Best Drosophyllum Media Mixture

[SDCPs]

I have 7 plants right now, and am expecting more. I want to know the best media for them. I ask because I know that several members have had success with this plant, and I live in an IDEAL location (Mediterranean climate and everything) to grow it. SO, I'm going to try.

I've been using basically 1.2 parts peat : 1 part perlite : .9 parts vermiculite : .8 parts lava rock : .9 parts silica sand....or just think of it as 1 : 1:1:1:1 with a little more peat.

I recently learned that decomposed granite made a promising medium. I have a friend who has a slope of the stuff. Pure decomposing granite. It is not fertile, that's for sure. I'm wondering if I should use the stuff for future seedlings, and in what proportions.

I hope to have success with this species, and this is one plant I have a place to grow (and just enough water to grow it with)

Also, what do you guys do when it rains?

Thank you!

 

[jimscott]

Good drainage is what you want to achieve and it appears that you wll have it. Germination and the frst few weeks are the hardest part.

 

[Not a Number]

Forbes Conrad's tests of the LACPS showed that pure decomposed granite grit to be the best substrate for this species. Get from construction supply or one of the many granite mountain ranges around California or your friend. It just pours off the mountain sides from erosion. That's what they are growing in at most of the sites in Portugal.

 

[SDCPs]

Thank you NAN. That's just what my friend has! It does "pour off" as you put it. I will collect from the top of the slope, to minimize minerals, sieve the stuff and rinse it. Then I will plant the plant in that alone?

 

[Not a Number]

Sounds good. I'd be inclined to add maybe 5% or so fine pine bark mulch. The in situ photos I've seen looks like there are pine needles on the ground and pine trees nearby:

http://icps.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=europe&action=display&thread=3968

This thread mentions them growing in granite soil (in Portuguese):
http://icps.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=europe&action=display&thread=1231

 

[SDCPs]

It seems the pure granite dries out relatively quickly compared to the other medium. But it looks MUCH nicer. The plant hasn't died so that's a good sign!

I will, once my plants become mature, report my successes and failures. I have 3 different media mixtures I'm growing in right now...so I'll definitely be able to compare...especially since a 4rth is about to be created.

Thank you so much for you help, NAN. I really enjoyed the photos!

---------- Post added at 10:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:48 PM ----------

And, if all goes well, I hope to introduce the plant to my friend's granite slopes. Now THAT would be cool. Would under one of his pine trees be good?

There are three problems:

1) is the soil nutrient-poor enough for them?
2) can they tolerate the heat (his place can get slightly over 100 F in summers)
3) would they be watered by sprinklers, and if so, can they handle mineral water?

But if this is doable...oh man. I'll spend hours in his yard

 

[SDCPs]

Right now I have 13 plants.

1 is for watering with tap water, and 2 are for planting on the granite slope. I'm going to try it.


I have another batch of seeds I'm waiting to sprout, so I'm going to keep at least 3 plants of that batch (if they sprout) for myself.

So far, not one has died, and some are putting out their 3rd and 4rth leaves. They seem to enjoy the rain we've been getting, and none of them have been damaged by even a relatively heavy rain (my place got 2.5 inches of it, according to my rain collectors.)

The plants in the granite (2 right now) are not dying, and one looks very happy. We will see! We will see.

I will report how the two plants do on the granite slope itself.

Cheers!

 

[SDCPs]

The one seedling that didn't dry out on the granite slope caught it's first meal today. A fungas gnat

Decomposing granite seems to work!

 

[SDCPs]

So far from my experience, 4 parts decomposing granite to 1 part peat works the best. Maybe more peat would be in order? I don't know. Anyway, cover the top with granite chips so it looks good. I'll have to post pictures, this granite media looks 300x better than the peat/perlite...I DON'T reccomend perlite. It floats when top-watering and makes a mess. Stick to the more dense materials.

Naturalized dewy pine sending up 3rd, technically 5th leaf now. My biggest plant has 6 leaves, working on a seventh, and about 2 inches tall.

 

[SDCPs]

Here is a fairly recent composite picture of my collection at ~4 months old!:

 

[Not a Number]

Stewart McPherson was passing through LA so a group from the LACPS took him to dinner where he gave a brief presentation (on Nepenthes in the Philippines). He also donated to the LACPS library a copy of his latest book "Carnivorous Plants and Their Habitats" vol. 1&2. I borrowed vol.2 since it covers the glistening carnivores.

Regarding Drosophyllum lusitanicum he writes:

"In Spain, Drosophyllum predominantly occurs in substrate that overlies quartzite sandstones and other sedimentary rocks types; all are very well drained yet chronically deficient in most essential minerals and nutrients. Contrary to most publications, Drosophylum does not grow in substrate overlying limestone (Jan Flisek, pers. comm.). In most cases, the substrate is purely derived from sand or sandstone and contains very little organic matter. Drosophyllum prefers acidic soils ranging from pH 4-5, but can also grow in strongly acidic to more or less neutral soils (pH 3.6-7.0;Adamec, 2009). Although the bedrock may sometimes consist of sandy limestone, the superficial layers of supporting soil contain little soluble calcium."

So much for gypsum, crushed coral, limestone etc.

 

[SDCPs]

Decomposing granite works well! So do 14" pots. Much better than 10" pots. All my losses minus 1 were out of 10" pots. The regular mix is OK, but I lost every single plant in a 10" pot filled with it (3 total).

I'm hoping to get more seedlings (why aren't they sprouting?) and fill the yard with 14" pots. I have my 4 remaining 10" pots in a different place. You can't water the different sizes at the same time...that's just begging for disaster. One is over, the other is under watered.

 

[DJ57]

SDCPs: Extremely nice plants!

Exactly what soil are you using? Mine are growing well so far in 10" pots with a Droso mix of peat/sand/perlite/pumice, but only my first year for these and getting addicted. I am looking for seeds now to sow in much bigger pots (thanks for the info on your experience with smaller pots) and wanting info on other soil mixes that work well from someone who is using it successfully. What time of year do you sow your seeds? Do you leave them outside to germinate or inside?

 

[Natalie]

Whoa, awesome plants! The fact that you mentioned that all your losses were in the 10" pots has me a bit worried, since I planted mine in a 10" pot. Mine is tall though, not a regular 10" pot, so maybe that will remedy whatever problem yours had. I have my fingers crossed.

I'm growing mine in an equal mixture of horticultural sand, perlite, black volcanic rock, and vermiculite, with a few handfulls each of peat and sphagnum moss.

 

[NewspaperFort]

I love drosophyllum. I am insanely jealous

 

[SDCPs]

Y'all are going to have to buy my book when I come out with it

SDCPs: Extremely nice plants!

Exactly what soil are you using? Mine are growing well so far in 10" pots with a Droso mix of peat/sand/perlite/pumice, but only my first year for these and getting addicted. I am looking for seeds now to sow in much bigger pots (thanks for the info on your experience with smaller pots) and wanting info on other soil mixes that work well from someone who is using it successfully. What time of year do you sow your seeds? Do you leave them outside to germinate or inside?

Ahh, you are touching on the secrets of drosophyllum cultivation. You can start seeds any time, but late summer is best IMHO. I leave mine to germinate outside (or I did, this year they aren't germinating!!!) and bring them under lights as a last-ditch effort to get a few more to germinate. I usually get a nice bunch outside and a few more inside.

Here you need to water the 10" pots every other day. And the fact I was using both together with plants that are sensitive about their water requirements did not work well for me. I found that the 14" pots were far superior, and you can grow 3 or 4 plants in each one...which saves space and money in the long run.

I don't know who started that rumor about DPs not growing next to each other...that first pic has 4 mature plants in a 14" pot.

I prefer 4 parts Decomposing Granite to 1 part peat, with a layer of pure chunky granite on top.

Whoa, awesome plants! The fact that you mentioned that all your losses were in the 10" pots has me a bit worried, since I planted mine in a 10" pot. Mine is tall though, not a regular 10" pot, so maybe that will remedy whatever problem yours had. I have my fingers crossed.

I'm growing mine in an equal mixture of horticultural sand, perlite, black volcanic rock, and vermiculite, with a few handfulls each of peat and sphagnum moss.

If you pay careful attention to your plants you will be fine. 14" pots are just more stable and my plants grow better in them.

Your soil mix seems fine.

I love drosophyllum. I am insanely jealous

You don't know how many hours I've spent to get this (and they could still die on me without producing seed). I guess it's worth it--if I get to the seed stage this spring!!

 

[DJ57]

Thank you. You write it, I will buy it...but you have to sign it

Mine germinated in about 14 days inside under lights in winter, 2 out of 3 in one pot and 1 out of 3 in another, but seeds were over a year old. They grew like weeds once I put them outside in spring. They did survive a couple of light frosts with no visible effects before I brought them in for winter. I am going to get several more started in separate pots to experiment with how long they can be left outside in Pacific Northwest fall/early winter temps.

Do you scarify and soak your seeds before planting? Do you notice any ill effects in direct sun with temps over 100 degrees? How, or do, you feed your seedlings/mature plants when they are inside? I have to bring mine inside the garage under a shop light because we get extended periods of freezing temps here. The garage temps are between mid 40s to upper 50s all winter, so don't know if they even need to eat as dew production is lower with the lower temps and lower light levels, but they still look healthy in these conditions after over a month now and I am giving them baby crickets and whatever flies they can catch in the garage. Okay, I will wait for "the book."

 

[Natalie]

Here you need to water the 10" pots every other day. And the fact I was using both together with plants that are sensitive about their water requirements did not work well for me.

You had to water your 10" pots every other day?? I watered mine once a week in the height of summer, and our summers up here are hotter than yours (weather sites say the average high temperature in summer in San Diego is in the mid-70s). Well, hotter during the day at least - our nightly temperatures in the summer are still in the 55-60 degree range and usually dampened from abundant fog and dew, but I think your nights in San Diego tend to be warmer than that. Do you get regular nightly fog and dew where you are? That seems to be one of the defining characteristics of their native range, and why they are only found next to the coast on moisture-collecting slopes.

Another big factor in the difference in water needs could be the substrate - if you're using primarily decomposed granite, which doesn't really hold any moisture, that would likely be one reason why you'd have to water so often. But since my soil has a sizable fraction of vermiculite in it, which is designed to hold a bit of moisture but still drain freely, that combined with the fog allows the plant to have enough moisture to be watered more sparingly.

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Ohh yay nice pics! Look good. I think you are correct that the larger pots give a more stable root zone which helps alot. I had a mature multigrowth plant in a 7" ceramic pot sitting on my deck one summer, in full sun, and I would pour some water into the pot every day. By the end of the day the shallow tray under it would be dry and the surface of the mix was getting crispy again.

I use a mix that has vermiculite, perlite, sand, and a touch of peat so it does hold a bit of moisture within some of the ingredients. I am using a much larger pot this time around so we will see how they do next summer.

 

[SDCPs]

Every other day for 10" at the height of summer is just how it goes. I grow mine in FULL sun...desert like conditions...they actually do better with a bit of shade but you only have so much room. Where I live full sun is too much for some CPs that everyone says need full sun. Most sundews can't handle it.

Right now maybe every 3-4 days is the watering schedule?

As to the "book": I've gotta get a full growing season or two in before I consider publishing it of course You'll be waiting a while!

I scarify with sand paper. Sometimes a water soak works well. Germinating seeds still isn't a science ...especially since what I though worked so well isn't giving me many sprouts right now!