11 replies to this topic

[Starman]

Hello!  
I want to get Genlisea pygmea. How rare is this plant?
And, how do you look after it?  :?  
Thank you for your help,
Dino  

[vic brown]

You can look after it the same way as you do for your Genlisea violacea. As it's name suggests, it's a smaller and slower growing plant and like many Genlisea is becoming more common in collections as growers realise that this genus isn't as difficult as many thought.

It might be wise to make sure that you have the conditions to keep your  Genlisea violacea.  growing well, first though, before investing in another. G. violacea is a larger, more vigorous and easier species.

Vic

[Starman]

Hmmmm, the cutting of G.violacea "caraca" has rooted, and it has started growing. 2 leaves are growing from the middle of the rossete. I was wondering about the rarity of G.pygmea because someone told me that its very, very rare. Thanks Vic!  
Dino  

[Bob H]

G. pygmae isn't that rare, many growers have it in their collection, I'm hoping to add it to mine soon. I think it is thought of as rare because it is such a slow grower, and tiny :-)
Good luck in sourcing it, you could always try seed,
I think http://www.b-and-t-w...com/letters.htm has Genlisea seed. (Not sure they have pygmae though)

[Rob-Rah]

Mine died under the same conditions as violacea, hispidula and aurea. I might try again, although it was not the most thrilling plant, due to its size.

[Starman]

Sorry to hear that, Rob.    If mine lives and thrives, I will let you know how I grow it.  

[Fernando Rivadavia]

Hi guys,

Please see my post in the parallel discussion on Terraforums...

Fernando Rivadavia

[Bob H]

Fernando - Is there somewhere I can look to find the climatic conditions for the areas in which these plants grow, not just G. pygmaea, but the Brazilian Genlisea and Utrics in general?

[sundewmatt]

Hi Fernando,

Some of us here don't participate in the Terraforums.  Please post your threads here :)

Regarding G.pygmaea, I have plants grown from seed.  This is one species where it's easy to overlook seedlings!  Very tiny!  And slow growers too, from my experience at least....

Most Genlisea seem to me to be easy to grow.

[Fernando Rivadavia]

Hi Matt!

This is what I posted on the other forum....

----------------------------

     So is G.pygmaea rare? Well, not on some highlands here in Brazil, hehehe! I guess that answers another question: it is not a "lowlander". It grows mostly in humid sandy soils near natural springs on highlands, from around 500-1500m altitude. Although it is apparently a perenial in cultivation, it might actually be an annual in the wild (much like G.violacea).

      G.pygmaea is actually one of the rarest of Genlisea species in Brazil, but still not too hard to find. Actually, to tell you guys the truth, for the past few years I have been tormented with taxonomic doubt as to what the type G.pygmaea really looks like, I never got to see it in Paris. I'm fairly sure there is more than one species in what is presently considered G.pygmaea. Some plants are truly tiny, but others sometimes look like small G.aurea. Or maybe there is some hybridization going on in the field....


Take care,
Fernando Rivadavia

[Fernando Rivadavia]

Hey Bob,

    Sorry, don;t know where you can get good climate info on Brazil. But even if you did, it would probably be for specific cities, and not the actual places where the plants grow. That's quite hard actually because they grow mostly in highlands. Temperatures and humidity will vary A LOT depending on altitude and specific ecological niches.

    Just go by this rule of thumb: cool, not hot, and no frosts!

    I would be great to be able to immitate the usual natural spring habitat of most CPs in Brazil, where tehre is always a constant flow of cool water over the soil...


Take Care,
Fernando Rivadavia

[Siggi_Hartmeyer]

Quote

Just go by this rule of thumb: cool, not hot, and no frosts!

Yesterday I took this photo of my Genlisea pygmaea. It grows in our colection since about one year now, and Fernando I beg your pardon, the plant develops fine inside our tropical Nepenthes greenhouse, just like Genlisea repens, which becomes indeed invasive under that conditions.