It's about time bluemax posted some photos!

[bluemax]

An update -

Drosera squamosa

D. macrophylla

D. cuneifolia - several forms

Drosophyllum lusitanicum - this very-happy dude cleans up all of the flying insects that get into the garage when the door is open. It seems just fine with the cooler temps and continues to get bigger.

 

[Grey Moss]

Very nice, I never got my drosos to survive the transition indoors during the winter. Certainly jealous.

 

[bluemax]

Very nice, I never got my drosos to survive the transition indoors during the winter. Certainly jealous.

Thank you. I think that having bright light on the plant is an important requirement, for what it is worth. In the last few years I have upped my game significantly there with the cheap availability of leds.

 

[corky]

I'm liking the look of the black sand ? In the tuberous drosera pots ,was it from an aquarium supplier? Makes the plants stand out

 

[bluemax]

I'm liking the look of the black sand ? In the tuberous drosera pots ,was it from an aquarium supplier? Makes the plants stand out

Yes, it's from the pet store. I saw someone else do in year's past and decided to try it. I used white sand last year and that didn't work so well because the tanins from the peat quickly made it look nasty, ha!

 

[hcarlton]

Black Diamond blasting abrasive is basically the same (and probably cheaper than pet store sources if you have a tractor supply store nearby). The occasional bag may need a wash to remove the dust, but it's inert, variably sized and shaped so it doesn't compact, and very dark.

 

[bluemax]

Black Diamond blasting abrasive is basically the same (and probably cheaper than pet store sources if you have a tractor supply store nearby). The occasional bag may need a wash to remove the dust, but it's inert, variably sized and shaped so it doesn't compact, and very dark.

I don't doubt that it costs less as the stuff from the pet store is crazy expensive for sand. Do you know what it is composed of?

 

[hcarlton]

It's coal slag, basically a carbon/iron glass. Fully inert.

 

[bluemax]

A couple of Utricularia flowers:


U. longifolia


U. reneformis

 

[Blackfeather666]

Very nice

 

[bluemax]

It's harvest time!

 

[bluemax]

Just a few recent Petiolaris sundew shots.

About a year and a half ago I had a serious crash in my Petiolaris terrarium, losing most of the plants I had been growing for years. The reason was that I had decided to use 2 heat mats, one on each side of the 30 gal. tank, as the source of heat. My previous heating method had serious shortfalls but this was just disastrous. When I had recovered from the loss sufficiently to see what remained alive I chose a simple screw-in ceramic heat lamp of the type used in reptile enclosures along with a computer fan - all connected to plug-in thermostat. This brought a complete reversal of my situation and when it became clear that the surviving plants loved this heat source I began to make plant trades to restore my collection. These are some of my early successes. I hope to post more photos in the near future.

Drosera falconeri

Proof that D. aff. lanata, Flying Fox Creek is possibly it's own species.

D. aff. ordensis, Timber Creek. This plant looks considerably different after only 2 weeks from this photo being taken.

I really like this hybrid. There are some really great Petiolaris hybrids out there but they often don't get the respect they deserve.

 

[madrone]

Those are lovely plants! I'm glad you were able to recover some of these and that your new set-up is sure to be a good home for any replacements. I've always enjoyed seeing your petiolaris pics, and I really appreciate that you've shared what you've tried that hasn't worked and how you've improved the situation. It's these teaching/learning moments that are so helpful for folks that might also want to try their hand at growing these gems!

 

[adnedarn]

Nice! So you think those just allow for higher temps which the mats couldn't achieve?

 

[bluemax]

Nice! So you think those just allow for higher temps which the mats couldn't achieve?

Thanks! You would think it was something like that. Strangely, the mats could achieve the same temperatures but there was something about the way they did it that the plants hated. My guess is that the mats also heated the water the pots were sitting in and that was what didn't work - but that's only a guess. The current heating element just heats the air and the fan blows that heat around, so it's "dry" heat. That's assuming anything in 80% + humidity can be called dry.

Those are lovely plants! I'm glad you were able to recover some of these and that your new set-up is sure to be a good home for any replacements. I've always enjoyed seeing your petiolaris pics, and I really appreciate that you've shared what you've tried that hasn't worked and how you've improved the situation. It's these teaching/learning moments that are so helpful for folks that might also want to try their hand at growing these gems!

Thanks! I'm glad you like them. I am hoping to have more photos in the not-too-distant future.

 

[adnedarn]

Ah gotcha! I'm still using the heated water approach, which has the water level increased to water the plants periodically. As you recall in a past post, I definitely have some plants that put their roots down into that constantly heated water so I don't think I could, myself, condem hot roots as an issue. Not to say I have never lost plants, so it could be the reason for that, I guess!

 

[bluemax]

'Seems like it's never so simple as a single element - always a combination of things. An equation that can be balanced from one variable or another, or even from several. I have certainly heard of those who've used bottom heat to success as well as those who use a submersible heater for the water.

 

[bluemax]

Today I took a few photos of my garage growing area. Here are some highlights:

First some pings.

P. gigantea x agnata red leaf and P. 'Pirouette'.

Drosera murfetii, back to producing carnivorous leaves after getting through the heat of summer.

Cephalotus "PM1", recovering color after bleaching out a lot during the summer temps. I took this mainly to provide a record before I repotted it and removed the little pups that have formed since it was put in this pot.

P. gigantea, lording it over everything in its vicinity. 'Nice to see the red smear of color returning.

Little pot of D. slackii.

 

[adnedarn]

Nice! Love that agnata x gigantea! What lights are you using now? I'm just getting back into pings, but it's my first time using LEDs... With florescent it was as much as I can fit... I have 4 rows of LED and am wondering if it's too much. LOL

 

[bluemax]

Thanks, Andrew. I'm using a muttly combination of shady natural light from the window, LED tube-type shop lights and various screw-in LEDs in goose-neck fixtures - mostly 100 watt equivalent 5000 K household type lighting with the bulb covers removed. There is a screw-in red/blue unit in there as well. It is certainly easy to go overboard with too much light now that we're using LEDs and not fluorescent tubes, but that is kind of a happy dilemma. And they're so much cheaper, and cooler, to run!

The numbered pings with the white on black lettering are Howard Bramble creations. Both the gigantea x agnata RL and its reverse are about 5" across and getting bigger by the day. Since both parents are big plants I'm guessing they won't stop growing for awhile.