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Big order from cooks

timbudtwo

Shoopdawoop
from cooks im ordering 10 sarracennia seedlings, an aldrovanda, and a Drosera pycnoblasta. Apart from pycnoblasta being really fun to say, its very beautiful, and i was wondering if i could get some growing instructions on the Drosera pycnoblasta. hehehe pycnoblasta pycnoblasta pycnoblasta pycnoblasta pycnoblasta
 
This one is new to my cultivation, so I am interested in details regarding summer dormancy. Hopefully Pete Thiel will have that webpage up soon from Robert Gibson and we can all get an education!

I am aiming at a deep pot, slightly dry surface for the summer months. I will ocassionally water around the rosettes, no standing in water.
Most pygmys want deep pots so they can grow the long roots needed to seek out moisture deep down, while the surface dries. This is how they grow in the harsh Australian habitat.

Please take this with a grain of salt, I have really very little solid information, and this is an untried approach.
 
If the D.pycnoblasta looks like it is not growing keep the soil only damp. Some pygmy droserae(occidentalis ssp. australis, pycnoblasta, callistos...) tend to go on a short dormancy of a month or so after transplanting. Increase water as it actively grows.
 
SOME pygmy Drosera are really sensitive to high humidity and warm temperatures. Photoperiod is also very important if you plan on growing these plants long term. If they are not happy, they will grow poorly or just rot / die. I could be wrong but I don't think pycnoblasta is new to cultivation, I just think that few have succeeded with it in the past. Good luck, let us know how you do.
 
PS
Robert Gibsons book is supposed to be on South African Drosera, not Australian pygmies, as far as I know. And Robert recently told me that it won't be released any time too soon.
 
Actually Tamlin said "This one is new to my cultivation..." I do not believe D.pycnoblasta is new in cultivation.
Also, Pete Thiel is updating cephalotus.net with a spreadsheet of info on the dormancy, flowering etc. period of pygmy droserae in their habitat from Robert Gibson. I do not think that this has anything to do with his book.

I had tried growing some D.nitidula ssp. omissa x occidentalis ssp. occidentalis in a terrarium around two years ago. They slowly wasted away after producing gemmae. I was able to save one or two, which I planted outdoors under 50% shade. They perked up quickly in that environment.

Pygmy droserae prefer lower humidity than most other droserae. They grow best with a temperature difference from day to night(like highland nepenthes etc.).
Also the mandatory dormancy for some species may have kept them from being easily obtained, as most plants in cultivation can be easily lost at this time.
 
Oops, didnt notice the "my" part there, sorry. Also, I thought Cephalotus.net was info supplied by Phill Mann. Maybe it's Robert's contribution... No big deal. However, we clearly need more info on South African Drosera than pygmies. Anyone have a spare copy of Allen Lowrie's book for sale / trade for plants? Please reply privately.
A good friend gave me the tuberous volume when I got back into CP but what I really need is the pygmy one! Thanks,
Matt
 
Actually, we need information on even common species on this forum, as many of our members are newbies to cultivation. Regarding the South Africans, which are you interested in growing? They have very different specific requirements.
 
  • #10
Hey Tamlin & Matt...

We're about to launch a FAQ/care info section of the site... that's VERY specific...

If you can think of specifics that you'd like for people to know about the various Drosera... or you already have it written somewhere... I can put it up... and of course, give you credit
smile.gif


We have most of the common stuff taken care of based on our own experiences growing them.... but I'd like to have a lot more info available for those interested in more than what we have to offer!
 
  • #11
Hi Peter,
Actually, I think all the old content of my free geocities website is now also at my new domain, thanks to Pete Thiel:
http://www.sundewgrower.com
Feel free to link to my site if you want to direct people to any of the info there.
....Now to work on that CD rom of new images...
Matt
 
  • #12
I'm no expert on pygmies, but I haven't killed any yet. I find they grow very well on a south-facing windowsill (at least here they do). It gives them a nice temp differential between day and night, and realistic day length.

When I grew them in a terrarium, I found that they grew slowly and had mold problems.

I have just been using plain 3in plastic pots with a sandy peat mix.
 
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