New to Drosophylum!

[Loakesy]

I noticed this morning that one of the Drosophylum seeds I got from the CPS seedbank (and sown a month ago on 100% vermiculite) has germinated!

I'm absolutely thrilled! but also a little nervous as to what to do next.

According to David D'Amato I should prick it out now, before the roots have a chance to get established, and pot it in its permenant pot, in 1:1:1 Sand:perlite:vermiculite.

Does anyone have any other advice, or alternative advice? I don't really want to lose it before it's has a chance at life!

[jimscott]

Obviously, I'll be keeping tabs on this thread as well. What strikes me is that 2 of the 3 soil media being proposed are artificial.

I have Savage Garden opened and on page 179, he writes, "Never attempt to transplant your dewy pine, root disturbance often leads to its death". Not very comforting words!

Page 176 describes the soil media as being eual parts perlite, sand, and vermiculite, with pumice or lava rock as a good additive. They apparently like drier conditions and should never be kept on the tray system, but to allow for good drainage. It wants full most of te day.

According to the Pietropaolo's, media should be sphagnum moss, living or non-living, perlite, and sand (equal parts). This book gives more description and explanation behind the do's and don'ts. At 4-6" (10-15 cm), they can be watered freely or kept in standing water and they wil grow as biennial, producing viable seed in the second year. As a perrenial, it is cultivated exactly as Mr. D'Amato describes, with respect to media, watering, drainage, and lighting. End of plagiarism.

Elgecko has a mature plant, started from seed. Perhaps he will see this topic and share his experience. I'll make sure he does!

[Greg Allan]

Hi Loakesy,

Congratulations! Not wanting to discourage you too much, the first thing to say is that Drosophyllum seedlings have a habit of dropping dead for no apparent reason, so you may lose it even if you apparently do nothing wrong. I've read that around 40% die early on. I recently (July) germinated 3 seeds from my mother plant, two of which are still alive and well. I use Slack's recommended mix of sand, peat and John Innes No2. Contrary to what most of the literature says, I kept my seedlings on the tray system most of the time, so the compost was almost always very wet. I got this idea from Jan Visee, the Dutch grower from whom I purchased my first Drosophyllum. He says Drosophyllum are far more tolerant than most people think. It certainly worked for me. I Slack-potted my seedlings when they were around 6cm tall. Slack himself recommends doing this when they reach their 8th leaf. I now treat my seedlings in the same way as I treat the mother plant. I water it via the top pot every 6-10 days. My method's not very scientific, but when I notice that the plants are less dewy than normal is when I water them. The surface of the soil in the inner pot always seems bone dry. I keep my plants on a South facing windowsill. As my flat has no central heating, the temperatures are relatively low during the winter months. These conditions seem to be adequate- my mother plant flowered in April, producing around 30 seeds (most of which my girlfriend accidently threw away, a source of contention even today!). I do think that they'd do even better with more sunlight. My plants have longer stems than those that I've seen growing in greenhouses in full sun, and I think my large plant will probably be too straggly this time next year. Still, they grow well, flower, and look decent, so I won't complain, but I would advise you to give them as much sun as you can. I don't know if you have a greenhouse- if so, I suspect that your plant may do better in there, although I've heard of people losing plants to rot and damp in the winter in greenhouses. This is a problem that is avoided by growing them indoors. Finally, look on the Best Carnivorous Plants website. There's an excellent article on Drosophyllum cultivation, which, incidentally, does recommend overwintering plants indoors.

Good luck with it,

[Loakesy]

Why can't things ever be simple!

Thanks for the info guys!

I Slack-potted my seedlings when they were around 6cm tall. Slack himself recommends doing this when they reach their 8th leaf.

Was this the first time you moved the seedling? Should I leave mine a for longer before I prick it out then?

[Guest Aidan]

Jan's post from a similar thread:

Here is Jan!,

You can acheive a survival rate to the 6 leafed stage to around 90% when the plants are not treated with a fungicide. Using a fungicide to fight damp off disease will lead to even higher survival rates. When the plantlets reach the 6 leafed stage, the plants are out of the danger zone. I even sow Drosophyllums when it freezes, with no problems.

There are some tricks to keep in mind:

1. Always use fresh seeds. This will increase the odds.

2. Seed treadment is not required (scarification, hormones, etc.)

3. Slack potting is not required.

4. At all times keep the substrate very wet! When placed in the full sun

the substrate can quickly dry out. This seems contradictory, but it is

not! Portugese summers are very dry. This is when the plant releases

the seeds. In autumn, when the top layer of the soil is moist again the

seeds germinate. I have had seedlings germinating outside in autumn

surviving the Dutch winter (exposed to -13C).

5. Place the plants in full sunlight (min 6 hours a day). During the summer

the motto is: The hotter the better. Light is very important in winter. At

our latitudes the days are a bid to short in winter.

6. The best results are acheived outside of your house! Rooms tend to be

to dark and to hot (in winter) for them. Greenhouses are often not well

aerated and the air is stagnant. If you are in your greenhouse you can

check with holding a hair whether the air is stagnant. If the hair moves

about in your hand you are ok. Light conditions are ok when the

tentacles are red and the plants do not produce a long stem.

7. Keep the plants very well ventilated! Humidity levels are allowed to

drop below 30% during the day. Best results are acheived when the air

humidity fluctuates diurnally between 30% and 90%. Higher humidity

evels are tolerated but you have to be careful for fungus attack.

Especially when the air is stagnant.

8. Do not after germinating move the plants. They are very susceptible to

shock. When the plants are bigger than the 6 leaved stage they can be

moved around.

So,this is the Drosophyllum recipe. I grow then now for 6 years. My oldest plants are small shrubs. I hope you all will have succes! If you show me pictures of your plants, I can tell if the plants are ok.

Jan

Good luck, all mine expired when I moved them to the polytunnel for the summer! :cry:

[Greg Allan]

Sorry, Loakesy, that was a bit misleading. My seedlings were sown in the pots that became the inner pot when they were Slack potted. I never did transplant them. If I were you, I'd carefully transplant it into its permanent pot ASAP. Yuo should hopefully be able to scoop out enough substrate around the seedling so as not to damage the roots at all. I've never attempted this, mind.

[flycatchers]

I noticed this morning that one of the Drosophylum seeds I got from the CPS seedbank (and sown a month ago on 100% vermiculite) has germinated!

I'm absolutely thrilled! but also a little nervous as to what to do next.

According to David D'Amato I should prick it out now, before the roots have a chance to get established, and pot it in its permenant pot, in 1:1:1 Sand:perlite:vermiculite.

Does anyone have any other advice, or alternative advice? I don't really want to lose it before it's has a chance at life!

Although its a bit late this time, I would suggest planting a seed or seeds into one of those peat pots. Them when it germinates you can transfer the whole thing to its final pot without disturbing it at all.

cheers

bill

[Guest Sheila]

I use sand: perlite: vermiculite to grow mine and the plants grow beautifully in it. I found when I potted the plant in a 12" clay pot the resulting plant was huge. I have another plant that is potted in a 4 inch clay pot and the plant is around a third of the size so it does seem that the bigger the pot the bigger the plant. I don't bother with slack potting, it isn't absolutely necessary.

Once the plant gets past the stage of 5 or 6 leaves the roots grow quickly and find their way to the bottom of the pot, so don't leave transferring it for too long. It would be best if you could scoop out the plant with the surrounding vermiculite so the plant gets as little disturbance as possible, the less disturbance the better and the greater the chance of success. Even as a small plant mine survived the winter in the greenhouse very well at a minimum temperature of 2C, It didn't struggle at all.

[Loakesy]

This is great stuff you lot! Thanks for the info.

I have done the scooping bit and transferred to S : P : V and will keep you posted on progress.

Although its a bit late this time, I would suggest planting a seed or seeds into one of those peat pots. Them when it germinates you can transfer the whole thing to its final pot without disturbing it at all.

No biggy! I've still got a few seeds left, maybe I'll try the peat pot method.

[Guest Sheila]

Good luck, keep us posted on its progress :)

[elgecko]

I use equal parts of sand, vermiculite, and perlite. I use an 8" plastic pot.

After reading about the plants not liking there root disturbed, I germinated my seeds in my 8" pot from the start.

I have the plant on a south facing windowsill during late fall to early spring. The other time I have it growing outside in full sun.

When the plant is inside I water it twice a week. I do not know the exact amount, but less then my other CP's. In the summer when it is outside in full sun, I water it every other day. I do not use the tray method.

Good luck.

[Loakesy]

Here it is!

Sorry it's not bigger - it's the best I could get with the camera I have.

Incidentally, the literature says that Drosophylum secretes some sort of growth inhibitor to stop other plants from growing nearby. Well I planted 4 seeds into the one pot. One grew (see above) the other 3 just went mouldy. That's either from unsterile growth medium or from being inhibited by the growing seed!

[Guest Sheila]

Many people have reported that they have managed to grow more than one plant in a pot quite successfully. It appears that the growth inhibitors reported to be in Drosophyllum are a fallacy. I have managed to germinate several seeds together, although most of them damped off after a week or so, but it can be done. Maybe it was just bad luck that the rest of your seeds went mouldy

[Loakesy]

Well, it was a good theory!!

[Rob-Rah]

I have two plants growing happily an inch apart after germinating together... Been 14 months since I planted before germination occurred though - the cold nights starting at the end of summer seemed to trigger it.

[jimscott]

Here is my seedling, taken 11 days ago. The emergent leaf is now extended and another one has emerged. Trust me, this plant looks better than this very large photo!

Reading this thread has very little congruity of cultivating conditions, especially the soil mositure. Should I attempt to move it out of this yogurt container?

[elgecko]

Scott,

you are going to need something bigger then the yogurt container. I'd say a pot no smaller then 6". Mine is in an 8" pot.

Here's a picture of mine that I took in late summer.

[jimscott]

I'm sure I can move the contents as one unit, as a plug, into something much larger.

That plant looks familiar! I can't figure out how I got a seedling. Yyou didn't slip one in during my last visit, did ya?

[Pizzicara]

well you could cut out the opposite side of the yogurt container and plant that (with the half thats nearest to the plant, dont take that out, it probably hasnt grown all the way over there yet.

[jimscott]

That's a plausible approach, Spec!

[elgecko]

Scott,

If I had any seeds the last time you were over, I would have given you a few to try. No need to slip them in. I have not had any seeds for a long time.

I was hoping that my plant would flower this summer, but did not. Next year.

[Loakesy]

Well... It died!

[elgecko]

Sorry to hear that.

[jimscott]

Me too!

[Loakesy]

Thnaks guys!

I thought it was doing quite well for a while. There were three fine, healthy looking leaves, and then for some reason, it just fell over and turned brown!