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Nepenthes grower trying some sticky traps

Hello all, I just purchased a fair amount of Drosera seed from the online ICPS seed bank and will be trying my hand at growing them to maturity. For now I'll just list the ones chosen and ask how best to start these. I have t5 artificial lighting available and a glass tank if that would help. I plan to mix up the steady eddy 50/50 peat perlite mix that I have used for capensis and filiformis in the past. Is okay for all these? I'll also germinate some flytraps alongside the Drosera because why not haha I look forward to sharing this process and the development of them with you!

Dionaea muscipula
Drosera capensis
Drosera capensis - red leaf
Drosera spatulata -- Ivan's 3-way Australian
Drosera rotundifolia. Baranof Island, Alaska
Drosera intermedia
Drosera binata - Coromandel, NZ
Drosera filiformis (temperate)
 
suggestion

I have grown dorsera seeds and venus flytrap seeds under a single 800 lumen light and they sprouted fairly quickly. I now have about 30 drosera sprouting. I used a 50 50 perlite and peat moss with sphag moss on top. mist often though.
 
thanks, do you chop your sphagnum up for this top dressing or just long fiber right on top?
 
Seedlings with 100% dead sphagnum moss is a great option too. I love this resource for all things Drosera: http://www.growsundews.com/sundews/Germinating_and_Growing_Sundews_from_Seed.html

Your light plans sounds like mine so you and I will have lots to share about how things are going. I keep my lights almost kissing the pots and they are covered with saran wrap to keep high humidity. As you can see mine are VERY warm. The tropicals LOVE it warm but some won't. Although I believe the actual plants are not experience the same temperatures that Hygrometer is experiencing as it is closer to the light, plastic and not in medium that rises and falls in temperature more slowly than the plastic. But the temps experience a 20-degree temperature drop which I am glad for. Some say a temperature drop helps germination. We will see. My drop might be too extreme. I wish it had been a month already so I could show you some seedlings but its not time yet. Even though it feels like months. XD

SeedlingSetup.jpg


Pot up right away:
Drosera capensis
Drosera capensis - red leaf
Drosera spatulata -- Ivan's 3-way Australian
Drosera binata - Coromandel, NZ

Need Cold Stratification first
Drosera rotundifolia. Baranof Island, Alaska
Drosera intermedia
Drosera filiformis (temperate)

Can't wait to share notes and images with ya! :D
 
Lots of good reading there!

My seeds haven't even shipped yet so I can watch and follow your footsteps hah. its true what they say a watched pot never boils.... holds true if the watched pot is a tray of Drosera seeds :-O
 
Its true what they say a watched pot never boils.... holds true if the watched pot is a tray of Drosera seeds :-O

Haha dang my pot is NEVER going to Boil! About once a week I open up the saran wrap to make sure the seeds are getting rot or mold and I keep hoping I find I growing seedlings but nothing yet. In two weeks ;)
 
im doing the same to all my new neps lol.... like where are all the new pitchers??? I'm waitinggg :poke:
 
Covering seeds in plastic wrap and rocketing the humidity to 100% is a great way to ensure mold; they'll do just fine uncovered and will be easier to acclimate as well (because they won't need it). Also, while many Drosera well grow okay in sphagnum, most will do better in a peat-based mix, particularly one high in aerated materials such as perlite or (even better) silica sand.
 
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  • #10
if i go the sand route, what ratio would you use? also, what is the best source for CP safe sand not labeled for horticultural use? I have most media shipped to me but prob not the best way to go for sand.
 
  • #11
You want something with a larger grain size so that it aerates the media properly. Too small and it won't do that properly. Sandblasting sands can be gotten in grain sizes appropriate for this purpose. And I would mirror not bagging your seeds. It is almost never necessary, they're already humid enough from being in contact with a wet surface.
 
  • #12
Man thanks guys for the help on saying I can uncover my seedlings. I definitely like the idea of them NOT being covered and certainly don't want to actually be the one to cause the mold.

I just wonder why so much advice says otherwise. I thought I had done my research too...

http://www.carnivorousplants.org/grow/propagation/seedgermination
You should put the pots in plastic bags, cover them with plastic wrap, or put them in a sealed terrarium. You will know the plants are wet enough if the bags stay fogged up. Damping off is not a problem for most CPs.

http://www.carnivorousplants.org/grow/propagation/sowingseeds
Put some water in the bottom of a plastic bag and put the pot with the seeds in the bag....Instead of plastic bags you can use an old aquarium with plastic wrap on the top, a clear plastic storage box, or anything else convenient.

And then Aaron's advice over on GrowSundews. But I admit that I seriously considered how much he meant that advice. He did seem to imply that he doesn't do it when he is available for regular waterings: http://www.growsundews.com/sundews/Germinating_and_Growing_Sundews_from_Seed.html
Above left: Saran wrap was secured with tape over the container to raise the humidity and keep in the moisture while I was out of town for a month.

As for my LFS recommendation, I only meant as seedlings. I have mine in 2-inch pots that will be repotted early on when the plant is ready for it. And repotted into a peat/silica sand mix option instead of just dead LFS. I did do some seedlings in a peat/silica mix but mostly dead LFS.

Of course, remember the long time joke used for many hobbies. Get ten CP growers in a room and ask how to do something and you will get ten different ways to do it. :D
 
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  • #13
The amount of sand needed in the mix is dependent on the species; most do fine with the standard 50:50 ratio, but species like filiformis and capensis often grow in sandier locations and may like it higher to aid aeration. Sandblasting sand I keep seeing as the best suggestion due to the silica content and larger grain size, but I haven't used it personally because it's a bit on the expensive side (especially for someone like me who might go through a couple bags repotting everything in the greenhouses). Pool filter sand is pure silica as well and has done decently for me, but is a little on the small side hen it comes to the grain size, and is still expensive (though not quite as much as sandblasting sand). Recently I have acquired a bag of silica play sand, which is cheap and has a huge variation of grain sizes so drainage is excellent, and so far don't see any issues (knocks on wood), but it does require a lot of rinsing first to get rid of all the unwanted particulates (until the water run through it stays relatively clear).
I honestly don't know where the advice came from to cover seedlings, but it's probably one of those things that was recommended by an old-time grower before there were thousands of us experimenting and thus taken as law. So long as the pot is not in any danger of drying out between your watering periods (which would be a problem for grown plants too), they don't need covering. If they were outside and at the mercy of rain, wind, and in some places extreme low humidity it might be a benefit, but only so far as the pots weren't in direct sun either (something else sundews of all sizes like).
 
  • #14
I honestly don't know where the advice came from to cover seedlings, but it's probably one of those things that was recommended by an old-time grower before there were thousands of us experimenting and thus taken as law. So long as the pot is not in any danger of drying out between your watering periods (which would be a problem for grown plants too), they don't need covering. If they were outside and at the mercy of rain, wind, and in some places extreme low humidity it might be a benefit, but only so far as the pots weren't in direct sun either (something else sundews of all sizes like).
Yeah I can see that. That makes a lot of sense. I always saw it as modern advice since the florescent lights were mentioned too but all in all I am totally on board with open air seedlings! I went through some of my old pictures and I have a pot of Coir and Nepenthes seeds that looks like a biology experiment in algae, sludge and organic goop. It is pretty gross and I can safely say that most of it was due to my 100% humidity levels of that pot being in a ziploc bag for months under lights. :hopelessness:

:D Thanks, guys again! I am enjoying seeing my seedlings on an eye level and NO covering!
 
  • #15
I was afraid of using play sand due to potential salt content or other impurities but if rinsing works I'll definitely go that route!
 
  • #16
I was afraid of using play sand due to potential salt content or other impurities but if rinsing works I'll definitely go that route!

Note, only that which is labeled as pure quartz play sand; other varieties will have a mix of minerals you don't want.

Odysseus, I would bet that heavy growth of algae etc. is more connected to too high nutrient levels in your mix (probably from the coir). Fully enclosed a pot shouldn't develop too much growth of anything unless there's stuff for it to grow on.
 
  • #17
oh didn't I say that too.....nope I just checked I didn't add that.

I am going to more intensely rinse my medium in the future so that shouldn't be a problem either. Getting my buckets tomorrow :D
 
  • #18
Drosera are where I started with my CP hobby. I have grown many from seed now. I use rinsed peat and pool filter sand (silica, perfect grain size, almost always pre rinsed) I also use LFS+ sand or perlite. I have found Drosera extremely easy to grow from seed, no humidity covers are needed provided your growing conditions aren't extremely low in humidity <10% which would be a bit off anyway for most CPs. Also specific mixes aren't necessary, e.g.50/50; 60/40 etc. you can eyeball it fairly easy. most of the seeds you will be growing are very easy. Just pay heed to cold stratification for your temperate dews( as mentioned in a previous post.) As you go you will see Just how easy they are I have many tanks with pumice rock bottoms, the fans blow seeds from the flowering plants down into the pumice(large rocks) sure enough in a couple weeks there are tiny sundews popping up in pores of the rocks and from in between. Soft non dyed rock wool works amazing as well.

Sow on soaked media
Pot or tray sitting in water close to half way up
Humidity at least 30% (but likely where the seeds are it will be 100%)
T5 6400k+3500k 6-12 inches from seeds, keep your lumens 2k + for fast root development.
16hr on 8 hr off photoperiod.
Feed your seedlings when they develop their first "true" carnivorous leaves.

Provided you grow indoors or at least start your seeds indoors where insects are minimal.
I have found the most useful thing you can do although tedious is feed the tiny little seedlings. (Crushed fish food)(e.g. BugBites*, Aqueon Betta Pellets)They will grow much faster to a size where they become more resilient and just overall reach maturity much much faster. ( it can make the a difference of ~6 months for cape sundews) I chose to include this because I noticed an odd trend in my research when I was first starting out. It seems there are a lot of growers who grow under lights indoors that have a fetish for seeing how long their sundews can go without feeding when starting from seed for reasons unbeknownst to me. I know it sounds odd but you will see it in photo descriptions. Captions like "d. Binata 3 months old never fed" for example. I suppose maybe they are more concerned with their sundews looking pristine rather than overall growth. I on the other hand worry about how pristine they look once they are larger. Furthermore I grow them for their carnivorous appetite, not their ability to photosynthesize.

My 2 cents.
 
  • #19
Really appreciate it, i will get the temperate seed treated asap and sow my tropicals. guess ill give them a month treatment should be plenty. just waiting the seed to ship. im not going to grow them in the nepenthes tent so these may be houseplants with a t5 over them nice and close once they are old enough. :banana2:
 
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  • #20
the seed arrived and i got them all potted and put the temperates in a refrigerator. I ended up using perlite for this first attempt as I went through my back storage and had a giant sack sitting there from a past project.

i am curious do you guys just spread the seed as evenly as possible (i mean some of the seed was almost dust hah) then thin the herd? I am thinking I want to grow each species in a pot with as many individual plants as can coexist without weakening each other.

this setup is purely temporary and in the corner of the basement. put up a scrap of white poly i had laying around not exactly a work of art! ill setup a nice display for these on the first floor later when they get sticky and beautiful :)

IMG_1637 by myles geishecker, on Flickr
IMG_1638 by myles geishecker, on Flickr
IMG_1639 by myles geishecker, on Flickr
IMG_1641 by myles geishecker, on Flickr
IMG_1642 by myles geishecker, on Flickr
IMG_1643 by myles geishecker, on Flickr
 
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