people here in Oregon who get flowers from theirs every year, but they grow them in a greenhouse all year, maybe a cold frame in winter? Rain is a problem outside here also being Oregon, but I put them under a table on the deck when we have days of rain where they can still get plenty of light. In the summer, about once a week I put the hose attachment on mist, sort of like fog, and they really perk up and seem to like it (we have good city water here, right at or under 50 ppm TDS depending on time of year). I don't leave them in a tray of water, just thoroughly soak from the top when the top inch or so feels dry, maybe twice a week if the weather is very hot for days on end, otherwise once a week or so.

I think I will try baby crickets from the local pet store if it looks like there are not enough bugs flying around the garage, don't want to take a chance on rotting them. They do seem to like to eat a lot! Do you know if a weak orchid fertilizer spray, like a pinch per gallon of water, would work for these?

Was that your only Dorsophyllium? So, so sad you lost it. If I do manage to get seed from mine, I can send you some if you are interested. I don't know how hard they are to get.

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Bigger seems to be better. That pot was kind of small 7" or so? I forget, and not very deep. I would put water in the tray each morning during the Summer and by the end of the day it was gone and the soil was looking dry on top again. The plant was sucking it up fast during the heat of the day and clearly could have used a much larger pot to moderate the root zone moisture levels.

Sounds like your plants may go semi-dormant or at least slow down sufficiently that they will not mind a little less light and less food. I think the 12hr cycle sounds good if you want to try and slow them down and give them a bit of a rest. From my experience with other perennials a period of shorter day lengths during the Winter followed by longer day lengths in the Spring is typically necessary to trigger flowering.

I have heard of tiny seedlings flowering yes. Which probably again has something to do with the light cycle and time of year they sprouted in.

Baby crickets sound good. I have not tried any soluble foods but would be hesitant to use them even in dilute concentrations.

I have started a couple more plants recently. So far so good. There is a thread below.

 

[jimscott]

Great job cultivating!