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Rob-Rah

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Everything posted by Rob-Rah

  1. I thought that there were two species, U vulgaris and U macrorhiza, which are very similar and both grow in acidic water. The difference I was led to believe was that U macrorhiza's bladders darkened to almost black with age, whereas U. vulgaris's didn't. I'm not sure what I have. I was growing some in a pond, but these new plants I want to use in a tank came from the auction late last year, so I havent seen the bladders yet.
  2. A red highland truncata (with underdeveloped peristome). :)
  3. Thanks for that. It's very helpful indeed! I don't intend to subject the plant to freezing, so I won't have the same unlucky problem as you. It should still go dormant at 4C. Hope this works! Thanks.
  4. Does anyone have any tips on how to grow this species in a tank, rather than a pond? I would like to have some of it in my frost-free greenhouse with my other CPs in some sort of tank, so I can see it properly. I have read all sorts of things about the depth of the water required, anywhere from 1 to 3 (or more) feet. If it's enclosed like this, will it form happy mats of stolons, or does it just complain? I was considering a tank around 14 inches deep (maybe 60-70 litres / 13-15 gallons). Is this way too small? How you grow yours? Cheers.
  5. Can D. villosa (ascendens) be propogated by leaf cuttings? Is it the normal method of laying them on sphagnum moss and waiting? How much light do cuttings need? Thanks to anyone who has done this.
  6. I know this is reputedly hard to establish from bare root, but does anyone know how long approximately it takes? Are we talking weeks, months or years? I have had mine for a couple of months and it's still sitting there, lower leaves shrivelled, static. Do I rejoice that it's not dead, or should I have expected growth by now if it's not a goner? Thanks.
  7. Rob-Rah

    D. gigantea

    This is my first year with D. gigantea, bought from tubers in autumn. My other two tuberous sundews are now above soil (fimbriata and stolonifera), but gigantea hasn't appearred yet. Should I panic? Fwiw, they're in water trays in a greenhouse with a min of about 5C. Any ideas??
  8. Ok - my genlisea will go back to the same place as my other ones with "natural" light in the greenhouse highland nep chamber. I still want to know what sort of actual wattage I should look for for the lowland neps 6-10" from the tubes. Cheers.
  9. I have a small tank for some CPs. Just over 1 (tall) x 1 (deep) x 2 (wide) feet. It was formerly a fishtank, with a 16" light fitting in the lid, which I would like to continue to use as it looks nice. It currently has a 15W "aqua-glo" tube in it (on a timer switch), which I presume is not bright enough. Now that winter is here, I need more light as I don't want to stand it in a windowsill any more. I am growing a few small lowland neps in it (belii, campanulata, adnata, ampullaria), a genlisea hispidula and a bulbuphyllum orchid - yes it's pretty full! None of these need very high light do they? I am completely new to this: what kind of wattage/tube should I go and purchase? Thanks.
  10. I cant pin myself down! Highland - aristolochiodes, hamata, rajah Lowland - ampullaria, campanulata (yes, the hallmarks of a terrarium-grower)
  11. What do people grow this in? Peat/perlite? Sphagnum moss/perlite? Straight sphagnum moss? Bark chips, etc? And how high a water table? My U. endresii seems happy in moss/perlite (50:50) and regular overhead watering in winter, sitting in 1 inch of water in summer. Is that reasonable for quelchii? (I dont imagine it would want the same substrate as humboldtii or nelumbifolia as it grows in very different situations in the wild) Thanks for any ideas!
  12. Indeed. I keep the Proteaceae in a seperate greenhouse from the CPs - or just stand them outside (fresh air is the number 1 consideration I find).
  13. I don't know of that, unless people keep it too wet after flowering (i.e. when it wants to go dormant). Drosophyllum needs careful watering after flowering too.... (Or it might have been a bad source - eg. the Leucoufle book says that D. madagascariensis is annual - presumably becuase it died back in winter and he didnt have the patience to see if it re-shooted in spring!) If you're offering plants, I'd be delighted!
  14. D. cisitiflora is perennial but dies down in the hot dryish summer to the wiry roots.
  15. Fantastic videos! I've never seen the plants "in action" like that: I'm inspired to go try my hand at growing them now. Actually, on a cultivation point it sounds like they want to be treated almost extactly the same as various Proteaceae species of South Africa, which do fine for me (but would hate my CP greenhouse!). Where does one go about procuring the bugs to go with them? (if they were absent I imagine it would be very easy to have too many dead insects leading to rot). Cheers.
  16. Fusca like high-ish humidity but will be OK in a greenhouse (or even perhaps on a windowsil as long as it's not sitting on top of a radiator), and that it gets reasonable humidity (spray it every now and then if you're worried). It is one of the thicker-leaved neps so doesn't collapse under bad conditions like some other might. Tim, you say that you have had minimum temps of 3C. In Ca do you stil get reasonably sunny/warm days in winter? Here in the cold and cloudy UK, a minimum of 3C in a greenhouse is quite likely in practice to mean several weeks of the temps slumping between 3C and 10C day and night. As far as I know, highland neps can take cold temperatures at night but do appreciate a day rise differential to around 20C. What is your experience? Cheers.
  17. Crikey, I didn't realise the tendrils of macfarlanei grew that long. Not sure how my terrarium-grown one will cope if it starts behaving like that! Lovely pics. Thanks.
  18. Rob-Rah

    2 Neps to ID

    Mirabilis also often has fringed edges to the leaves (per Slack's first book). I had one a number of years ago. The fimbriation goes away as the plant gets older.
  19. I was under the impression that it died down to the roots in colder conditions and then reshoots in spring......??
  20. I have a D madagascariensis (or something masquerading as one - weren't there some ID issues a few years ago?). It has gone dormant - as I expected. Easy question: Do I keep it wet, moist or dry for the winter? Cheers.
  21. Ah, and the joyful little U. subulata that gets everywhere I see has invaded your plant too! (or is it a diffent Utric?) On another note, I have found that D. villosa var. ascendens (the plant usually sold as D villosa in the UK) appreciates a very low mineral content in the soil. I tried it in peat and sand, but it wasn't happy as I stood it in the same water tray as some pots that had vermiculite in them. The main crown turned brown from the centre and stopped growing, eventually dying. I guess the minimal salts from the vermiculite upset the drosera. Fortunately, a side-shoot stayed alive and it's now in pure sphagnum moss (about the best substrate there is for purity of salts and bacteria) and doing fine. I have been giving it a 10C minimum. Plants in habitat can grow in very wet places indeed, with the water at the soil level, so the issue is not one of dryness but of purity; at least that's what I feel.
  22. I use the waterbath system for a big Highland tank in my greenhouse. The aquarium I have got is a little small for the loss of a few inches from the base with a waterbath. I only want to grow miniature-type plants in it. A waterproof heating cable in sand sounds a good bet...
  23. Hmm. Sounds more complex than I hoped. Maybe I'll just have to jack up the central heating then! Cheers.
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