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i got a whole bunch of drosera seeds from vft_guy_in_SJ  today in the mail (thanx again!), two varieties of D. capensis and some D. capillaris. i also managed to get a mix of peat, sand and a bit of vermiculite from the campus greenhouse (maybe not ideal, but FREE). they also set me up with some dried sphagnum which i wet down and placed in the tops of the pots as per various directions i found on ICPS's website. all three *clearly labelled* pots are inside two plastic bags with a little distilled water on the bottom (bag 1 leaked so i put a plastic shopping bag over the whole business until they germinate), and that whole mess is up on the top shelf of my desk getting semi-direct light from the VFT lamp, shaded slightly by my african violet. is this an OK setup? i know the D. capillaris will probably take quite some time to germinate but how about the D. capensis?

also, did i set this up right at all? ;)

thanx!!!

EDIT: also i sprinkled the very, very, very tiny seeds right on top of the sphagnum, partly because that's what i read and partly because i think it would be impossible to do otherwise given their size. is this OK?
 
Sounds like a winning set up! The D. capensis will sprout relatively sooner, possibly as soon as one week. Do you have a magnifying glass to see the tiny sprouts?
 
jimscott- no i don't have a magnifying glass but i'm hoping i'll be able to see a green fuzz ;)

also, when and if these do sprout, do i just keep thinning the population until i'm down to one or two plants/pot? they're in 4-inch square plastic pots.

thanx!
 
No need to thin out for awhile. Let's see how how many and how they are juxtaposed to one another. You have several weeks to months to deal with thinning.
 
Hi Heather,

First thing to do is take off the plastic bags. Although some will argue the "humidity issue" my experience is these are weeds. All they want is a generous slice of sunlight and water. Keeping the bags on them or low light levels only speeds up fungus and algal growth which will compete with and possibly smother your seedlings.

The D. capillaris seed was harvested in fall of 2003 and stored in the refrigerator since that time.

The D. capensis seeds were harvested last season and likewise stored in the fridge.

All 3 are simple beginner friendly varieties and will do very well if just sewn on top of media of your choice and left in good light. None of them should take an abnormally long time to sprout. I have MANY scapes on my D. capillaris right now and in a couple months I will be innundated with fresh seeds so no worries about getting more if you need them.

Cheers
Steve
 
Oops, I missed what Steve caught, about the baggies.
confused.gif
Sorry about that.
 
lol ok, baggies off... they're all in standing water now getting only slightly less light than the vft's (since i don't think seeds *need* ligh for germination, no?)

i found this hilarious though... i went down to the plant sale that the greenhouse was holding today, partly to drop of the rest of the moss i'd borrowed and partly to scrounge up some new additons!, and when i hand the stuff back the girl running the booth she says "ooohhh you're the sundew girl!"

i'm getting a bit of a reputation here ;)
 
You are correct about them not needing light to germinate. Maybe you can instruct the fine folks in the gardening department how to take care of them. I've been trying to so the same at the Home Depot in our area. It's a painful process!
 
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Addendum: I work in an environmental laboratory during the week and as a cashier at Home Depot on Saturdays, Last year I sorta got one of the garden associates on board about buying a gallon of distilled water, taking the plastic dome off, and moving them closer to the greenhouse window. Three weeks ago they brought in a shipment of 50 VFT's. Last week there were 22 left. Today, there were none. I asked about it because they justdon't sell that many in a week. I was told that they died - all dried up. AAARRRRGGHH!
mad.gif
Why do I bother?
 
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