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Storing D. menziesii tubers?


numpty

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Today I went foraging in the pot that my D. menziesii had previously been growing in, and came away with four tubers ... a first for me after previous failures with tuberous Drosera. Anyway, what might be my options for storing them? I could plant them up again in preparation for next winter, but I'll be leaving the apartment for over a month this summer and I'm not sure if they'd need a bit of moisture in the soil or if they'd be happy in a completely dried out medium. Temperatures on my balcony are now way up there and after a week without watering the medium would be dry. Perhaps I should try to figure out a way of getting just a little water into the pot, or is bone dry okay?

Would refrigerating them be a possibility, or a bad idea? Would the tubers take this as a sign of winter's arrival and start growing, or would they need moisture combined with day/night temperature swings to trigger a break in dormancy?

On the subject of D.menziesii ... while it grew well for me over the winter, with the tallest stalk getting up to 20cm or so, it didn't ever look like flowering before it died back ... any idea why that might be?

Thanks for any suggestions!

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Today I went foraging in the pot that my D. menziesii had previously been growing in, and came away with four tubers ... a first for me after previous failures with tuberous Drosera. Anyway, what might be my options for storing them? I could plant them up again in preparation for next winter, but I'll be leaving the apartment for over a month this summer and I'm not sure if they'd need a bit of moisture in the soil or if they'd be happy in a completely dried out medium. Temperatures on my balcony are now way up there and after a week without watering the medium would be dry. Perhaps I should try to figure out a way of getting just a little water into the pot, or is bone dry okay?

Would refrigerating them be a possibility, or a bad idea? Would the tubers take this as a sign of winter's arrival and start growing, or would they need moisture combined with day/night temperature swings to trigger a break in dormancy?

On the subject of D.menziesii ... while it grew well for me over the winter, with the tallest stalk getting up to 20cm or so, it didn't ever look like flowering before it died back ... any idea why that might be?

Thanks for any suggestions!

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I would say that you have two options.

The first is to take the tubers out of the pot and store them in a sealed ziplock snack bag with one or two strands of sphagnum that has just a hint of moisture in it.

The other would be to take the pot that contains the tubers and soil and put the whole thing in a much larger sealable poly bag. In both cases you can store them indoors on a shelf in a closet or drawer. The tubers do not need any light so complete darkness is fine. They can stay in there until late summer/early fall. Then just put them back on your balcony and water as usual.

Your plant might not have flowered if the tuber is still immature. I find that it takes a few years from seed for menziesii to flower.

Edited by Tuberous D
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Thanks, that sounds sensible. Do you know if there are any temperature issues for storage? Without A/C, minimum temperatures in and around my apartment won't drop much below 30 degrees in August, and may get up to 40 ... any danger of cooking them in their baggies? Maybe I should try to store them at work, where the temperatures are more even.

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I would store them, if somehow possible, at lower temperatures. I do not expect that they are used to 30-40°C in the habitat so they may not like it.

As I do have a larger number of tuberous drosera to take care of, I keep the tubers potted during summer. The deeper and larger the pots are, the more moisture will be retained during summer. Hence, if you keep them in smaller pots (e.g. something like the 7 cm deep pots I use for some species), then you need to make sure that do not get bone dry for extended periods.

D. menziesii ssp. menziesii does not dessicate that quickly, one of the reasons why they are easy to keep. In contrast, D. menziesii ssp. basifolia is much more sensitive towards dessication in my hands.

Do you have some basement or the like where you can put the pot(s)? That would be another option with relatively mild temperatures.

Cheers

Dieter

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Hi Dieter,

Thanks for the tips. I don't have access to a basement where I live (quite the opposite ... my apartment is a roof-top), but I should be able to keep the pot in a cupboard at work, where temperatures are a bit lower and more even. With any luck, bagging it up for the duration of my absence will keep it just damp enough.

Thanks!

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