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I have thousands of rosettes that must be cleaned of their gemmae to maintain the health of the plant.  Even unwanted gemmae may not be allowed to remain on the plant or it will suffocate the rosette.  In habitat, rains of the wet season do the job, but in collections you have to do the job.

I made a vacume cleaner out of a mason jar, 2 lengths of plastic tubeing, and a bit of nylon (pantyhose style).

Poke 2 holes just wide enough to accomodate the tubeing.  One length of tube (the vacume "hose") extends to the base of the jar, the other is l
kept short, just under the lid.  The nylon mesh is taped to the end of this tube, which only needs extend just into the jar.

Seal the holes with some glue from a glue gun, or with some chewed up gum to make an air tight seal.  Inhale through the short tube, and use the long hose tube to gently abrade the wheels of gemmae.  Viola!  You will soon have a mass of gemmae inside the jar with little trouble.  Upend the jar over a sheet of paper and rap it firmly onto the paper.

Needless to say, you need to be sure the nylon is WELL AFFIXED to the tube.  I usually fold a bit over itself to be absolutely sure there are no spaces large enough for any gemmae to get through.  Make the hose just long enough to use with comfort, the longer the hose the lower the suction.

Different species of pygmys form gemmae at different times, but I have noted gemmae formation happens soonest under a strict natural photoperiod, with no added light after sunset.  USe of a long photoperiod this time of year will delay or prevent gemmae formation.

Gemmae are not seeds and need to be sown ASAP.  Cold storage in just moist paper is possible.  The fatter and more round gemmae are the shortest lives: flat plate like gemmae may last for over a month.

The use of parrafin oil along with just above freezing temps. will preserve gemmae nearly indefinately.  A friend sowed gemmae stored for over a year using this method with very good germination.

I will soon be offering gemmae, but with some differences from last seasons methods.  I need to cut down the number of email questions as to what the numbers meant, so will post a pinned manifest list to this forum.  

Currently my D. paleacea species are forming gemmae, and are available to anyone who sends me a SASE, with a note saying D. paleacea.  I cannot give a further ID as to subspecies as I have not mastered the taxonomy yet.

All my gemmae will be free of charge as always, and I ask only that you plant them, that you try to share them when your plants make gemmae of their own, and that you keep me in mind if you have anything extra to share now or in the future that you think I might like.  I absolutely forbid you to sell this gemmae, although you may freely share it (please do)!

I got to tell ya folks, last seasons efforts were way too much!  I was working some 7 hr. days with breaks only for meals.  This seasons packaging will really help me out as soon as I obtain the needed zip lock bags.  I said I wasn't gonna do this again!  Last season I send out around 1000 tripple wrapped units to close to 200 growers.

But, well geez, I love ya all and I love the plants too, so let's rock.

My address is :

Tamlin Dawnstar
42 East Oneida Street
Oswego, New York 13126

Send more than one SASE and I will eventually send you an assortment.  You might not get what you hoped for or what i said I would send.  Dems da breaks :)

If I missed you or messed up last season, let me know and I'll try again.  Thanks for the patience and understanding, and also my usual disclaimer applies: pygmy taxonomy is difficult, labels get lost, I send gemmae I haven't grown when I have extra sent to me: all of this means I can't give any assurances as to accuracy of the ID's, although I believe most are fairly accurate, thanks to good communication this year with Phill Mann.  Get out your Lowerie books and good luck!!!
 
Nice article! Whenever I have more than just my D. nitidula ssp. nitidula as far as pygmies go, I will probably try that out... I only have two little nit-picky things just to help you since you always help others... Vacuum is spelled like so: vacuum, and there is the little typo of tubeing when the e should be taken out... You have edited many people's posts to help them, but since I can't, I'll just tell you those tiny things... THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR WORK, YOU'RE THE BEST!!  
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[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Send more than one SASE and I will eventually send you an assortment

So if I were to send 2 or 3 envelopes, I could possibly get two or three species??

SF
 
Great vacuum idea William! BTW, I need to visit now!
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I'll walk if I have to! lol!
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (lithopsman @ Oct. 25 2003,10:21)]Vaccum is spelled like so: vaccum,
Ummmm.. actually its spelled 'vacuum'
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Steve
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (vft guy in SJ @ Oct. 25 2003,20:17)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] (lithopsman @ Oct. 25 2003,10:21)]Vaccum is spelled like so: vaccum,
Ummmm..   actually its spelled 'vacuum'    
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Steve
Nice catch steve,
My keyboard's "c" is a little wierd, sometimes it replaces other letters, either that or my typing has gone from about an A to CC-...
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(J/K) Anyways, thanks for helping me do what I was trying to do... Sorry if that was politically incorrect
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(I just had to use that face with a good sentence)
Caio!!
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I just whipped up one of these babys and let me tell you, it is the best harvesting device ever! I'll post a pic of it tomorrow. Now, no more pinching gemmae between my fingers and having them sproing all over the pot anymore! This vacuum takes the whole lot of them in one inhale! This is da bomb!  
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EDIT: Yes stress the point of having a screen over the part your inhale on...I have about 3 gemmae of D. palecea spp. roseana in my stomach!
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LOL, thanks for the spelling lessons guys, I guess turnabout is fair play. You will note however I do not correct spelling except in the instance of proper scientific names, otherwise I'd go stirrrrr crazy :)

Every envelope will be returned with something in it, at least one species per envelope and probably more. Exactly what depends on your note inside the SASE, I suggest an "anything but" format whenever possible. I get far too occupied to remember any details, so y'all have to do my thinking for me.

Dustin, sorry I missed you today on the PM, I ended up going to the bog to harvest moss for the winter months: good days are getting precious here as well you know. PM me for another date. Now isn't the best time to come anyways, only the D. plaeacea ssp's are making gemmae presently.

There is no rush needed for anyone. I will probably hold off sending as long as possible (except for any SASES marked with a D. paleacea request) in order to be able to send the greatest numbers of species. Expect this to take a month or so, plants must make the gemmae first, and I have a lot of things on my plate so this isn't going to be a speedy deal.

I am trying to get my seed divided as well, and if this is possible I will also be offering free seeds at the same time: easier to offer everything at once.

Just like last season, I have no money. In fact, I have less than no money and it looks like nothing will change this year. Anyone wanting to help me in my efforts to distribute this stuff, feel free to pop a few bucks into the SASE'S as well, and it will help me reach as many growers as possible. If you can't it won't matter, I'll still send you some material but I will TRY to reserve the short supply and rare maaterial for "generous donors". Oh yeah, if you happen to have some small ziplock bags send them with the SASE, it will help! Anything done x 1000 starts costing, and I have no money at all so I am going to need help to do all this.

I am also interested in hearing of your success rates. Some material is difficult, and I would like to see this to go to those who have developed some good skills with growing the pygmys. This way, there will be a greater number of skilled growers to reproduce the rare material, and then it will be less rare. SO if you think you have the "knack" for these plants, convince me!

Growers outside the U.S. please contact me privately for options on acquiring gemmae this season if you have interest. I have some thoughts and suggestions regarding this.
 
  • #10
Wow, what a generous offer. I'll be sending you a SASE on Monday. I'll be happy with anything you send, as I currently don't have any Drosera!

Pat
 
  • #11
Just keep in mind, this is a future event. The plants are not producing currently, and I can't say for certain that they will. I have not cut by photoperiod back yet: I am experiencing the beauty of flowering Pinguicula, and if I go down much, all the rosettes will immediately go into winter dormant mode. They only start growing well for me in August, and are flowering in middle September. I am lucky to get one month of active plants! So this year, I am leaving the photoperiod extended, and this certainly will delay the gemmae. I feel confident enough that it will happen to get ready for the event, but it has not happened yet.

Also, as I said, I can't really promise any specific species. I will try to meet your requests if you care to make them, but there is no way I can fortell how much I will have, or if I will have it. Or if I will remember it, even if I said I would! Ya spins the wheel and ya takes yer chance. I hate to disappoint, so the less promised the better.
 
  • #12
Tamlin,

Thank you for your generous offer, again. The money is on the way.
 
  • #14
watch out dustin!!! a gemmae in your stomache is worse than 100 black water melon seeds!
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  • #15
Hmm that man explain why I am more hungry....darned drosera eating up all my food!
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  • #16
I sent a sase as well as a dozen bryophillium plantlets (just in case you wanted them) mine wil be adressed noah gantnier so when you get that one open it up and plant the bryophilliums! Btw if you`r pygmys don`t produce gemmae will you send every body something else?
 
  • #17
Umm.I put a note saying D.palacea.but I`d like any pygmy!
 
  • #18
Pondboy,

Yeah, if my plants don't produce any gemmae, I'll send you a dozen bryophilliums, hee hee: gotcha!

Or, I may just steam all the stamps off the SASE's, cash them in at to Post Office and use the money in some frivolous, hedonistic explosion of my atavistic sensibilities.....I have been know to do stranger things.

But, no. Fear not. Send forth thy stamps!! I swear an Oath that I will send something to everyone and anyone who sends me a sase. Don't know just what, guess it depends on how good you've been, how I am feeling the day after yesterday, and whether Mercury has gone retrograde.

Just to give you and others some reassurance (hee hee) look at these figures. I originally received a rosette in 2001 of D. pulchella x nitidula. That winter the one rosette made (and I counted every one of them) 748 gemmae, each of which is basically a plant. I gave most of them away, but I now have about 3 pots of that species, probably 20 in each pot. That's 748 x 60, or 44,880 gemmae all from one species

I currently grow over 61 different species and taxa, some with close to a hundred plants in each pot, each rosette of which can make hundreds of gemmae. 61 x 100 x 100 = Oh momma I am hip deep in da little green eggs!

It will be a painful pleasure to send out the itsy bitsy gemmae and I will be SO happy when it is done you bet, but my plants will continue to make gemmae long after no one has any further want of it, and looooong after I am ready to throw in the towel. Most of them anyways. I hope. This is why this isn't being offered on the trade forum: it is potential, but nothings for certain. Sometimes you just have to risk it.

All I can say is I got all the D. paleacea ssp ? a body could ever want, but I'd bet my cat that the other 60 species/taxa will produce as well, just my luck! So hit the books and figure out what the gemmae need to become the beautiful plants they can be.


Drosera+palacaea+var.+roseana+sept.+2002r.jpg









Here's my take on it all:

http://www.cpzine.com/article.aspx?cid=13&y=2002&m=10&d=12
 
  • #19
So can you use the bryophillium I sent yah? I plan on doing a care sheet for them in the next 2 weeks.???
 
  • #20
Well Pondboy, I will grow them because they come from you. The plants are weeds in my succulent collection, but they are misnamed when called "Mother of Thousands", they should be called "Mother of Millions. It took me years to get rid of them, LOL!

However, when they flower it is an amazing experience. They form thick umbells of different shades of pink and salmon shading to green at the flower base. The flowers are numerous and bell like. They flower with a short and uninterupted photoperiod about the same time as Christmas cactus.

Thank you for the gift, and I look forward to seeing what these do in my collection. I will give them a place of honor.....well apart from my other plants!
 
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