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rosolis76

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Posts posted by rosolis76

  1. Hello,

    Through this short article, I would like to share my method of growing pygmy sundews, which has begun to give quite satisfactory results in recent years.

    Most of these Drosera are endemic to Australia where they mainly occur in the western part of the country. The climate is rather subtropical with hot and dry summers, and fairly cool and humid winters, although temperatures are very rarely negative. 

    The vegetative cycle of the miniature Drosera consists of two main phases. Plants develop carnivorous leaves especially in autumn and winter, when soil and air humidity is high and days are short. On the other hand, the gradual arrival of summer temperatures combined with the drying of the surface layers and the lengthening of days cause the plants to enter into dormancy. The plants stop the production of new leaves and form a small and more or less hairy bud at the top of the rosette. Reducing the leaf surface exposed to dry winds and intense sunlight on the hottest days prevents the cells from drying out. The return of rains in the autumn also coincides with the formation of small spreading organs called gemmae, which once ripe, are dispersed by wind and water over the surrounding areas. Weather conditions permitting, a root emerges within a few days allowing the propagule to anchor in the soil, a phase quickly followed by the formation of the first carnivorous leaves. This "natural cloning" is an effective and fast means of reproduction.

    Most species are easy to grow but it can sometimes be difficult to conserve some Drosera for more than one or two seasons. Watering is an important point. Pygmy Drosera require a very wet substrate during the growing season (autumn, winter and spring) while it should be kept barely wet during the resting period in summer. After many tests, I found that the use of tall pots (18 to 20 cm) greatly facilitated the management of substrate moisture and optimized the proper development of plants. Pygmy Drosera form roots that are remarkably long in relation to their size to exploit the lower layers of the soil that retain some moisture during the driest months. With such high pots, it is possible to leave a 4 or 5 cm depth of water in a large saucer to keep the substrate very wet during growth. The water supply can be reduced in spring by maintaining less than 1 cm or by letting the saucer dry completely from time to time in summer. The substrate must be fairly draining, composed for example of sand and peat (50/50).

    The ideal temperature range during growth (October to May in the northern hemisphere) is between 5°C and 20°C. Plants can occasionally tolerate slightly negative night temperatures, provided the condition get significantly warmer during the day. In summer, Pygmy Drosera can withstand temperatures above 40°C but care must be taken to ensure that the substrate never dries completely and  pot is kept from direct sunlight.  

    Pygmy Drosera enjoy  full sunlight exposure. Artificial lighting devices such as fluorescent tubes or LED tubes also give good results, provided they provide sufficient power. The lighting duration should be between 12 and 14 hours in summer and between 8 and 10 hours in winter.

    Sincerely,
    Damien

    stelliflora.jpg.4c9b86bc84570a6cc1850250fa388441.jpg

     

    • Like 2
  2. Hello,

    I would like to share with you my little experience of growing Drosera of the Petiolaris group.

    These magnificent plants are found mainly in northern Australia. The climate consists of a hot period with sometimes very high temperatures (over 35°C) and a high level of soil and air humidity. It is during this period that the Drosera develop their carnivorous leaves. The other part of the year, temperatures are cooler (especially at night) but often remain above 10-15°C while daytime temperatures remain quite high (+25°C). In addition, rains are almost completely absent for several months and only slight humidity subsist in the lower layers of the soil. At this time, the leaves of the Drosera of the Petiolaris complex disappear and give way to a central bud, more or less woolly in appearance. This allows the plant to protect itself from the wind and sun during dry periods.

    To grow them in Europe, it is most convenient to keep them in a heated greenhouse or terrarium. I personally opted for this second alternative. For reasons of economy but also for better thermal insulation, my terrarium was made from extruded polystyrene. The upper part (the "roof") is of course made of glass to allow artificial light to pass through.


    65vrVjC.jpg


    Several lighting devices give very good results. In the past, I used classic T8 fluorescent tubes, which are inexpensive to buy but moderately efficient in relation to their electricity consumption. T5 fluorescent tubes, in my experience, give better growing results because they produce more heat and light than T8s at the same operating cost. Plants should be placed less than 30 cm (or even 20 cm) from the tubes in order to make the most of the tubes' power.

    For heating, waterproof silicone heating cables offer a very good solution, but it is also possible to use an aquarium heater placed in a large water container that will produce heat and increase air humidity at the same time. The disadvantage of this second solution is that the water level around the resistance must be checked regularly so that it remains well submerged.

    Watering is probably the point that requires the most attention. In summer, it is possible to let the pot bathe in a few centimetres of water. On the other hand, the substrate should be kept slightly moist during the rest period, but not completely dry. Tall pots are very useful because they allow the roots to develop properly, which are often quite long. They also help to keep moisture deep down when the pots are no longer immersed in water. The susbtrate consists of a mixture of peat (60%), sand (30%) and perlite (10%).

    357707493_TERRAPETIO2.jpg.8582538b815e457ad9c33f9eb09ca801.jpg

    We hope that this information will be useful to you.

    Best regards,

    Damien

    TERRA PETIO.jpg

    • Thanks 1
  3. Jeff,

    You can try not giving them dormancy but they will reduce growth anyway ;-). In my experience, D.paradoxa (and hybrids) is the only species that can grow all year without a true dormancy but other species will require it for an healthy development and a long term conservation (more than 2 years).

     

    Kindest regards.

    Damien

  4. Hello Jeff,

    You can move your seedlings in another pot if you keep enough substrate around the roots. To avoid too much stress, it is always better to consider enough space between each seeds during sowing and not putting too many of them in one pot. I agree with Marcel, heat and high RH are ok if you provide enough light.

    To me, the biggest challenge with young Pet.sundews is to keep them alive during their first dormancy period when they have only 1 cm in diameter. Good luck ;-)

    Kindest regards.

    Damien

  5. Hello Jeff,

    You can move your seedlings in another pot if you keep enough substrate around the roots. To avoid too much stress, it is always better to consider enough space between each seeds during sowing and not putting too many of them in one pot. I agree with Marcel, heat and high RH are ok if you provide enough light.

    To me, the biggest challenge with young Pet.sundews is to keep them alive during their first dormancy period when they have only 1 cm in diameter. Good luck ;-)

    Kindest regards.

    Damien

  6. Hi everyone,

     

    Nice topic Rodrigo! Genlisea are so amazing plants!

     

    Dead Sphagnum can work well including with G.africana. When I was in Angola, I saw some populations of this last species growing amount living and dead sphagnum whereas other populations were growing on sandy soils. I cultivation, I noticed that dead sphagnum can be really usefull when growing conditions deal with high temperatures and high humidity all year round (in a tropical terrarium for example). However a more "classical" growing media like a mix of peat and sand also works really well in the most cases.

     

    All the best,

    Damien

  7. Dear growers,

     

    To start the year, I would like to share with you some pictures I took today.

     

    First, a beautiful flower of U.fulva:

    BkcxrJM.jpg?1

     

    U.pubescens:

    GKjqbbP.jpg?1

     

    Then, some pictures of Drosera which is one of my favourite genus:

     

    The rare D.chimaera growing slowly:

    2mNVrgB.jpg

     

    D.roraimae from Serra do Araca and its amazing pink-red colour:

    5KxsmGp.jpg?1

     

     

    A nice form of D.latifolia:

    eWgB1Wb.jpg?1

     

    A nice group of D.capensis WF x aliciae

    sawX0eG.jpg?1

     

    I hope you like them.

     

    All the best,

    Damien

    • Like 5
  8. Dear Daniel,

     

    I am also really really sorry about what happened to you and your family, I was really schocked by the videos of the fire. I send you all my postivie thinkings to overcome this dificult time.

     

    Of course, you can also count on me to rebuilt your collection when the situation will be better.

     

    Friendly,

    Damien

  9. Dear growers,

     

    I would like to share a strange observation I made with one of my Genlisea clone from Angola. As you can see on the following picture, all the leave of this plant have small white trichomes on their surface:

     

    a18yz6Z.jpg

     

    This clone was supposed to be G.hispidula, at least, flowers were really similar to those from the description of this species. It was growing in the Central Region of Angola at about 1.800 m above see level in pure laterite with U.welwitshchii and madagascariensis. 

     

    I hope you enjoyed this strange Genlisea. Pictures of the flowers will follow soon if they want to open one day :-)

     

    All the best,

    Damien

  10. Hello Everyone,

     

    Last week-end I had the opportunity to go for a small treck in the “cirque de Navacelles” in the Department of the Gard (Southern France). It is located towards the southern edge of the Massif Central mountain range. This area is a section of the typical dissected plateau named “Causses”. In this part, the Vis River eroded a deep channel through the base of the valley, creating an incised meander which eventually eroded through creating a cut-off at the neck of the loop.

     

    The place is quite dry and the landscape around looks like that:

     

    ic1rI0U.jpg

     

    We started the trek from the small village in the “cirque” and we walked along the shore or the Vis River until we reached an old watermill. At this place, the groundwater system comes up spontaneously in a spring and creates a really humid environment between deep gorges:

     

    excm0Vl.jpg

     

    There was still quite a lot of water in the Vis River bed but it was possible to walk a bit along the shore to search for some Pinguicula growing in the gorges:

     

    c8wziMr.jpg

     

    After only 5 minutes walking I found the first population of Pinguicula longifolia subsp.caussensis which are endemic from “causses” ecosystems:

     

    8v1OjIW.jpg

     

    X10harc.jpg

     

    3hkKdzJ.jpg

     

    As they were growing in a shady place they just started to form their flower scapes:

     

    iZ4ft59.jpg

     

    Other part of the population was growing on the opposite side of the gorges in a quite sunny place and I had to cross the river to reach the place. If you focus on the following picture you can see some Pinguicula flowers among the grass and a crazy young man freezing because of the really cold water:

     

    5OX2Ztt.jpg

     

    Some details of the plants already flowering:

     

    Mr5r05f.jpg

     

    hChGJKc.jpg

     

    ...and catching preys:

     

    M5R7GNL.jpg

     

    Some of them were growing on a rock almost in the middle of the river. It was the most beautiful group I saw there:

     

    ok2h4SW.jpg

     

    EM4ayQU.jpg

     

    I hope you enjoyed this short field trip report.

     

    Best regards,

    Damien

    • Like 2
  11. Nice plant, congratulations! Flower looks like U.striatula but I also think this could be a new species. There are still many carnivorous plants species to discover around the world and especially in continent like Africa. I saw so many places with strange flowers (especially from Utricularia) in Angola that I am sure there are new stuffs to discover there...

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