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  • #161
Hi,

South African Drosera are also one of my favourite groups. The nice thing is, that most of these plants are very easy to cultivate and reproduce. I think, they will soon be widely available. I will be happy to share some seeds if i get some from my plants later this year.

At the moment i wonder about the best technique to reproduce Drosera affinis and Drosera glabripes. I know, root cuttings are (at least for D. glabripes) a good way, but are there other possibilities?

Has anyone already flowered D. affinis, D.glabripes, D. D. cuneifolia, D. slackii, D.ramentacea or D. rubrifolia? Do they set as easy seeds as most of the other plants, or is cross pollination needed?

Christian
 
  • #162
I am looking also. Are you sure that is pure cunefolia?
 
  • #163
That's as pure a D. cuneifolia as is possible- unlike most of the imposters you find. D. admirabilis is often considered to be D. cuneifolia but is quite different.

I've only been growing D. glabripes and rubrifolia a short while so can't comment on their ability to self pollinate. I have a feeling that they will though. I can say that they grow very easily from seed for me. D. glabripes should flower soon.

D. affinis has been flowering for me for a few months now and seems to be self pollinating. The problem I have is that it is growing in my indoor tank and when the flowers reach the lights they invariably get burnt and damaged. Those that have escaped the lights and grown through the roof have produced seed without any intervention from me.

All my D. slackii plants need a different clone to produce seed. Recently I crossed a couple of my plants with a nice form of D. admirabilis and obtained a large amount of seed. I'm yet to sow it and find out the results of the cross.

I can't comment on the D. cuneifolia or ramentacea as I am yet to find myself these plants. I've grown so called D. cuneifolia from seed several times and they invariably turn out to be D. admirabilis. At the moment I'm searching for some root cuttings so that I can be sure of what I'm getting.
 
  • #164
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Seandew @ Feb. 13 2005,2:36)]D. affinis has been flowering for me for a few months now and seems to be self pollinating. The problem I have is that it is growing in my indoor tank and when the flowers reach the lights they invariably get burnt and damaged. Those that have escaped the lights and grown through the roof have produced seed without any intervention from me.
Hi Sean,

Sounds like an enormous waste of seeds of this nice species
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I also have grown many D. admirabilis from seeds i got as D. cuneifolia. If you go with Jan Schlauers Database this is even correct. Btw, my D. cuneifolia is from Silvermina, SAF. Is it only known from this location or does it occour somwhere else?

Keep us posted about the cross of D. slackii an D. admirabilis! I think this can result in some very nice plants!

Christian
 
  • #165
Yes, the waste of D. affinis seed is annoying. Even more anoying is the fact that only the ones in the tank will flower. I have 3 other pots in the greenhouse which all grow well but won't produce any flowers for me.

Even though Jan Schlauer includes D. admirabilis under D. cuneifolia I have a hard time accepting that these are the same plants. Do your D. cuneifolia plants go dormant in Summer? I have never seen the flower of D. cuneifolia and would love to be able to compare it to some of the D. admirabilis forms I grow- which vary amongst themselves considerably.

I'm not sure of the known distribution of D. cuneifolia in the wild in RSA. I'm sure that it grows in more areas than just Silvermine though.

I have sown some of the seed of D. slackii x admirabilis and am awaiting germination. I may have a little spare if you are interested.
 
  • #166
Hi Sean,

I have yet to see flowers of Drosera admirabilis and Drosera cuneifolia. From what i have seen in my own plants (and read, for example the article of Robert Gibson in the CPN 2001(?)) Drosera admirabilis and cuneifolia are really quite different. The most obvious difference is the size. Drosera cuneifolia is at least twice the size of Drosera admirabilis. The stipules and leaf shape are also different as is the way new leafs unfold. So i do have the feeling these are really different species. I also grow Drosera sp "floating" which i think is much closer to Drosera admirabilis than Drosera cuneifolia is. I have failed with reproducing Drosera cuneifolia by leaf cuttings so far and have recently been told, that it is impossible. D. admirabilis and sp "floating" can easily be reproduced this way. Another difference, but i don't know if this counts.

I have heard, that Drosera cuneifolia may die back during summer, but have not experienced it myself yet. I'm only growing them for two years now. Who knows what will happen this year.

Christian
 
  • #167
Is there anything different with south african sundews as far as the requirements to grow them? Im ordering a D.Aliciae soon and was wondering if it would be happy outside in FL.
 
  • #168
It's a real easy plant to grow on a window sill, year round and spreads.
 
  • #169
So does that meen it dosnt need much light/humidity?
 
  • #170
I have mine, including the Cape sundews, at a SW window, open tray. It isn't the same as being outside, but they DO turn red for me and at least the D. capensis will flower. I haven't had the D. aliciae flower yet, but it is reddened and spreading under those conditions. Humidity in a room is one thing, but the humidity immediately surrounding the plant, due to "open tray" is higher, though I have to numbers to quantify it. It does fine there and I don't have to worry about potentially having to deal with aphids, as the tropical sundews seem prone to attracting.
 
  • #171
The only concern with growing the South African species in Florida might be the lack of a sufficient night time drop in temperature which most of these species enjoy and some require. Please report your success or failure, the data is always useful to others. Some of our friends in Singapore have reported difficulties with species which many of us consider "easy" species, like Drosera capensis. I say go for it, at worst you are out a few bucks for the plant. It's growers like you that can shed some light on what is and what is not possible in conditions that approach tropical.
 
  • #172
How much does the temp. have to drop? It goes from about 90 during daytime to about 70 at night.Also do they require a dormancy period like most CP's?
 
  • #173
Hi,

The dormancy depends on the species. For example all plants in the Drosera cistiflora-complex die back during summer. They have to kept similar to tuberous Drosera. These plants can definitely not be considered to be easy.

If you grow for example Drosera capensis, dielsiana, aliciae they do not necessarily need a dormany. These can be cultivated in warm terrariums all the year. I grow these plants in my greenhouse, that is heated up to 5°C during winter. If kept like this, some of the plants may die back during winter. They almost always recover from roots in the following spring.

Christian
 
  • #174
Well I just got my D. Aliciae and wow is it small.I got the 3/4 - 1 in leafspan one from Cooks. It was only like $3.50 so that could be why.I didnt really measure the mix I used to pot it in but its probbly about 70/30 peat and perlite is that ideal? Ill let everyone know how it does being outside.
 
  • #175
Just to let everybody know its doing fine outside in FL.About every day or so it puts out a new leaf so its going pretty good
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  • #176
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Tamlin Dawnstar @ Sep. 03 2002,7:03)]so c'mon all you South African growers

I'm a newbie based in Centurion. Got VFTs and Sundews so far. Getting a pitcher tomorrow, maybe
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  • #177
D. x corinthiaca

I have D. aliciae and D. glabripes.

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Maybe if they flower at the same time I could try cross pollinating to produce D. x corinthiaca. I might be able to try reciprocal hybridization too, D. glabripes is the assumed pollen donor see this article.

Anybody have success with this cross? It is a naturally occurring hybridization.
 
  • #178
I am growing admiribilis and I just got trinervia. Does trinervia have a dromancy?
 
  • #179
D. trinervia is a winter growing Drosera. It normally goes dormant in the summer and dies down to the thick almost tuberous root when it does. The procedure I've read is if it goes dormant to let the pot dry out for a couple months. Then slightly damp until growth resumes after which you can go back to normal tray watering.

Pyro can tell you more. Mine died - no root.
 
  • #180
Pyro can tell you more. Mine died - no root.

Actually Pyro is growing this for the first time this year so he can not say for sure how dormancy will go.

However, I have been growing cistiflora for years and I plan on using the same technique. When the plant dies down I keep watering in the usual manner (water in the tray to a depth of 1cm wait 2 days after it is dry to add more) for a couple more weeks. Then I slowly let the pot dry, occasionally adding small amounts of water to the tray if the pot is drying too fast. After a month the pot should be dry on the surface and if you probe it the top 2-3 cm should be dry as well. Then I stick the pot (if it is 15cm or smaller) in a ziplock and leave it till the next season. I start looking around August and if there is no sign of growth by Oct the pot goes in the tray regardless. Start the watering regimen but leave the tray dry for a week before adding water. Once growth is seen go to 2 days dry before adding water.

This past year I also tried something different and grew a batch of cistiflora in a taproot pot (10cm x 10cm x 23cm). Treatment was the same for this pot except I did not bag it once the plants were down. Got really good recovery this year with it.
 
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