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Update and Questions: Drosera indica complex

  • Thread starter Acro
  • Start date
Here is an update from this thread: https://www.terraforums.com/forums/sundews-drosera-byblis-drosophyllum/142123-drosera-byblis-predicament.html

To recap, I received some seeds that were supposed to be a Byblis species. I sprouted them on a top layer (about an inch) of coco fiber, under that was LFS mixed with perlite. They were later identified as a sundew in the Drosera indica complex.

So far, they have been growing and eating fungus gnats, bits of house fly and crushed/soaked fish food pellets. They seem to be growing and eating well, but one did die for no reason I could find.

I have a few questions:
1) What species of Drosera are these plants?
2) Should I thin some of the smaller ones, to promote better growth for the larger ones?
3) They are in a 4" pot, will they be able to do well in such a small pot?
4) Will they be able to do well on the substrate (inch of coco fiber on top of LFS mixed with perlite)?

Check out the updated photos (there seems to be a bit of moss sprouting on the right too) :
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It seems like there is a defined, glandless petiole which would eliminate d. finlaysoniana as a possible suspect, I think.
 
If there is something specific I should try and photograph, please let me know.
I lost my camera and have been using my girlfriends camera, which does not take close up photos as well, but I'll do my best!
 
D. indica or D. serpens would be the most likely species. Unfortunately proper ID tends to come down to EXTREMELY tiny glands on the leaves. You could probably make them out with a 10x loupe but taking a picture will be tricky. There's a chart of the distinctive features of each species here.
 
Thanks you two.

Nimbulan, I'm going to have to read through and work on that info. Hopefully I'll be able to add something to this thread for a possible ID.

Anyone have thoughts on these questions:
2) Should I thin some of the smaller ones, to promote better growth for the larger ones?
3) They are in a 4" pot, will they be able to do well in such a small pot?
4) Will they be able to do well on the substrate (inch of coco fiber on top of LFS mixed with perlite)?

Can these questions be answered now, or do I need a species ID first?
 
I think the pot and soil are fine, you shouldn't need to do anything with them.
 
4 inch pots were what I grew my indica complex plants in and they reached full size without problems. I also didn't bother thinning them. For these annual type sundews the most important thing after light is feeding. I tried to feed my plants every 3 days. Even after the main plants in my pot went through their full life cycle I found a few seedling sized plants hiding at the bottom that had never been fed.
 
Thanks you two!

As for care, is there anything I should be doing different (other than feeding them more often)? I keep their water saucer filled, should it be allowed to dry out, before refilling?
The chart of distinctive features is very informative, but I'm not sure I know sundews well enough to figure out what I have. I'm aware that plants in the Drosera indica complex have varied care requirements, but is there one set of instructions that could work for all of them, I'd really like a link for that information if it exists.
 
Honestly you can just treat them like any other sundew, except that the indica complex prefers lowland conditions and will grow much sturdier and healthier in a warm environment. It is very helpful to feed them too.
 
  • #10
I have been keeping them like any other sundew, so I'll just continue doing that. :D As for feeding . . . feeding is one of my favorite things to do with my carnivorous plants, so feeding them more often will be a pleasure! The warm lowland part might be a bit more difficult, as these are growing indoors. The only thing I can think to do, is to grow them under an incandescent bulb (right now they are under a fluorescent lightbulb).
 
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