Drosera burmannii in cool climates

[MFS]

How well and how fast does D. burmannii grow in cooler climates where average summer maxima are only in the low 20s?

I have never grown it, and am wondering whether our short cool summer will provide enough of a growing season... though I guess I can always put them indoors in a windowsill when it cools down in autumn till I can harvest seed for another season.

M

[Guest Andreas Eils]

Hi MFS,

as long as the plants are bigger (and older) than seedlings (let´s say at least a cm in diametre) they keep on growing. I cannot say how fast - but noticably slower than under tropical warm and humid conditions. They use to stay quite small if conditions aren´t warm enough for D. burmannii. I´ve had some half mature plants in pots of Sarracenia and other Drosera (filiformis) which stand under a typical Northern climate like in central Germany. They´ve spread from opened seed capsules and even germinated under comparatively 'cool' conditions. It´s funny that doesn´t work if I sow seeds of D. burmannii intendedly on fresh peat. Seeds of D. burmannii I sow on fresh peat have to be placed tropical warm and humid to germinate. Those "aliens" in pots of other plants have already survived nights as cool as 5°C. However normally they don´t survive the winter when CPs of Northern latitudes experience very less light. So, regular bright light and daylength of 10 to 12 hrs. are important for D. burmannii I´d say.

If you have a lot of rainy days in Tasmania I suggest you to install additonal grow lights for D. burmannii.

Good luck!

Andreas

[MFS]

Thanks Andreas.

[Megs]

Ive had seeds of burmanni surviving cold winter greenhouse conditions down to -8C, so this species has a potential for surviving outside the tropics if they can compleate their cyclus during summer.

Martin

[MFS]

Thanks Megs,

I guess my question is not about winter cold. We have mild winters here and temps never drop below -1 C. Frost is uncommon at my place with maybe 6-10 frosts a year.

My question should have probably been more specific: I'm interested in finding out whether D. burmannii is likely to complete its annual life cycle in a very cool summer with a night:day temperature range of 10-21 C. Anyone growing it in Vancouver, or the coastal Pacific Northwest of North America, which has a similar climate to Tasmania?

Edited February 2, 2010 by MFS

[droseraman]

Be sure to read the disclaimer before you read this-

I've found (at least when growing mine indoors that) D. burmannii may do even better in cooler temperatures for me than in warm ones. To increase germination though, you may want to invest in a heating mat until the seedilngs have sprouted. Then, as long as you feed them, I think 20 is a very ideal temp (this is when mine thrived) and I know that mine were easily able to survive in 10 degrees C

Disclaimer- This same D. burmannii I'm describing also died when indoor temps rose higher than 80 F

I know this is odd, and I believe it could be due to the fact that the pot was full of slugs that constantly crawled out into my room. The only thing is that they didn't kill it the entire winter, and all winter, this is what it looked like:

higher resolution: http://www.growsundews.com/sundews/burmann..._farfocus-1.JPG

So as it is, I really don't know why they crapped out on me, but long story short, I'm sure that your D. burmannii would do great in cooler temps.

[MFS]

Excellent! Thanks!

I have a heat mat I use to root Nep cuttings and sprout my tomato seedlings in spring

My indoor ambient temperature is close to or above 20 degrees for at least 6 months, but I was hoping they'd do well outdoors... I prefer to have as much outside as possible.

M

[Sean Spence]

I prefer to have as much outside as possible.

You do or your wife does?

[Odysseus]

You do or your wife does?

Exactly!

[MFS]

I do actually! But only because I have limited windowsill space.

[Lavindil]

Here I have 35ºC in the summer and 5ºC in the winter and the burmanni survive, D. burmanni is a weed in Brazil.