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  • #21
@tamlin: thanks so much for that info. it's very insightful, and i am currently having blue green algae growing in my U. fulva pot. i guess it's time for a media change!
 
  • #22
My pleasure! In all fairness I should state that many growers think I'm daft regarding this protocol, but I notice their plants never seemed to do as well as mine did......the chore isn't all that demanding if you work ahead of your needs, and it's great just to be able to have a pot with mix all ready to go/ You have only a couple of messes to clean up instead of every time you pot something

Good growing means reducing variables, and the small differences can make all the difference between success and failure especially long term.
 
  • #23
Yeah, I have to say that I swear by your method too, Tamlin. I used to have tons of problems until I followed your instructions (I slightly modified it a bit so I can rinse peat in about an hour instead- I just keep wringing it out and placing it into a new rinsing bucket until my wrists are too tired to wring it out anymore (about 4-5 pre-rinses with steaming hot tap water of 150 ppm). Then I rinsed/wrung 3 times with RO or distilled water. Sure enough, as Tamlin described, the ppm dropped about a level of 200-300 compared to mixing distilled h20 with peat the first time and comparing it to the final product for the particular peat I use. Thanks again for sharing this valuable info :hail:!

I haven't touched my pots for about a year now (growing indoors on the tray method) and there's been no algae growth in my pots whatsoever (I should probably give them a top-watering soon though)! Now if only I could find a way to get rid of all the utric weeds...I think the media mix for all my sundews at this point has been converted converted to a ratio of 20 utricularia: 1 peat: 1 silica sand lol :) I shouldn't have compacted the media so much, but it makes the moisture content last longer if my parents forget to fill the tray up once a week while I'm away for months at a time :blush: Boy does it make those utrics thrive! p.s. don't get me wrong- I love growing utrics separately from my sundew pots, but has gotten a little out of control for me.
 
  • #24
wow ive never seen a drosera lanata...its incredible. is yours in an exceptionally good state or is that what is to be expected of a lanata?
 
  • #25
Thanks for the vote of confidence Aaron, and your modifications are fine to the method. You just just elbow grease vs time to remove the nasties. When you talk of Utricularia weeds, I assume you mean U. subulata and U. lateriflora? Those were the only seedy species I encountered. I never noticed subby getting in the way of any of my sundews, but U. lateriflora used to be a problem because of the density of the lollons.

As an added comment, red cypress mulch at the bottom of the pot has powerful antimicrobal effects. It was always hard for me to get, and be SURE if you use it it's not simply some other mulch dyed red! Very good stuff!
 
  • #26
@jaf: hahaha. um...i really like to pamper my plants. but i think this is what should be expected of lanata, especially with high temps and intense lighting. lesser lighting will cause the plant to grow larger, and the red is not as intense. thanks very much. lanata is by far my favorite out of all the petiolaris dews. followed by falconeri and ordensis.
 
  • #27
amph, just out of curiosity, what are the overall width/height dimensions of your D. ordensis, D. paradoxa, and D. lanata? I'm never good at finding species descriptions on google. I need to find out how to do that....

Tamlin- It is U. subulata. Oddly, they seem to grow most densely around the sundew roots and pop flowers up right next to the plant, which I find really odd. Flowers are sent up elsewhere, as well, but this happens especially frequently with my South American sundews growing in LFS. I think there were strands of Utrics on the roots when I received 2 of them, so the clumps are most concentrated around the roots in that case. Density used to be fine, but they just keep getting more and more dense with time. It wasn't a problem until I compacted the media, because the looser media did not stay as moist, and I also gave the pots had a chance to dry out a bit between waterings, which somewhat hindered Utric growth. But now I don't think the media gets a chance to dry out at all because I compacted the media so much, and my parents usually don't wait until the tray has dried before adding water, so they won't forget to do it...
 
  • #28
@amp its defenetely stunning, especially if its what to be expected!!! =]

at times i see plants on here that are amazing but its difficult to achieve the beauty. Lanata, from what you say, must be quite the aquisition for you. i tried browsing for it, didnt find very much. whats the price range for one?
 
  • #29
This D. lanata went dormant and actually recovered from it. It flowerd and then died:

Picture003-18.jpg
 
  • #30
@jim: now that's a shame...lanata's such a pretty plant. i dont let my petiolaris dews flower---i dont see the point since im not interested in making hybrids, and i only have one plant of each species.

@aaron:
-ordensis is the largest out of my entire collection, with a diameter of around 3.5 to 4 inches across and reaches a height of around 2.75 to 3 inches.
-paradoxa is a medium sized plant with a diameter of 2.75 to 3 inches and forms a stem, so technically it's around 2.75 inches in height.
-lanata is the smallest in my collection, about 2 inches in diameter and 1 to 1.5 inches in height, although seasonally it does extend to about 2.75" in diameter max---i believe this has to do more with lighting levels, since my falconeri also shrinks under intense lighting.
 
  • #31
Absolutely my favorite group of dews. The colors, the shapes, the challenges, the rewards within this group are truly amazing. I hope to someday grow them again and do it well. Here's some with some color (D. ordensis) ...
DordensisHL111105RS.jpg

There are many more excellent pics available via search & a few other remnants in my growlist ...
 
  • #32
@ron: those ordensis are looking good! how old are those plants? the one i got from homer is about 4 years old. i wish i could get it as compact looking as yours!
 
  • #33
@ron: those ordensis are looking good! how old are those plants? the one i got from homer is about 4 years old.
I don't recall how old but they weren't close to full grown (pic is several years old). Lasiocephala - a truly wonderous group of plants. :hail:
 
  • #34
*pulls the spell of thread necromancy*
some updated pics of what's been going on...

drosera diliatatopetiolaris
6669232257_a703ec733e_o.jpg


drosera lanata, fully awakened from dormancy
6669232629_e90586100c_o.jpg


drosera falconeri, looking like a champ
6669233441_763a2a27c7_b.jpg

6669233847_165fcf3dbd_o.jpg

closeup:
6669317131_9bf1a1dbbe_o.jpg


drosera ordensis, just fully awakened
6669234217_2980d87bc1_o.jpg


drosera paradoxa
6669234341_34070f7fa5_o.jpg


drosera broomensis, entering into dormancy--note the reduction in size and compaction of leaves, and building up of silver stipules.
6669234559_0aa2221e6c_b.jpg


drosera darwinensis, freshly awakened, not fully out of dormancy yet, note size in comparison to previous growth
6669234699_f28ab66e87_o.jpg


drosera kenneallyi, finally gaining steam after 2 years in the ICU. so many times i've thought to abandon it, but with the drop in available keneallyi, i decided to keep it alive.
6669234817_007fa3a97f_o.jpg


drosera derbyensis seedlings---at least, let's hope they are.
6669234927_4eef4c1f77_o.jpg


and a few others

byblis liniflora
6669235181_560e6f634d_o.jpg


utricularia graminifolia--i know poor panorama, i'll do better when all the flowers bloom...
6669235463_f03c5d6dac_o.jpg
 
  • #35
When you posted, I was like :laaa:
And when I looked, I was like :laaa: <- not disappointed
Everything, everything is just sosososo great, Jon!! Congrats!
 
  • #36
thanks for taking a look liz. much appreciated!
 
  • #37
Wow, I really like the dilatato-petiolaris, and the graminifolia. Everything looks great! :)
 
  • #38
thanks much for the kind words lime.
 
  • #39
Ooooh <3 petiolaris dews! Here's mine from a week ago - 2 lanata a month or two post shipping on top, paradoxa on the bottom left that I've tortured for years, and an asleep ordensis on the bottom right

IMG_1198.jpg


a better angle-
IMG_1200.jpg
 
  • #40
everything is looking good thez! your ordensis is tiny. :p
 
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