D. scorpioides the terror of flies!

[BigCarnivourKid]

I put my D. scorpioides out on the porch rail for some sun this a.m. and went out an hour later to a sight of such carnage as to make ones heart beat with joy!

  There trapped in the grasping tentacles of my pot of D. scorpioides were 15 small flies

 

.  One particularly greedy fellow (see pic below) had three flies stuck in one leaf (right center) with a fourth in another (upper left corner).  Unfortunatly, one of the three flies in the first trap managed to wriggle free

.  I will have to keep an I on these pigs to make sure none come down with indigestion.

             

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Pressure,
I don't do too much special for these plants. They are in a 6" pot that is about 4½" to 5" deep.  Soil mix is about 1 part peat to 1½ parts perlite.
I have them in my south facing bay window and they get weak sun in the morning from ~8:30 to noon and bright direct sun from noon 'til 3:30/4:OO in the afternoon.  On my days off I put them outside (weather permitting) to get as much sun as possible.
Temps (inside) are about 68ºF at night to 73ºF during the day.  Outside today the temps were 58º when I put them out late this morning to a high of about 68º earlier this afternoon.  I bring them in about ½ hour or so before sunset to avoid the sudden temp drop we get at sunset.  Humidity outside today was about 25% when I took the pics this morning and is still setting at 25% now (5:30pm).  Inside the humidity is usually about 35% to as high as 45% at times.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (D muscipula @ April 29 2003, 12:O1)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Nice, BCK.  I've heard scorpiodes are amazingly efficient catchers.  Did you grow them from seeds?  Doesn't that low humidity cause problems?[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Sorry D muscipula,  I just saw your reply.  Didn't mean to ignore you.

.

In reply to your questions, I grew the plants from gemmae I recieved Dec. 30 & 31 last year from Vic and Zach.  The low humidity doesn't seem to bother them, but I try to keep the top of the soil damp to the touch and I think that helps them.  That and the 6" deep pot they are in.

I apologize again for not catching your question sooner.

 

[Pressure]

Why do they need to be in such a large pot?? Is it because of the gemmae or what?? Oh and thanks for the tips since I am growing one and I want to keep it alive. It is so different from the other sundews and plants I am growing. This was the only one I was have a hard time with. Any other tips??

-Ryan

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Hi Ryan,

I grow them in deep pots because pygmy sundews can have deep growing roots.  I top water (carefully! ) around the plants until the water flows freely out the bottom of the planter.  I do not keep them in trays and discard the water that drains out of the pot after watering.  If you haven't read Tamlins post Adventures in Drosera species:  Pygmy Sundews, or "How to have 100 plants in 2 yrs.", then it would be a good idea to read it, as it gives a lot of info on pygmy sundews in general.  It's where I got most of my info on growing mine.

Hope this helps,
BCK

 

[Pressure]

Thanks BCK!
I had never heard of that so I am going to go read it right now. I was currently growing it in 85 temps instead of the lower 70s and the humidity was way too high. Thanks.


-Ryan