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Petiolaris complex

To try to get some additional interest and discussions going on the Petiolaris complex sundews, I thought I'd post a photo of one of the plants I'm growing.

This group has an incredible range of diversity and some potentially demanding growth requirements and I'd like to tap into the collective knowledge base here to help me grow these buggers.

Notice the similarities to Pingman's D. falconeri photo posted recently...

Dkenneallyi4RS.jpg
 
Nice, dewy plant!
 
Beautiful plant Ron. I have this guy fairly fresh out of T.C. (6 weeks now.) I started with just one plant but it has popped up 4 side rosettes, one almost as large as the original. I have it, along with falconeri and paradoxa, in a 10 gallon tank inside along with some Genlisea and U. calicifida clones. I use 2 18" fluorescent tubes and add about 2" of water whenever the tank dries out.

My media is a little unorthodox. I use sand, peat and Georgia red clay (I dig it up from my yard) in a 3:1:1 ratio. The petiolaris really seem to like the mix.
 
Very nice.
 
Great! Another Petiolaris complex grower comes out of the shadows!
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[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I have this guy fairly fresh out of T.C. (6 weeks now.)
I haven't seen these guys available in T/C. Am I just not looking hard enough?

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I have it, along with falconeri and paradoxa, in a 10 gallon tank inside along with some Genlisea and U. calicifida clones. I use 2 18" fluorescent tubes and add about 2" of water whenever the tank dries out.
Do you have a cover on the tank or just open? Any external heating? What's the wattage on the fluorescent tubes? Want to share a photo of your D. falconeri?

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]My media is a little unorthodox. I use sand, peat and Georgia red clay (I dig it up from my yard) in a 3:1:1 ratio. The petiolaris really seem to like the mix.
Interesting mix. What prompted you to try it? Is the clay neutral or basic?

Thanks for sharing your info.
 
I don't know that I was in the shadows, I am just a wall flower to begin with
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[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I haven't seen these guys available in T/C. Am I just not looking hard enough?

Actually it is not available commercialy through T/C as far as I know. I have a friend that does some small private T/C work and provided seed for him.

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Do you have a cover on the tank or just open? Any external heating? What's the wattage on the fluorescent tubes? Want to share a photo of your D. falconeri?

The tank is covered in as much as the 18" fixtures cover it. I don't have it sealed or anything though. No external heating basically just whatever the house is at (down to 68F in winter and up to 78F in summer.) Occasionally I open the blinds on the near-by window which might add a bit of heat but not all that often.

I'll see if I can get a pic of my falconeri to Joseph in the next couple days.

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Interesting mix. What prompted you to try it? Is the clay neutral or basic?

Well, awhile back there was a whole big thin on laterite as a soil additive for these guys. I read some more back ground and a couple of the descriptions for habitats said something along the lines of "sandy-clay" soil. Someone on the listserv also asked about it and since I am a glutton for punishment I figured an experiment was in order. Not a very scientific on though since I just put the falconeri and kenneallyi and popped a spare paradoxa from the main pot straight into the clay mix (no real controls.) I figured they would either live or die. They lived, and are doing really well.

As for the properties of the clay, given that my hydrangea are blue I would guess it to be neutral/acidic but I have never really had it analyzed
 
In the words of John Madden, former Head Coach of the Oakland Raiders, "Hey, wait a minute!" Me and Elgecko both have flowering D. paradoxa plants! And as soon as Steve comes up to visit and takes a picture, I will have something decent to post.
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But to give you an idea of what I have going, these plants are at a SW window sill, in peat & sand, topped with (now) live LFS. I water from the open tray everyday. Elegecko's are in a terrarium set up, with earlier and taller flowers than mine.
 
My Petiolaris Complex Drosera are growing in a 10 gallon fish tank. There's about 4 inches of water in the bottom with a 200w fish tank heater set to maximum temperature ~90F. The plants are placed on grid that's supported by upside down pots in order for them to be above the water. I use the tray method. Glass covers the top except for about 1/4" on each side, so some airflow is achieved. The heater goes off with the lights every night. Temperatures range from 85-90 during the day, and around 70 at night. As for RH, it hovers in the 80% range. I'll post a picture later this evening (I hope).

-Homer
 
I do something similar to Homer except my heater is only turned to about 70 degrees. Mainly for winter time. During the summer the tank is around 85 degrees during the day.
 
  • #10
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I'd like to tap into the collective knowledge base here to help me grow these buggers
Sing to them that Daddy loves them and wants them to grow?  Seriously, I have no idea. Every time I get a plant that looks difficult, I send it off to someone whom I feel won't kill it.

Your photograph is really beautiful though. The next time somebody posts a photo of one of these little pretties, could you add a ruler to give me an idea of size. I am thinking these guys are really teeny tiny.
 
  • #11
Here's some pictures of my Petiolaris Complex setup. I forgot to mention in an earlier reply to this post that I use mylar for backing and two 24watt fluorescent light bulbs.

petiolaristank1.jpg


petiolaristank2.jpg


petiolaristank3.jpg


-Homer
 
  • #12
Nice setup Homer. Your plants look very happy.
 
  • #13
Absolutely beautiful plant Ron! Wow.

I wish the petiolaris plants were more available. They are such stunning plants and so many people dying to get them. I just recently acquired my first...D. paradoxa. Had a bit of a rough arrival but so far its still alive and putting out new leaves. I have for now left it in its original soil mix since it was shocked enough in transport. Maybe after a while I will consider other mixes.

I don't have to worry too much about heat. I don't use my AC so its QUITE hot in my house and in most of the plant tanks.

Homer, your plants and set ups are beautiful as well. The petiolaris complex has to be some of the most dramatic sundews. I'm jealous!
 
  • #14
Thanks for the pics, Homer. Do you have plans to propagate your Drosera falconeri?
 
  • #15
Thanks for the comments Steve and PAK
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[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Do you have plans to propagate your Drosera falconeri?

My falconeri is about to flower, but the other Petiolaris Complex Drosera are not!
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I've had poor luck with leaf cuttings on petiolaris and paradoxa...

Time will tell I guess.

-Homer
 
  • #16
I recieved a D.falconeri from Pyro last year, and I believed they would be difficult to grow. However, it is one of my easiest. I have it sitting of my windowsil in a small pot (I need to repot it, actually). I sometime cover it. I'm sure it would like to be a little warmer, but it has flowered twice and is growing a decent-sized offshoot. It is in pure LFS. I'd say it's one of my favorite dews, not demanding too much.

Cole
 
  • #17
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I am thinking these guys are really teeny tiny.

They're not like pygmies if that's what you mean. This plant is about 1.75 inches in diameter.
 
  • #18
[b said:
Quote[/b] (homer @ June 17 2005,5:55)]My Petiolaris Complex Drosera are growing in a 10 gallon fish tank. There's about 4 inches of water in the bottom with a 200w fish tank heater set to maximum temperature ~90F. The plants are placed on grid that's supported by upside down pots in order for them to be above the water. I use the tray method. Glass covers the top except for about 1/4" on each side, so some airflow is achieved. The heater goes off with the lights every night. Temperatures range from 85-90 during the day, and around 70 at night. As for RH, it hovers in the 80% range. I'll post a picture later this evening (I hope).

-Homer
Homer,
This seems like a big change from your setup of a few months ago. What prompted the change?

Keep a close eye on the growth of your more pubescent (hairy) species vs the others in these conditions. I've had very similar conditions for the past several months and my D. lanata's growth has slowed tremendously after an initial growth spurt and my D. ordensis has either re-entered dormancy or croaked*. I want to do some more checking but I'm wondering if the woolier species may prefer a lower humidity environment than the glabrous species. (this has been the experience of one other grower I contacted).

I'm going to test this theory w/ a 'drier' setup sometime in the near future. I'll let you know how it goes...


* - there was also an 'event' where I lost my more powerful lighting and the plants had to endure lower light levels for a period (see the red & green leaves on the D. kenneallyi). [Later edit - the D. ordensis definitely died
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)
 
  • #19
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Homer,
This seems like a big change from your setup of a few months ago. What prompted the change?

Ahh, last year sometime I had this same setup, but I used an incandescent light
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to "heat" or "fry"... whichever term you wanna use. Needless to say this one was one of my best blunders and I killed the paradoxa I had within hours. BUT I did manage to save a few leaves and I got 1 successful leaf cutting, and now the paradoxa is mature again. Dodged a bullet there. Anyway, this time around I'm using fluorescent lighting. I always wanted to go back to this setup, its not "new", its just my 2nd attempt.

Thanks for the information regarding the more hairy woolies. I'll keep my eyes on them. My ordensis just came out of dormancy, and is hanging out, but still growing. My seedlings are in this tank as well, so I need to keep it humid. I might make try to make a dry season of some kind in the future to give them a break.

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-Homer
 
  • #20
Just bringing this post back up...

Hi Ron,

I think you have a point there with the low humidity. Some of my healthiest petiolaris Drosera plants are grown under low humidity. I've been growing Drosera paradoxa from seed to flowering plants within 6 months in an outdoor terrarium that is 75% covered(traps the heat but not much of the humidity). It seems like the perfect place for cactus, rather than Drosera.
Otherwise, I have an indoor setup consisting of a large plastic container covered partly with some saran wrap(again to trap heat rather than humidity). The container sits on a heat mat(used on winter nights, but not in the summer) and the plants do not sit permanently in water as I allow the tray to dry out for a couple days between watering. When I use bottom heat, I take off most of the covering. There is no condensation in the container, even at night. Plants are grown within inches of 4 40watt flourescent tubes-cool white.
Here is a hairy form of D.paradoxa from 100km north of Drysdale River Station grown outdoors year-round. This plant will go into a semi-dormant state during the winter(smalller leaves), but still grows.
photo%20090.jpg

Drosera kenneallyi "type form"-Theda Station, Kimberley, WA
This particular clone produces traps that are naturally folded, even without prey, however, I did recently feed the plant in the photo. I have another clone from the same location growing in the same terrarium that produces the normal nonfolded traps. This was grown indoors in the above mentioned setup:
photo%20098.jpg

Drosera aff.ordensis "narrow leaf form"-Theda Station, Kimberley. This was indoor grown in the above mentioned setup:
photo%20096.jpg

Trap detail, recently fed:
photo%20106.jpg

Drosera lanata "type"- Lotus Glen, Mareeba, N.Queensland. Grown indoors in the above mentioned setup:
photo%20100.jpg

Drosera paradoxa "pink flower"-Mt.Bomford, Kimberley, WA. These were grown under ~80% humidity in a tray with the 2in humidity dome separate from my other petiolaris dews. Somehow a moth got inside...
photo%20066.jpg

I've also noticed that the traps of Drosera petiolaris move faster than most other Drosera species(besides maybe burmannii etc.), especially on a hot afternoon.
 
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