Christian Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Hi all, we had the great luck to find some small Byblis gigantea while being in Western Australia. The plant have obviously just emerged und so they have still been quite small. We have been surprised about the fact how wet they are growing there. Some of them have been standing in several cm of water. I would have expected, that a natural Byblis site would be much drier. regards, Christian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Hingst Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 (edited) Great find Christian, - even if small. I tried to find it several times, but without success. At too dry spots maybe? Congrats Martin Edited November 6, 2011 by Martin Hingst Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted November 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 Hi Martin, i have no idea if the natural habitat of that species is always that dry. I would have thought they would grow much drier. I am also still wondering why these plants have been so small. Is anyone here familiar with the growth cycle of that plant in it's natural habitat? I would have expected them to be much taller at that time of year (September). Christian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcel van den Broek Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 (edited) Hi Christian, I don't think that the seasons were off or the plant strangly small. I took this picture in late September 2008 in a rather wet year at this location. Not that much bigger. Perhaps the same site? Allan had marked the plants he had found so far with pink ribbons Edited November 7, 2011 by Marcel van den Broek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Spence Posted November 8, 2011 Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 They begin growth as the weather warms up in late winter- early spring. I'm sure that if you revisited the site in a couple of months, the ground would have been almost bone dry on top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted November 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 (edited) Hi Sean, ok, i am quite sure, that the site dries out during summer. Do the plants go dormant during winter? Obviously they have been dormant as well during winter. Does this mean, the plant has two growth cycle during one year? When does it normally flower? I am still not getting how they are growing ;) Marcel: nice picture! Maybe it's really the same site, who knows :) Christian Edited November 8, 2011 by Christian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Spence Posted November 8, 2011 Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 (edited) Plants that I have grown here (similar climate to in nature) have gone dormant in winter where the plants die back to the roots. They resprout in early spring (but probably a little earlier in WA- depending upon the weather- where the warmer weather arrives a little earlier). The plants grow quickly and begin to flower in late spring. Plants that do not go dormant in winter and are allowed to continue to grow become very long and ratty. I would always cut the plants back to ground level when they begin to go backwards in winter to ensure nice new lush growth when the plants return. In regards to wild plants, I am not sure how they appear at the end of a long summer and how the extreme heat, full exposure to the sun and bone dry soils affect them. Edited November 8, 2011 by Sean Spence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted November 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 Hi Sean, thanks for making that clear to me! ;) Christian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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