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Pygmies dews

Wesley

God must have an interesting sense of humor
I have some D. Nitidula x pulchella, and I was reading in the Savage Garden that if kept we year round, pygmies don't require a dry summer. Is this ok? It also says that they will still produce their gemmae. Am I ok to keep them wet year-round? Any help is much appreciated.

~Wes~
 
Mine died within a week of wetness during their 'summer' I think, but that could just be due to my inexperience.
 
I've had this hybrid growing wet, indoors, for over a year now. They produced gemmae, and just kept right on going. The same plants will probably do so again. I dunno how long they live, though. I also have them growing outdoors, and let them get "kinda" dry over the summer, and they're doing great, too.

Capslock
 
K thanks, I still want feedback from other people I wanna weigh my options.
 
I grow just about every pygmy species. Some do indeed require a summer dormancy, but D. pulchella is not one of these. The plants will do just fine in tray water, and will produce gemmae in season provided you pay attention to keeping a short day light cycle. Additonal light (even brief flashes) after sunset will retard or prevent gemmae formation in many species.
 
I sure if these guys require a dormancy, as my pycnoblastas(summer dormant species) have grown well through the summer without a dormancy. Some of these species will go dormant once temperatures and photoperiod increases.
 
Both parents of this hybrid grow in very wet conditions throughout the year. These plants will be fine in permanently wet conditions.
 
Ok thanks for all the help, it looks like I'll be growing these guys nice and wet(well moist/damp) throughout the year thanks again.

~Wes~
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Additonal light (even brief flashes) after sunset will retard or prevent gemmae formation in many species.

Hmmm, that sounds familiar. Tamlin, will light after 'sunset' prevent gemmae formation, if gemmae has already formed. I know this sounds weird, but after a gemmae crown rose from the centre, the next day it totally disappeared. I have no idea why. If the light is switched off instantly (as in florescents), will it prevent gammae formation as well?

Hee hee, I thought that the gemmae had shot out from the crown or something weird like that after they disappeared...
biggrin.gif
 
  • #10
Nothing weird about that, if you are a pygmy Drosera! This is how the gemmae are dispersed. Easch gemmae has a hair like appendage on its point of attachment. As the gemmae grows, more stress is placed on this hair until it becomes like a loaded spring. With the right cue (in habitat this is raindrops striking the gemmae wheel) the tension is released and the gemmae fly for considerable distances. This is how they repopulate an area after the summer drought kills off many of the population. I have never had a whole gemmae wheel "disappear" overnight, but this could happen I suppose. As far as I know light affects only the initiation process.
 
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