Drosera brevifolia availability?

[Chicxulub]

What is the availability of D. brevifolia in the hobby? I've looked for it, and haven't had much luck finding it. The only place I managed to find it was relatively expensive. Is this considered a rare species, or is it just not desired? I'm only asking out of sheer curiosity; I figured that a US native would be fairly common in the hobby.

 

[Cthulhu138]

Seeds are somewhat commonly available. It's a common U.S. native that also happens to be an annual with a propensity to be weedy. I just don't think many people bother growing it intentionally.

 

[Chicxulub]

Fair enough. I'm sitting on ten acres where it's very common, and was willing to put some plants into circulation if I needed to to help the community. If it's not necessary though, I won't bother .

 

[patrickntd]

I have a chance to grow them from seeds a while ago. They grew well with my other drosera only for a season or 2.

I haven't done any controlled experiment, so I can only comment just based on my observation. They are not doing well after flowering. I guess this specie prefer propagation by seeds. Maybe this is one of the reasons why they are not popular in cultivation.

 

[Cthulhu138]

I personally enjoy growing it. It's similar to D.burmannii in it's weediness and short life span. I never mind seeing them pop up where they're not supposed to be.

 

[hcarlton]

I have a large seedbank stored of this species from my own pot of plants, with individual plants that have stuck around for me for a few years now without dying back. I find the seeds can be somewhat reluctant to germinate (anyone know if, despite this being a subtropical, the seeds would like stratification? Hybrids can be equally finicky I've found), but the plants are more than easy to grow.

 

[Radagast]

I tried growing it from seed that I purchased but was unsuccessful. The weather in my area was 18*F today, but I may take you up on your offer in the spring! haha

 

[Chicxulub]

I have a large seedbank stored of this species from my own pot of plants, with individual plants that have stuck around for me for a few years now without dying back. I find the seeds can be somewhat reluctant to germinate (anyone know if, despite this being a subtropical, the seeds would like stratification? Hybrids can be equally finicky I've found), but the plants are more than easy to grow.

It wouldn't surprise me if they do. Where I'm at, we normally have about a month of freezing temps at night in the winter, and it's not unusual to have the highs top out at only 45-50 or so during that same time. They're obviously thriving, and the plants are flowering right now. They'll drop seed right about the time of the year when it's coldest.

Here's some pics I took about a month ago:

 

[Radagast]

Very cool that you've got them growing right in your back yard. They look great too. The red is a nice contrast among the green moss.

 

[Chicxulub]

Thanks! I've got Pinguicula caerulea, three Sarracenia species and Utricularia subulata, too.

If I ever move, I'm probably going to take that clump on the moss with me.

 

[Huntsmanshorn]

I grow this species also from seed. The first batch of about 100 seeds produced exactly one plant, I got those seeds on ebay. The second batch of seeds, this time from the ICPS, produced dozens of plants. No stratification in either case, for whatever that's worth. In my opinion these are nice, pretty plants, more people should give a try.

 

[nimbulan]

I can't say I've seen them available, but I haven't really been looking either. Those are some nice pictures!

 

[bluemax]

Chixulub - my reaction would be to say that most sundew growers have never even seen this one, so they haven't had any exposure to it. The way I sometimes deal with cool species that no one really knows about is to throw them in, seed or plant, with trades. I've gotten a few this way as well.

 

[hcarlton]

I grow this species also from seed. The first batch of about 100 seeds produced exactly one plant, I got those seeds on ebay. The second batch of seeds, this time from the ICPS, produced dozens of plants. No stratification in either case, for whatever that's worth. In my opinion these are nice, pretty plants, more people should give a try.

I've had some of my seeds listed on ebay before and donated a fair amount to the ICPS in the past, makes me wonder if some aspect of the age of the seeds affects it, or how they're stored.....

And I agree with bluemax, it's a species that I think a lot of people just haven't heard of...

 

[Tacks]

I've germinated D. brevifolia in the past that took 4.5 months, which is way longer than most subtropical or warm temperate Drosera. The seed wasn't super fresh, so maybe there's a significant drop in viability over time?