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D. whittakeri mixed fortunes

Hi
I have been growing D. whittakeri for 12 years now, but this winter has been a problem.
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Of my 4 potted plants one small one has rotted and died, a second one with two growing points (2 tubers) has been heavily deformed, and the second growing point came away in my hand as rotted!
Here is a photo of that plant:
D.%20whittakeri.jpg


The plant on the left is the one gone now-
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Of the other two, one has two growing points and looks a bit better, but has no dew on its tips. Only the final plant is still looking ok with healthy leaves, dew and flowers. This is my original tuber, all the other tubers came from that one.

They are growing in a mix of granulated peat & sand. And is the same mix I have always used. They are in my Neps house and are in the sunniest position. Though with winter here sun is quite rare.
In the past I used to water them from above and let the water run through the compost. But after reading various CP books have for the first time this winter stood them in a water tray. Could this be the key to the problems?
I have also had fungus gnats which I have treated the compost for. Do their lava eat the tubers? As the remaing tubers to those dead plants were rotten/soft but still around.

As I have had no problems till now I won't to insure I have at least one plant left after this winter! Any help gratefully received
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cheers

bill
 
If it was not for the fungus gnats, I would say you had a solid winner, as that was the major change you made.
You have done really well to grow something like that for 12 years.
If you like, I can fax Allen Lowrie and ask his opinion on the subject. Not many know more about these things than he does.

Cheers,

Joe
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (The Griffin @ Jan. 14 2005,11:12)]If it was not for the fungus gnats, I would say you had a solid winner, as that was the major change you made.
 You have done really well to grow something like that for 12 years.
 If you like, I can fax Allen Lowrie and ask his opinion on the subject. Not many know more about these things than he  does.

 Cheers,

 Joe
Thanks Joe,
It would be great to hear Allen Lowrie's views on this...

cheers

bill
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (fly-catchers @ Jan. 14 2005,5:48)]I have been growing D. whittakeri for 12 years now, but this winter has been a problem. ... They are growing in a mix of granulated peat & sand. And is the same mix I have always used. ... I used to water them from above and let the water run through the compost. But after reading various CP books have for the first time this winter stood them in a water tray. Could this be the key to the problems?
Sometimes reading books can improve growing success, but nothing is a substitute for personal experience. You say that you have successfully grown D. whittakeri for 12 years and watered from above. This year, for the first time, you changed to letting them stand in a water tray and the trouble began. I have never grown D. whittakeri, but I would first suspect whatever you changed to be the source of your trouble.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
 
I faxed him. I might not get a reply til Monday, as today is Friday and I do not work again until Monday.
I would agree with you 100% Bob, except for I have no idea what fungus gnat larvae do. I thought they liked delicate little roots. As it is, I would say the watering change makes me only 95% sure that is the problem....
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Cheers,

Joe
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (The Griffin @ Jan. 14 2005,10:20)]I would agree with you 100% Bob, except for I have no idea what fungus gnat larvae do. I thought they liked delicate little roots. As it is, I would say the watering change makes me only 95% sure that is the problem....
It could be that the fungus gnat problem developed because of the change in watering and, in turn, the fungus gnats attacked the plant.
 
I've started mine from seed and its been doing okay for several years now.

My suggestion would be to augment their lack of light with fluorescent light as soon as possible. Increasing one environmental factor "stood them in a water tray" would necessitate an increase in other environmental factors to keep the balance, i.e. more light is needed.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (BobZ @ Jan. 14 2005,12:41)]If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I agree Bob,
And the remaining plants are now out of the tray. The increase in light might be a bit more tricky. They are in my Neps greenhouse where addition lighting is not an option. So they would need to be moved indoors which could create more problems than it might solve.
I had considered trying one at least in my Sarracencia house which does get more sun (when its out
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) due to the lack of bubble wrap. But it is considerably colder as it is not heated. Perhaps putting the plants in there during the day and moving back in the other house at night might be a good compromise?
Thanks everyone.

cheers

bill
 
Monday morning at work and Allen came through!
Yes, sitting in the tray is definitely the problem. He said to make sure it's in a cool area too, as they are not stove house plants, and they like air movement when possible. He also included his one sheet instructions for growing tuberous which I would gladly send anyone a copy for a SASE, if interested. Nothing staggering, but I would have put them in a shallow tray , myself. He suggests watering around the edge of the pot, but not on the plant itself, BTW.

Cheers,

Joe
 
  • #10
[b said:
Quote[/b] (The Griffin @ Jan. 17 2005,10:32)]Monday morning at work and Allen came through!
 Yes, sitting in the tray is definitely the problem. He said to make sure it's in a cool area too, as they are not stove house plants, and they like air movement when possible. He also included his one sheet instructions for growing tuberous which I would gladly send anyone a copy for a SASE, if interested. Nothing staggering, but I would have put them in a shallow tray , myself. He suggests watering around the edge of the pot, but not on the plant itself, BTW.

 Cheers,

 Joe
Thanks for that Joe.
Alas the above plant and a second smaller one are no more
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I still have two others. The largest (my original 1992 tuber) still looks fairly healthy. The other one looks a bit iffy with no dew. Both are now on a shelf nearer the roof of the greenhouse where they should get more light. THe house is not that hot (certainly not stove house) and I guess that apart from the watering nothing else is different to the previous years.
Is it possible to scan Allens instructions?

cheers

bill
 
  • #11
It might be.. The catalog itself is horrible and will cause you terrible pain to try and read a scan(no joke!), but this might be okay....I don't have one at the moment, but I will see if a co-worker will scan for me and I'll email that to you and we will see what happens.

Cheers,

Joe
 
  • #12
Thanks Joe,
scan arrived and is excellent.
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cheers

bill
 
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