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Post by roraima on Mar 28, 2014 0:09:16 GMT -5
Hi Everyone, I took a few pictures of my favorite seed grown D.regia plant yesterday and I thought I'd share. This is the same plant I posted pics of in canuk1w1's D. regia seed thread. It's a little older now almost 11 months and the longest leaves are now 9"+ in length.
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Post by canuk1w1 on Mar 28, 2014 6:13:37 GMT -5
Very nice! Are the roots poking out the bottom of the pot or you will repot it and take cuttings?
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Post by Devon on Mar 28, 2014 21:16:24 GMT -5
Gorgeous plant.
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Post by roraima on Mar 28, 2014 23:58:37 GMT -5
Thanks guys!
Canuk1w1, I've had to re-pot this plant four times since its germination because the fat tap-root keeps wanting more and more. The root in the last picture just emerged from the base of the plant about a week ago and continues it way down into the media. Because it's still new and relatively shallow I think it might be the perfect time to take some root cuttings without having to re-pot for the moment.
I've had miserable luck over the past few months trying to produce clones of my D. regia via leaf cuttings submerged in LFS, so I'm going to try root cuttings. If I have good success I'll definitely post some for trade/sale on the OCPS trading post.
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D. regia
Mar 29, 2014 1:41:17 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Maiden on Mar 29, 2014 1:41:17 GMT -5
Amazing plant my friend ! Its the closest relative to dionaea. Dionaea found that crawling insects bring more nitrogen and azote to the bulb, so the regia ssp. has evolved slowly with a complete closed traps, simply to maximize the nutrients intake of the plant. Thats why dionaea grow much more faster with dryed blood worms. I just finished writing my first cps book, and you guys got one of my secrets now :-) Have a look to this: www.carnivorousplants.org/howto/Feeding/FeedingDBWSBS.phpRegias plants are too tall for my setup. But its a real cool specie. Well done Guy ! Francois
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Post by roraima on Mar 29, 2014 23:50:18 GMT -5
Thank you my friend Francois!
D. regia's interesting evolutionary relation to Dionaea and relict characteristics were definitely big factors in why I wanted to grow this plant from seed. As has been mentioned before it's really cool how the the leaves of D. regia turn a distinct black colour starting at the tip when they die, in a way very similar to how a VFT leaf dies.
Regular feeding is critical to growth for D. regia, much like the amazing growth of the VFT seedlings in repsonse to the blood worm "meatball" diet. From my experience D. regia unlike many other CP's must be fed/fertilized regularly to excel and even survive in cultivation. These days I place my plants on top of my compost bin in the back yard for an hour or two and let them do their thing...it's amazing what effective predators they are even in these early days of spring.
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Post by canuk1w1 on Mar 30, 2014 11:50:00 GMT -5
I finally figured out how to quote multiple posts - after almost year... Thanks guys! Canuk1w1, I've had to re-pot this plant four times since its germination because the fat tap-root keeps wanting more and more. The root in the last picture just emerged from the base of the plant about a week ago and continues it way down into the media. Because it's still new and relatively shallow I think it might be the perfect time to take some root cuttings without having to re-pot for the moment. I've had miserable luck over the past few months trying to produce clones of my D. regia via leaf cuttings submerged in LFS, so I'm going to try root cuttings. If I have good success I'll definitely post some for trade/sale on the OCPS trading post. D'Amato says it takes well to root cuttings so I reckon you'll have decent success. I'm still a good bit off needing to transplant them from their germination container but will probably do half in 5"/6" pots and the remainder in their final 10"/12" pots. Thank you my friend Francois! D. regia's interesting evolutionary relation to Dionaea and relict characteristics were definitely big factors in why I wanted to grow this plant from seed. As has been mentioned before it's really cool how the the leaves of D. regia turn a distinct black colour starting at the tip when they die, in a way very similar to how a VFT leaf dies. Regular feeding is critical to growth for D. regia, much like the amazing growth of the VFT seedlings in repsonse to the blood worm "meatball" diet. From my experience D. regia unlike many other CP's must be fed/fertilized regularly to excel and even survive in cultivation. These days I place my plants on top of my compost bin in the back yard for an hour or two and let them do their thing...it's amazing what effective predators they are even in these early days of spring. Per D'Amato's recommend for these, I've added a pellet of smartcote to the pots for each seedling, plus a couple in the tray for good measure. Thsi should give them the nutrients they need without having to mess around with the DBW mash on tiny plants. Thanks again for your experience and insights!
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Post by roraima on Mar 30, 2014 23:55:16 GMT -5
Canuk1w1 does this mean you've had some seeds germinate for you? If so that's awesome. If you can, take some photos along the way, I'd be really interested in hearing about your experience.
I think fertilizing the media and tray water is an excellent strategy for seedlings, as I had one die from being overwhelmed with foliar prey application at too young of an age. I'd also be interested in hearing about your experience with smartcote as I've always been hesitant to use anything but osmocote (which of course is unavailable to me).
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Post by canuk1w1 on Mar 31, 2014 12:05:53 GMT -5
Canuk1w1 does this mean you've had some seeds germinate for you? If so that's awesome. If you can, take some photos along the way, I'd be really interested in hearing about your experience. I think fertilizing the media and tray water is an excellent strategy for seedlings, as I had one die from being overwhelmed with foliar prey application at too young of an age. I'd also be interested in hearing about your experience with smartcote as I've always been hesitant to use anything but osmocote (which of course is unavailable to me). Yes and thanks! I was surprised how quickly they sprouted. Credit to Shoggoths - the media mix he suggested (small perlite/milled LFS/charcoal fines/coir) was fastest to germinate, all 3 pots germinated and the seedlings are largest. LFS media is next "best". Peat/sand has been disappointing (2 pots nothing yet) but I'm thinking it's the play sand even though it was washed. I'll take some pics this evening and post for sure. And time to start preparing a proper blend of Shoggs' (large perlite/charcoal/CHC/LFS) for them! BTW, what differences are there between SmartCote and Osmocote? Consensus seems to be both are timed-release fertilizers with expected slight diff in formulation. SmartCote may not have the micronutrients as OsmoCote. I also have PlantProd timed release pellets. It advertises micronutrients and is 14-14-14. I have Botanicare fertilizer for my orchids - it's organic liquid and I've been using it dilute to feed the helis, a few drops of that in the trays could assist. I didn't find any primary research in my first pass and haven't dug deep enough.
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Post by canuk1w1 on Apr 1, 2014 13:13:10 GMT -5
G'day. A few shots of my D. regia seedlings. I'll need to borrow Devon's equipment to improve the picture quality ;-) The full album is here: imgur.com/a/ru9L5#0From left to right: 3 x Shogg's mix, 4 X LFS, 4 X peat/perlite. Shogg's mix is winning. All the pots have sprouted and germinated ahead of the other two. A SmartCote pellet is adjacent to the seedling for size comparison. 2nd best is LFS - reinforcing what a good all-around medium this is (starting all sorts of seeds, growing CPs and orchids). When ease of use if factored, it's my goto medium of choice. Others may be "better" for certain things but for effectiveness and ease of use it cannot be beat - IMO ;-) A distant 3rd is peat/perlite. So far disappointing for starting all seeds - only one seedling has sprouted in one pot. Peat/sand may be the way to go for (these) seeds, peat/perlite is bloody useless so far (I'm starting to get fed up with the stuff, can you tell?). As always, constructive criticism is most welcome and encouraged. Thanks!
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Post by roraima on Apr 1, 2014 14:20:19 GMT -5
Sweet, great job! Thanks for posting this.
I love home experiment results and quantitative data from CP seedlings. I'll definitely try out the Shogg mix.
Keep us updated Canuk1w1 and best of luck with these little beasts.
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Post by dvg on Apr 1, 2014 14:58:27 GMT -5
Congrats on the new recruits.
Was reading through the cultivation section of Donald Schnell's Carnivorous Plants of the United States and Canada last night, and noted his disdain for the peat/perlite media mix as well.
Schnell preferred to use peat mixed with washed coarse sand, instead of the perlite mix.
He stated that he had lost too many plants using perlite with the peat.
dvg
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Post by canuk1w1 on Apr 1, 2014 16:28:42 GMT -5
Thanks roraima, Doug!
Roraima, there's a bit of inconsistency (not planting at the same time) but it reinforces my observations. The Shogg's mix pot was planted a full day later than the others!
Doug, pretty sure it was D'Amato that said to be skimpy on perlite for VFT seedlings as it raises the pH? Looks like we're all on the same page with this one. When I next try CP seeds in peat, it'll only be with sand. And if the results are not "better" than LFS (higher germination rate, faster growth), then the hassle of rinsing peat and sand, mixing them to the correct ratio then the subsequent cleanup is not worth it. The only thing I'd miss is top dressing the pot with sand to cut down on breeding places for drosophila
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Post by ilikewhatido on Apr 1, 2014 20:33:32 GMT -5
Very nice! Regia is definitely the King of Sundew.
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Post by roraima on Sept 18, 2014 23:23:00 GMT -5
Thanks ilikewhatido I thought I'd share a quick update of this plant, now 15 months old. it's in a 10 inch pot for scale.
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