CP2k Posted November 29, 2003 Report Share Posted November 29, 2003 Hi everyone, During spring 2003, I was able to procure 10 seeds of R.dentata, which I sowed immediately on a mix of peat and sand in equal parts. I kept the pots on the tray system with a couple cm of water. After waiting for 3 months, the seeds still did not germinate and by now it was summer(30C+ days, below 20C nights). During the middle of summer, I took the pots off the tray and allowed the soil to completely dry. These pots baked in the hot sun for more than a month. During the fall, I placed the pots back on the tray and added enough water to keep the soil moist, but not wet. In Nov., the tray was filled with a couple cm of water after some rain. Just this week, four of the ten seeds germinated. This week was cooler than the previous weeks as the clouds provided shade. Daytime temperatures average around the mid 20'sC with temperatures in the night averaging around 12C. Has anyone else had a similar experience with seeds of R.dentata? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwilson Posted November 30, 2003 Report Share Posted November 30, 2003 R. dentata has a reputation for being difficult to germinate and not much easier to keep alive once you have it growing. I only managed germination once and that was in a pot that was left for about four months. Germination occurred in hot weather and that may be the key. Then again it could just be dumb luck. :-) The key to growing these plants seems to be to keep the soil fairly dry and free draining. I believe the species grows at slightly higher altitude than the other species - R. gorgonianis and in much freer draining soil. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CP2k Posted November 30, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2003 Hi Phil, I have heard that in their natural habitat, R.dentata germinates in the fall after a fire has passed and rain has arrived. I was not able to get any germination during the summer when it was hot during the day, but the seeds did germinate during Nov. Just the other day, I found a couple more pots with seeds of R.dentata. These were sitting on the bench without any water from late summer, so the soil was bone dry. I have returned these pots to the tray and hopefully something will sprout. Honestly, I did not believe that anything would germinate and that is why I took the pots off the tray in the first place. I wonder where and how did people get the Pameridea insects for their Roridula?? Are these only found among German growers? Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted December 1, 2003 Report Share Posted December 1, 2003 my experience with Roridula: http://www.drosophyllum.com/english/e-roridula.htm enjoy my English ;-) Martin btw: Pameridea marlothii seems to be lost in cultivation :-( (I only know of some persons who have P. roridulae) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwilson Posted December 1, 2003 Report Share Posted December 1, 2003 Its likely that Roridula only germinate in habitat after fires. I believe this applies to both species, though R. gorgonianis appears to germinate fairly readily without any treatment. It may be that keeping the seeds wet for a long period may help, as may drying the pot off. I know that some species of Drosera and Pinguicula seed benefit from being soak for a while in water. The water leeches out chemicals that inhibit germination. In habitat these chemicals are leeched out by rainfall - ensuring that germination only occurs once the rainy season proper has set in. Smoke treatment may help with faster germination. One thing I have noticed with R. gorgonianis is that it is very sensative to being dried out. Far more than other plants I grow. If I accidentaly forget to water, especially at this time of the year when everything is being kept drier than usual, it is the Roridula that starts to wilt first. I have lost a few plants this way. If the plants get too far gone there is no saving them. Usually with most plants, even if they are totally dessicated, they can be saved by watering. Even if the leafy growth is lost, the rest of the plant will re-grow. But with Roridula the entire plant will die off. I did wonder if this is some sort of self destruction within the plants. At the first sign of dry weather the plants die off, leaving lots of combustible material for the next fire to sweep though. This ensures a good burn, which clears the area of all vegetation giving the seedlings that appear once the rains return plenty of light. As to the Pameridae bugs. I did have them but if anything they are more sensative that the plants they live on. Mine were doing fine last year until some hot weather when the greenhouse temperature rose rapidly. All the bugs died off unfortunately. I have heard subsequently that Roridula populations live in coastal areas which get frequent sea mists and it could be that the bug in particular, need this additional moisture to survive in hot weather. Spraying would almost certainly help in cultivation. There are a few Dutch growers who have the Palmeridae bugs as well as the Germans I think, and quite likely some others as well. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CP2k Posted December 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2003 Hi Martin, I have referred to your website many times for information regarding these plants. It is probably the only site with a detailed account of the cultivation of these plants. Too bad the Pameridea marlothii are not in cultivation anymore:( Hi Phil, Do you mean that the humidity is high during the day, high at night, or both in the habitat of R.gorgonias? I guess that P.marlothii and R.dentata found further inland would be less sensitive to lower humidity and higher temperatures during the day than Pameridea roridulae and R.gorgonias. Just how fast did the greenhouse temperature rise? Maybe the sudden change in temperature killed off the bugs. I am hoping to find someone in the U.S. who might have the Pameridae. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted December 2, 2003 Report Share Posted December 2, 2003 Hi, here are two "videos" of Roridula and the Pameridea bugs I took during the last summer with my Sony F717. (digital still camera) in my greenhouse. I converted the files to the windows media format to get about 20x smaller sizes. The quality is not good and I hope that you can encode them on your computer... http://www.drosophyllum.com/video/roridula1.wmf (0,8 MB) http://www.drosophyllum.com/video/roridula2.wmf (1,3 MB) Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob-Rah Posted December 2, 2003 Report Share Posted December 2, 2003 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CP2k Posted December 3, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 It sounds like the humidity in the greenhouse is too high for Proteaceae sp. High temperature with high humidity are not good for these plants. I guess Roridulas would grow well with Proteas etc. as they are from the same habitat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob-Rah Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 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). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederick Posted December 7, 2003 Report Share Posted December 7, 2003 Howdy, i got 1 seedling of 5 to germinate this winter with the good old sow 'n ignore technique. I don't know whether it'll survive winter in the terrarium, but if it does i'll put it outside in spring. Is there a grower out there that has eggs available from these bugs ? Frederick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted December 8, 2003 Report Share Posted December 8, 2003 The eggs are placed IN the plants, I have never seen them. Martin edit : young seedlings are very robust but if your Roridula gets bigger it will die almost for sure if kept in a terrarium without air movement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederick Posted December 9, 2003 Report Share Posted December 9, 2003 Thanks for the info, Martin. Maybe I could transfer the plant to the kitchen or living room if it has more chances there... Anyone ever treated Roridula as a regular houseplant / cactus ? Frederick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CP2k Posted December 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 Hi Frederick, Did you already check out Martin's website: http://www.drosophyllum.com He mentions growing both Roridula sp. on a south facing window with additional lighting from a metal halide or HPS system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byblis Posted January 11, 2004 Report Share Posted January 11, 2004 Hi all, donot give up hope if nothing happens with your seed. Today while cleaning out my greenhouse I found a leftover pot dated 2001 where I had sown about 10 R. dentata in that year. I obtained about 5or 6 plants out of that pot and forgot about it. Today I recognized a fresh seedling in that pot after 3 years. Original treatment: Burning of R. dentata leaves on top of the substrate, substrate original compost from a R. dentata site in SAF. So donot throw your old pots away!! Stefan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.