DroseraBug
Grow Pitcher Plants!
Is it dangerous to ship pygmies bare root? It seems like I read many pygmies were sensitive to root disturbance. Is this the case?
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Shipping Pygmies?
- Thread starter DroseraBug
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Pygmy Drosera typically grow one long thin root that usually doesn't grow back if broken off. This you can imagine leads to one unhappy plant.
While it is possible to ship them bare root extreme care must be taken in removing, packaging and re-planting them.
While it is possible to ship them bare root extreme care must be taken in removing, packaging and re-planting them.
I've found certain species/hybrids more robust. For example, my nitidula x pulchellas have VERY thick roots for pygmies, so I don't really worry about them when I ship.
I've shipped others, like nitidula x pygmaea and those are the ones I'm careful with.
I take the handle end of a fork and push it into the soil 4 times, making cuts in the soil 90 degrees to each other, so the pygmy's roots are in a rectangle of soil. On the last cut, push the fork handle under the bottom and lift up. It'll stay intact if you put it in a wet paper towel.
I've shipped others, like nitidula x pygmaea and those are the ones I'm careful with.
I take the handle end of a fork and push it into the soil 4 times, making cuts in the soil 90 degrees to each other, so the pygmy's roots are in a rectangle of soil. On the last cut, push the fork handle under the bottom and lift up. It'll stay intact if you put it in a wet paper towel.
One time i received several "once-potted" D. omissa x pulchella in the mail....... It got a little banged up in shipping, but it was exciting trying to find the plants-like digging through sand to find a coin. However, they never skipped a beat- they immediately took off after repotting them have been growing like crazy ever since. Shows the durability of the hybrids.
DrWurm
Californian in DC
I think the trick is to only pseudo-bare root them. The fork sounds like a nice idea. If the roots are never exposed, the plant is none-the-wiser to being shipped. When you extract your dirt clod, wrap it tightly in moist paper towels, then sorta vacuum pack it in a ziploc bag with your hands so the plastic reinforces the paper towel. Then put that bag into whatever shock absorbent material you have on hand (newspaper, shredded junk mail, packing peanuts).
The most important thing is that the bag is immboilized during shipping.
The most important thing is that the bag is immboilized during shipping.
