Drosera macrantha ssp planchonii

[droseraholic]

Hi,

I have raised some Drosera macrantha ssp planchonii (tuberous sundews) from seed sown last autumn, and have just repotted about 20 dormant tubers ( they were tiny, 1 - 2mm! ) in 50:50 peat + silver (silica) sand, about 1cm deep (that's about the depth they had formed naturally in the original seedling pot), 3 to a 10cm (4") pot: does this sound ok so far? My main question is, as this is the first time growing tuberous sundews from seed, how do I break their dormancy this autumn - do I wait until they appear above soil level before placing them in a tray for the growing season, or should I start watering lightly (say by misting at first then lightly sprinkling water) around say mid-September? I'm a bit concerned as they're my first tuberous seedlings, and I feel that once they broken dormancy into their second growing season they'll be past the most hazardous stage of their little lives!  

Also, and this probably applies in general to winter-growing / summer-dormant Drosera, insects are generally fairly scarce here in their growing season: what do other growers do to "supplement their sundew's diet"?! I realize insects aren't essential, but I'm hoping to feed up the tubers as much as possible to make strong and healthy plants. Does anyone culture (wingless) fruit flies, or I've heard of growers using tiny bits of fish food flakes (e.g. the Tetra stuff for tropical fish) - any opinions?

Thanks in advance for any help / tips / ideas.

Cheers...

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Congratulations on your potential plants! I have a hard time in my conditions getting tuberous seedlings to mature as there seems not to be enough available sunlight.

I think your approach has merit, although I have no great amount of experience with raising them from seed. I would probably use your approach as well, starting to make moisture available around the start of September when the cooler weather arrives.

The best grower of the tuberous sundews that I know is Phil Wilson...he might have some other good advice, and he is on your side of the pond.

Best of luck with your babies!

 

[droseraholic]

Hi Tamlin,

Thanks for the advice!  

Actually, I was speaking to Phil the previous weekend at Mike King's "open day" + BBQ, without realizing he is the tuberous dew guru! - I may ask him a few questions if necessary, but I feel that my general impressions on their care is hopefully on the right track (as you suggest).

As for light, well I'm growing them in a sunny greenhouse, but here in Wales we have even less natural light in mid-winter than you do in NY state (being about 52 degrees North), which is one of the reasons I'm planning on "feeding-up" the young plants to produce good tubers and partially compensate for this lack. If I can afford to ( energy is expensive here! ) I may use a couple of low-energy lights to add an extra hour to the start and end of each day in winter as well.

Anyway, thanks once again for the advice - speak to you soon...

 

[Martin]

"...I may use a couple of low-energy lights to add an extra hour to the start and end of each day in winter as well..."

Hi,

I would NOT recommend to lengthen the natural photoperiod time in winter but to add strong artificial light (sodium vapor or metal halide) during the middle of the day.

I believe(&#33

that if you grow your plants warmer than usual (I grow them at about 12-15°C) you have to give them plenty of light. Maybe the need less light if grown cooler.

Martin

 

[JanW]

Hi,

I grow the easier species (dr.auriculata, peltata, menziesii) under lights with long photoperiods of 12 and more hours and
the plants seem to grow on and on. If there is no change in light conditions only some are dieing back during the summer, most grow without!

Jan

 

[droseraholic]

Hi Martin & Jan,

Thanks for the information. I'll be growing them fairly cool, say a min of 3C - 7C (average 5C) winter nights rising to 10C - 20C (average 15C) in the day, which should be fairly similar to their natural range, so hopefully will need a bit less light. Also, I'm trying to minimize my use of electricity ( both for environmental & cost reasons! ), so unless I can find some suitable low-energy bulbs I may just forget artificial lighting altogether - they will have to make do with what nature provides! This is one of the reasons I'm planning to manually feed them up (with insects and / or fish flakes etc), in order to partially compensate for lower light and build up good tubers.