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D. ascendens and d. paradoxa

Hey,
At the BACPS meeting this weekend, I picked up some D. ascendens and D. paradoxa from our good friend Forbes (thanks!)

From what I remember, the D. ascendens likes it cold, and D. paradoxa likes it hot. Is there anything else? What about dormancy? The D. ascendens is outside for now, but how cold can it take? It's mid-fifties at night these days here.

Also, I've put the D. ascendens in a tray, and the D. paradoxa I'm keeping wet but not standing in water.

Any tips and info would be greatly appreciated. I didn't intend to come home with any drosera this weekend, but well, I have no willpower with CPs, and there were so many available!

Capslock
 
Currently, I have germinated D. paradoxa seedlings, open tray, mix of peat and sand, south window sill, uncovered - and doing fine. They are only ~1/2" in diameter.
 
hmmmm i would have though Tamlin would have chimed in by now. i recieved some ascendens seeds from him several weeks ago and am waiting to see lil sprouts. ive been wondering about their care also.

Rattler
 
Sorry gentlemen I have been a bit busy with assorted absurdities.

Drosera paradoxa is the easiest of the Petiolaris in cultivation.  Warm conditions and tray watering keep the plant in active growth and forestalls dormancy.  If dormancy happens (and sometimes it does) it is important to reduce the watering and provide good air circulation.  Avoid cold snaps wherever possible.

Drosera ascendens does prefer cool conditions, but can take the surface heat provided the roots do not become warm.  Plants in a 2.5 gallon pot do the best, and have experienced 105F on occasions with hardly a wimper.  I froze a pot solid last winter fr 2 days, and that individual is now in full and happy growth.  These plants want a large container in my opinion, otherwise the roots get warm, and the rosettes wither.  If this happens, treat it as any other sub-tropical Drosera in its resting (and ugly) stage: reduce watering, keep it out of direct sunlight, and give good air circulation and the plant will regrow in time.

I grow my D. ascendens in pure milled live LFS, D. paradoxa is in a sandy peat mix.  Both want a lot of light, and humidity 40% or above.

Both can be sutbborn in regards to germination, so don't cry for at least a year!
 
im trying the seeds in a mix of mostly coco fiber with some shredded LFS and a lil bit of peat to try and get past my sludge problem. should i just place the pot of seeds in the light next to my Darlingtonia? it doesnt seem to mind the present conditions and is supposed to need cool roots. i should have minimal problem with moss. sorry but i have no live LFS to mess with.

Rattler
 
Nice description William!
Now I know why my D. ascendens died...too bad!

Capslock: Note that you can propagate the petiolaris complex by leaf cuttings...use the search engine for more threads regarding that!

Good growing!
Jan
 
I got a D. paradoxa from Forbes as well. It's a nice little plant. Capslock, we can compare notes.
 
If you can give them enough light, I think they will be fine with your Darlingtonia. I get best germination results ziplocking the sown pots in bags.
 
Here's a pic of the D. paradoxa. Forbes gets all credit for growing this as I just got it.

D_paradoxa.sized.jpg


Capslock
 
  • #10
Very nice.
I can not wait till my little ones grow up.
 
  • #11
Hey Max,

I grow D. paradoxa inside in trays situated on an 4' x 2' heat mat under lights. The trays don't often dry out. I haven't checked in a while, but the daytime air temps around the plants are probably in the high eighties to mid nineties most of the time. I believe Michael grows his outdoors, so this species should be adaptable.

I keep petiolaris Drosera species in perlite/peat mix. Often above 70/30.

I've had most of the D. ascendens outside under 50% shade cloth with full exposure for most of this year. In June and July the temps were often in the 90s and hovered around 100F for a few weeks. Up until this week, the humidity probably hasn't been below 20%. The plants have done much better out there than indoors, some growing from seedlings to 2 1/2" diameter plants in 7 months. The overcrowded plants have naturally been much slower.

This week the "Santa Anna" winds started up and the humidity has dropped to below 10% at times. Just about everything but jade plants look bad, but it's the first time this year that some of the D. ascendens are looking unhappy. A 40% minimum RH requirement may be a little pessimistic.

The nighttime temps over here often get down to the 50s; even in the sumer, which may help this species.

All my plants are in 2 1/2" pots which is as large as I feel inclined to take them at this time. Perhaps William's clones have different tastes than mine?

I have also had best results growing D. ascendens in pure sphagnum. However, when a plant has looks roached, inspection has always revealed anaerobic soil conditions and rotting roots. I would caution against ignoring such a plant; in my care, they have always rotted further without intervention.

I've only grown three D. ascendens locations and one D. paradoxa location from seed, but all have germinated easily in a few weeks. I think placing seeded pots in excessively humid conditions with poor air circulation encourages fungal growth.
 
  • #12
I know some one who grows D. petiolaris in room temp conditions year round. His plants are incredible. Would they do well in my intermediate tank?
Max day temp 77 degrees
Min night temp 62 degrees
 
  • #13
I know some one who grows D. petiolaris complex plants in room temp conditions year round. The only one he has trouble with is D. falconeri. His plants are incredible. Would they do well in my intermediate tank?
Max day temp 77 degrees
Min night temp 62 degrees
 
  • #14
Slurm, can you send your friend my email address? ;)

I only keep my D. paradoxas on a heatmat because it's large enough to accommodate five or six trays and I only have a couple trays of the other petiolaris species.

Acclimating mature petiolaris complex plants (except D. paradoxa) that have been grown with heat to lower temperatures is tricky. They go dormant easily. Cuttings adjust much faster.
 
  • #15
Here's my new wholly sundew setup. After reading this post, I'm thinking of getting a heating mat like Forbes. You'll see why, here's a pic of the setup.

frontside.jpg


Average high is about 90F, low 84F.
Humidity ranges from 87-94% (too high I'm afraid?)

I'm using warm water as a means to heat the air w/o lowering humidity, but its doing too good of a job I'm afraid. I've got a Ebo-Jaeger(sp?) 250w aquarium heater set on 90F. You guys got me thinking about the cooler nights that paradoxa enjoys. I just re-read part of Lowrie's Carnivorous Plants of Australia Vol. 3, and its stated that the average min temp is about 17C. This is during the growing season, I think. Now thats approx. 63F. My setup is 20F warmer on a nightly minimum, yuck! Plus, humidity is too high, don't you think? I do have about 1" gap on either side of the top glass lid, but its like a sauna in there.

What do you all think?

Forbes, what type of heating mat are you using, I know nothing about them.

thanks,

Homer
 
  • #16
Homer,

My heatmat is large commercial unit - about 3 x 5, I think - that's meant to be used with a thermostat, which I don't use. It's great for growing lots of plants that like it hot, but I wouldn't have one if I hadn't stopped at that garage sale...

I've used a Mike Wilder-style heating setup like that for a few years. The tank is smaller and on its side with the bottom 1/3 of the 'top' (now the front) covered and sealed to create a reservoir, a la **** Tran. The lights can be mounted lower that way.

Why don't you like your tank? The only disadvantages I've encountered with the design pertain to space restrictions, and the way plants get 'soft' and wilt when removed from the enclosure. It looks like your plants are growing well.

I still have my 'Wilder tank' but it resides on a corner my heatmat and only houses some parent plants I haven't been able to harden off, and cups of water with cuttings. I measured the air temperature yesterday and it was 100F - only 5F warmer than the air in the center of the heatmat. I thought the difference was greater. Humidity was at 80% in the tank and 60% on the heatmat. D. ordensis and paradoxa adjust to the lower humidity quickly, but the others I grow send out strange growth for a while before adapting.

Only the lights go off at night. I haven't seen a reason to have it otherwise, but will try some plants outside in a sealed terrarium next summer to see what differences a temp drop makes.

I'll try to get a pic of my setup this week. Eye protection may be advisable when viewing.

As soon I get a 2' fluorescent fixture, I'll be growing some plants in the oven. It's a large industrial-type unit with a pilot light which keeps the temp around 125F with the door closed. It's easy to get it down to 100F by wedging a towel in the door. Peat pies anyone?
 
  • #17
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]As soon I get a 2' fluorescent fixture, I'll be growing some plants in the oven. It's a large industrial-type unit with a pilot light which keeps the temp around 125F with the door closed. It's easy to get it down to 100F by wedging a towel in the door. Peat pies anyone?

Oh My
smile_k_ani_32.gif
. My wife was upset when I used a nice glass mixing bowl to microwave peat! Imagine what would happen if I try this! But really, 125F, what plants would grow in those conditions? I hope this works for you, I'm very eager to find out! Best of luck,

Homer
 
  • #18
I can regulate the temperature by keeping the door ajar. With an inch opening the past couple days, the interior was at 95F min, 106F max. With a slightly wider opening, it just might be ideal.

My family and friends haven't held the intervention. Yet... ;)
 
  • #19
I nuke my peat in just a small cardboard box. Just don't overdue it, as peat is a fuel and can start smoldering.
Homer, can you just remove the cover on the Wilder tank? It should still be humid enough for petiolaris species, shouldn't it?

Cheers,

Joe
 
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