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Nepenthesis

Formerly known as Pineapple
Just ordered Drosera parvula subsp. sargentii, Drosera roseana, Drosera scorpioides 'Albany', Drosera occidentalis, Drosera x 'Carbarup' and Drosera omissa x pulchella. 10+ gemmae of each.

It is kinda hard to find information on each one of the species, so I was hoping somebody knowledgeable in pygmy Drosera can help me out. I am wondering which ones of the ones I listed grow more wet and which ones grow more dry. I would like to pot them in a peat/perlite or peat/sand ratio that will do well for them when they are in their water trays. Any other info on the species and hybrid I listed would be greatly appreciated! :)

Thanks in advance! :-D
 
From Mark.ca:

Cultivation:

Soil: In the wild most pygmy drosera grow in sandy mixes. In cultivation they do well in mixes of
peat/sand/perlite. There is no mix perfect for all but most growers agree that a mix of peat/sand or
peat/perlite 50/50 will do the trick. You should use more peat in your mix for the species that grow
in wet areas.

Pots: Small plants, small pots...right? Wrong! I do admit that some hybrids don't mind being
grown in 2" deep pots but most really like to have root space. I use 4" deep pots. The deep pots
also help in keeping the soil cool in the summer. Having wide pots give your plants the space to
grow and make nice big rosettes.

Watering: The tray method works well for pygmy Drosera. I just keep my 4" pots in trays with
water 1" deep during the growing season. In the summer i let the water evaporate and leave the
tray dry for a day or 2 before adding more. Some growers are getting good results by top watering.
I did try it but didn't see any difference...it will not cause anything bad either as long as you do it
with caution. Good quality water is a must so please remember to use only distillated, reverse
osmosis or good rain water to grow these plants! If you are using reverse osmosis water make sure
the PPM is under 50.

Temperature: This is the most important factor for me. I live in a climate with some very hot
summers and just 2-3 months of cooler temps. It is important to keep the temps under 90-95 to
prevent the plants from going dormant. Even with a high water level they will go dormant if the
temps are high! This is valid for most but i have to exclude some hybrids that just won't go
dormant no matter what the temps may be. If they do go dormant all you can do is give them
cooler dryer conditions and hope for the best (translation= hope you don't loose all of them!). On
the other hand, they can take low temps even under 32F but i always try to avoid going under 35F.

Humidity: Being so close to the wet soil helps when referring to air humidity. I grow mine in a very
dry climate with very low humidity. They don't care much about it! I haven't provide or grow them
in high humidity yet so i can't help you on that.

Light: Full to part sun. If you live in a region with hot summers you may consider giving them
some shade during the hot temps and prevent any from going dormant. They tend to grow smaller,
healthier and more colorful in full sun but you have to keep them from going dormant during the
hot summer months. The light has to decrease in intensity and the plants have to receive less hours
of light as winter approaches. This and the cooler temps are the trigger in gemmae production.
 
They aren't very picky but the "swampy" ones do like some peat and those in laterite may actually benefit from laterite in the mix. I have plenty growing in live sphagnum which is totally unnatural. If they go dormant they're doomed because I'm not going to sacrifice the other plants in the same pot.

You can buy laterite at most well stocked aquarium supply stores.

http://web.archive.org/web/20110723...alotus.net/article.aspx?cid=1&y=2001&m=9&d=12
 
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