Nigel H-C

Hi All, Yes, I have the two forms on the website. The larger of the two was from Marstons in the early eighties, and the narrower, more gracile form was from Kew at around the same time. They both grow well and only rarely does the larger form fork twice, well under one percent of the leaves. Regards Nigel H-C

Rain over night. Not sure what difference it's made yet. Need full tanks as I'm off to Chelsea on Thursday, and my wife needs as little hassle as possible. Anyone going to the show? Nigel H-C

Nothing here, ran out the other day. Big flooding in Glos and Hereford yesterday. Am selling tickets to a rain dance I'm considering this weekend! Nigel H-C

Dave Ahrens would probably remember.

Hi Stu, Yes, at the time Sarracenia Nurseries had their two cultivars, 'Peaches (and Cream)', and S x mitchelliana 'Red Lips'. Regards Nigel

Whilst dusting off the old grey matter recently, I distinctively remembered the exornata plant known as 'Peaches' was originally called 'Peaches and Cream'. I thought I had one of the old Sarracenia nurseries catalogues from the '80's, but it seems not. Does anyone else remember it from back then? Nigel H-C

The last time I got in to the peat argument here, I was pilloried for it. As a flower show exhibitor I need to be well versed in this argument, especially when faced with a representative of the metropolitan let's drive a Prius and crap in the woods club; those who feel that as long as nothing falls within their own tunnel vision, then they'll save the planet by driving an electric car. Start asking where the electricity comes from, and you can see the tell-tale beads of sweat breaking out across their Nivea softened brows. I don't believe the sale of peat will end. Let's put things into perspective. Only a couple of percent of peat extracted is used in horticulture, nearly all of it is burnt in power stations (Ireland, Russia, China, Finland, Argentina etc.) Hold the line...Mr Sanctimonious who was looking down his nose at me for using peat only a few seconds ago, looks concerned. They didn't mention peat fired power stations in The Guardian? No, but he'll fight his corner anyway, he knows he's right, he always is, Cressida told him so. 'They don't burn peat' he says with a shake of his head and a knowing smile, though I can see a flicker of doubt on the next wave that threatens to wash him out to deeper waters. 'Are you carnivorous, like my friends here?' I ask, waving nonchalantly towards the botanical friends on my display. He looks confused at the Sarracenia, then back to me. 'No, why?' 'Well, I-I just wondered what you ate, and guessed vegetables were off the menu.' 'What the hell's that got to do with it?' he asks. Cressida touches his arm, perhaps for re-assurance that he has support against this troglodyte, perhaps to brush away a speck of gluten free muesli stuck like a barnacle to his arm. I go on. 'Well, as most of the peat used in UK horticulture goes into peat plugs for vegetable production, I assumed you boycotted eating vegetables.' That's got him, Cressida's now pulling at the arm. Before I have the chance to ask what car he drives, the amount of residual waste in his bin every two weeks which is sent to landfill, or indeed (as has been mentioned here), if he checks the ingredients of his weekly Waitrose shop for the presence of palm oil, he's gone, whisked away for a skinny organic lactose free latte to recover. I don't even get the chance to tell him to make sure he recycles the cup afterwards. My point is, peat is renewable, BUT before you choke on your tea, at such a pace as it should be considered finite. There are far, far, far bigger consumers of the stuff, and although we can all start small, the bigger picture is far more frightening. The palm oil issue being one of them. I argued this at one of our council meetings with a green party member. He wanted us to force our contractor to use a hot foam weed killer. Glastonbury town council had purchased one, and he was singing its praises as it uses no chemicals. It also doesn't work as it only kills the top growth, but that's another matter. When I asked what the foam was produced from, he replied 'it's just palm oil'. Well, there can't be too many nasty wicked members from my team, who could say they'd beaten a green at their own game. Suffice to say, we kicked the idea into the long grass. Whilst I agree that if we all club together we can achieve great things, when we're talking about a relatively tiny group of hobbyists, even if we all went peat free, it would I'm afraid achieve nothing. Unless we can lobby governments to close, rather than open peat fired power stations, nothing will change, and even if they did, what will they use instead, coal? Now that's another issue altogether. I endorse growers who want to go peat free, and good luck to them, but feel it's more a case of feeling good about ones actions, rather than making any tangible difference. Nigel HC

Where you are, I'd say you could probably grow a few more outside, especially in a sheltered spot. Buying too many plants is a common affliction, and one I'm still guilty of! Nigel HC

All the Sarracenia, and some non native Drosera like filiformis and all forms of binata except extrema are hardy here to minus 10. I've covered some different examples from around the UK and overseas in my book. Did I mention it's still available...? Nigel H-C

Plant porn at its finest! Nigel HC

It's closest to D. trinervia, and I imagine it requires the same conditions. Nigel HC

I remember my first step on the slippery slope... Welcome to the fascinating world of these plants. You'll find lots of info on here, and lots of folk ready to help. I was looking at another forum recently (not plant related), and a beginner asked a beginner's question. One of the resident divas said something along the lines of, 'well, if you're asking that question, you're clearly not ready to keep (blank!)'. I thought to myself, well hey bud, didn't you start somewhere? Talk about putting people off! Ask away, we don't bite on here, it's the plants that do that. Nigel HC

Shot of the mega rare D. acaulis, taken by Rachel Saunders.

Indeed, it's in a 35 litre pot! Nigel HC

I'm rather struck with the idea of dusting off my original Drosera regia for Chelsea this year. It will be the first time it's been displayed in probably 8 years. I recently had to snap the rhizomes which had spread out over the edge of the pot and re-plant them back inside. Net result, a much tidier plant, but it still weighs around 18 kgs! The problem is, it may be too big for the display... Nigel HC

These guys were all from seed. I've posted pictures of The Mamma under the 'Plants in Cultivation' tab. Nigel H-C

I saw in B & Q yesterday that they stock large trays for £4. They measure 51 x 42 x 10 cm, so a good depth, especially if you're fussing at work in the summer months about your plants drying out back in the greenhouse. They also do a propagator cover for about £8. The only down side is that small pots can tip in the grooves, but hey, for 4 quid we can put up with that! Nigel HC

Ask away, sure there's a wealth of growers on here also ready to answer.

That's okay! I've never found them difficult to transplant or repot. I'd sow them together in a tray or pot, depending on how many seeds you have, and prick them out when they're large enough to handle. Regards Nigel H-C

Now is a good time to sow a lot of the South African species as they like cool nights and warm days. Also a good time to sow Roridula and Drosophyllum. Don't be too impatient with D. regia, as it is a slow plant, remaining small for a couple of years before increasing its growth rate, seemingly once it starts catching more prey. Regards Nigel H-C

It's like all of these plants that garner an at times mythical status; as soon as anyone has a tiny division it ends up being sold for top dollar, and hence remains scarce, especially any plant of decent size. I find it pretty vigorous, and have a few in the nursery which I've propagated over the past few years and hope to have a few next year, possibly even this one! Regards Nigel

AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH! Mine's one and a half acres of wet clay, a mix of yellow claggy slop which the brambles (Rubus fruticosus) love. It's not unusual to see me cursing this type of soil! That said, once it's broken and worked, it makes a nice soil for general gardening. Problem is, after an accident last year my days of being able to dig beds and ponds seems to be at an end. Think I'd prefer the laterite option, but there's a lack of it around Glastonbury. Cheers Nigel

D. dichrosepala grows perfectly well in peat and sand, but it's a good one to experiment with, plus I think there are a few gemmae left on some of the plants!

I'm seeing my bonsai friend on Friday, and he's got various substrates, including Akadama, which like laterite has both Al and Fe, so will be interesting to see if a few D. dichrosepala gemmae will grow in it. Nigel H-C

Hi Zig, That's right, some species aren't as easy as others, as you probably know. Will be interesting to see if replicating the natural soil with those awkward customers makes a difference. Regards Nigel