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Problems with D. filiformis

Hi all,

I am having a little trouble with D. filiformis, all types and verities, and could use some help. It seems I can not get this particular species of Drosera to really get started in the spring. I will usually wind up buying a few in late June or July, pot them up in the usual 50/50 mix or straight peat, and put them on my porch where they get full sun for about 7-9 hours a day and bright light the rest of the time, I use only distilled or rain water with these guys, and they always grow great. Typically, they will dew up nicely, turn red (if they are able), flower, and in the fall go dormant, pass through the Winter waiting for spring in the fridge. No rot, no problems. Then March/April arrives and the plants begin to open their resting buds, I wait a month or two and then I pot them up and stick them back out on the porch. Then they will sit there and not do anything for weeks. Finally, some will rot and die, and some start to grow. Of those that grow, a few short leaves will appear, maybe half an inch long at most, and then the plants will sit there for a few more weeks and not do anything until they finally die. This year I tried bringing them in and growing them under lights after the first few failed. No joy. I started with about six different plants and now I have a single small tracyi left, and its fading. This has been going on for four or five years now, and its getting pretty annoying, so any advice will be most welcome.
 
probably a combination of your mix, the repotting/unpotting twice a year, and being too wet while waking up from dormancy.
Try adding sand and some chunky components (i.e. perlite, lava rock, etc.) to your media.
Not disturbing the roots, ever again.. ~ Doesn't necessarily kill them, but they definitely don't like it.
And don't keep them sitting in water while waking up. Moist, but not wet until they're fully awake.
Mine seem to grow in any kind of light conditions.
 
Then March/April arrives and the plants begin to open their resting buds, I wait a month or two and then I pot them up and stick them back out on the porch. Then they will sit there and not do anything for weeks.
Why the wait? If I'm reading this correctly - you wait for a "month or two" after they begin to grow. Why not plant them either when you see them start to emerge or before (when they are still dormant)? Or try Mass's suggestion to keep some potted - either in a basement under lights or in your garage. D. filiformis var tracyi can be finicky but regular filiformis is a weed that will grow anywhere....

Either way, time to try something different. Get some seed from the seedbank and try all of the above ...
 
I don't really see why you're unpotting them at all for winter. Though they are dormant, from my experience they still have roots, and they don't get uprooted normally in the wild. Leave them in the pot. if it's a spce issue and they ahve to be unpotted for some reason I can't comprehend, then when you think they're ready to come out of dormancy, pot them up immediately.
 
probably a combination of your mix, the repotting/unpotting twice a year, and being too wet while waking up from dormancy.
Try adding sand and some chunky components (i.e. perlite, lava rock, etc.) to your media.

I did try a more open mix one year with the same result but I didn't think to protect the plants from the many cold and heavy spring rains so you might have a valid couple of points there. As for the potting and repotting... well I live in an apartment and overwintering some of my plants in the fridge is one way of overcoming considerable space limitations. Still, I hadn't considered that repotting every spring could be an issue. I'll have to reconsider my other (limited) storage options.

Why the wait? If I'm reading this correctly - you wait for a "month or two" after they begin to grow. Why not plant them either when you see them start to emerge or before (when they are still dormant)?

Why wait? Mostly because temperate plants, when planted outside, won't usually budge for me until late April or early May anyway but I also read something to the effect you should wait awhile in one of the old CPN news letters.

D. filiformis var tracyi can be finicky but regular filiformis is a weed that will grow anywhere....

Interesting, what limited success I've had has been with var. tracyi. Var. filiformis is usually the first to rot and die.

Thank you all for your responses. I appreciate the fresh perspectives.
 
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