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Post by lloyd on Jun 3, 2013 23:29:59 GMT -5
I dug up a few tubers, I think stolonifera. I'm just keeping them on sand that is slightly moistened in a dark, cool room. Do they eventually sprout on their own?
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Post by Apoplast on Jun 4, 2013 10:19:56 GMT -5
Hi Lloyd - I think D. stolonifera can take a slightly moist dormancy, though typically most species want it to be dry. Very dry. And warm during their dormancy. The capes region (Leeuwin-Naturaliste) of Western Australia is a Mediterranean climate with cool wet winters, when the tuberous species are actively growing, and hot dry summers, when the tubers are dormant. The plants will sprout in autumn when it gets cooler and remain dormant during the summer when it is hot. The trouble people have with these species is when they don't trust in the dormancy. They get worried and add water to the tuber or keep it moist. That almost invariable rots the tuber and you lose the plant. Some species are more forgiving and can handle wet summers, but those are the exception rather than the rule. I'd suggest putting it in dry sand and storing it somewhere the temperature gets over 25C during the day. That should keep it dormant until autumn when you can let it experience cooler temps, and then, once it starts growth, you can pot it up, water it, and watch it grow.
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Post by lloyd on Jun 4, 2013 11:28:41 GMT -5
I just put them in a petri dish buried in dry sand. I'll leave it under lights so it gets warm 1/2 the day. Thanks.
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Post by dvg on Jun 4, 2013 12:37:42 GMT -5
Those are some snazzy lookin' dews you grew Apo! dvg
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Post by Apoplast on Jun 4, 2013 18:56:50 GMT -5
Hi Lloyd - No problem. Good luck with them! I swear they are worth the effort.
Hi DVG - Thanks! No let's just hope I can get them growing in the correct season successfully so I can show them off again next year.
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Post by 31drew31 on Jun 4, 2013 19:16:03 GMT -5
As always, impressive tuberous Drosera!
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Post by Apoplast on Jun 5, 2013 18:13:22 GMT -5
Hi Drew - Thanks! These are cheater shots though. I just got the tubers and am in no way responsible for their current state of beauty. Next year I can be proud, this year was just to get people excited about those species.
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Post by shoggoths on Jun 6, 2013 21:17:30 GMT -5
Congratulation Apoplast, Your tuberous are really great. I especially like the rosette one. Does the flower is self-fertile ? I had peltata flower last year but they didn't give any seed. As I said before, I'll need a few trick next Autumn
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Post by Apoplast on Jun 8, 2013 10:51:37 GMT -5
Bounjour Shogg - Thanks! I often think I am the only one who really likes the rosette tuberous sundews. Seems many other like the fan leaved or stalked species because they are more distinct within the genus. Which I understand, but I still like those rosette species.
Unfortunately, I don't think most of the tuberous sundews are capable of selfing. I've heard of some of the D. peltata complex species and D. menziesii becoming "weeds" in tuberous dew collection, but I don't know if this is from seed production or because those people dig up their tubers every summer and the reuse the soil mix which had tiny tubers still in it. Désolé ne saurait je vous y aider. (I hope that means "Sorry I can't help you there.") I'll bet Byblisera would know the answer to that better than I. I've yet to have my D. menziesii bloom for me, and oddly haven't gotten any of the D. peltata complex species established in my collection yet. Sorry I can't be of more help.
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Post by byblisera on Jun 8, 2013 18:37:22 GMT -5
Hey - I like the rosette species too. "I never met a bulbosa subspecies major I didn't like" (-apologies to Will Rodgers).
In my experience the species that are self fertile are most everything from the peltata complex, D. macrantha ssp. planchonii, D. ramellosa, D. lowriei (at least the form that I grow), and D. auriculata. Some species are really clonal crazy, which is to say that they produce a multitude of secondary tubers each year. The plants in my collection that have done this are D. abberans, D. hookeri, D. peltata, D. menziesii subsp. menziesii, D. modesta. They will triple (or more) their numbers each year. Other species such as D. erythrorhiza subsp. erythrorhiza, D. rosulata, D. stricticaulis subsp. erymae, and D. macrantha will regularly produce offsets but not in large numbers.
If D. peltata does not yield seed one year just wait until the next growing season. Tuberous species are strange like that! About 10 years back I germinated a solitary peltata in October. It grew all winter and produced a short aerial stem. In April of the following year it flowered and produced a few viable seed - all within 6-7 months!
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Post by Apoplast on Jun 9, 2013 8:40:34 GMT -5
Hi Bybsliera - True enough, you do like the rosette species too. I certainly didn't mean to suggest otherwise. After all, I gave you full credit for getting me to try D. macrophylla. What do you think my odds are of getting that strange growing D. bulbosa major tuber through the summer?
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Post by frederick on Nov 26, 2013 1:31:00 GMT -5
Those plants are fantastic and that's a very nice selection too! Congratulations on your good growing! If you ever have too many D. stolonifera tubers, I'd sure be interested How difficult is D zonaria and D. e. squamosa in your care? What factor seems to contribute the most to this difficulty? thanks!
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Post by Apoplast on Nov 26, 2013 18:41:34 GMT -5
Hi Frederick - Thanks! D. zonaria has proven to be pretty forgiving for me, though so far it's not produced a single offset. D. e. squamosa has been a bit more difficult, but I feel like I am doing better with it recently. In the Erythrorhiza group, D. e. magna has proven to be a really great subspecies. Large, produced lots of offsets (a.k.a. clonal), and pretty forgiving to cultivate. For me the biggest challenge in cultivating these plants has been getting them into dormancy in the spring. You want the pots to dry quickly, but not too quickly. Too slow and they rot. To fast and they desiccate. I feel as though the more forgiving species are ones that tolerate slower drying, which allows for less precise timing. Now for some pictures from this year! It's a bit early, but some of the tubers have already taken off. My two D. e. squamosa clones are already in full swing. The first is the laterite growing form, which is probably the most vivid of the forms of this subspecies. The second is the Scott River form, which is highly clonal as you can see, though it lacks the panache of it's near relative. Still a cute plant. You can see that the first rosette has already started to senesce, but that it is producing new rosettes from the base. Most of my other tuberous species are just starting to emerge. Here is that D. e. magna I was talking about, with the first plant just emerging and looking like a shark mouth breaching the water surface. It'll get much bigger, but for now it's just a little green point, poking through the sand with little promise of the carpet of leaves to come. My D. lowriei is a little further along and the multitude of flowers it faithfully produces are already getting ready to put on their display. The D. bulbosa bulbosa is just breaking the surface and packing some blooms. Right now the real treat is the D. tubaestylis. It's a small rosette species that doesn't seem like much. But the blooms are as big as the rosettes will be, and one is blooming tonight. You can see the size of the flower compared to the emerging rosette better from the side. I'm getting a little better with the camera and so I was able to get a fairly clear closer shot. The best thing about the blooms on this species is the fragrance. And you don't have to be this close to notice it. It's strong and sweet. Because this species is known for being highly clonal I am hoping someday I'll be treated with an entire pot covered with those little flowers and the aroma that will go with it! Lastly, I reuse sand, in part because it is such a pain to clean the sand I use, and sometimes I miss a tuber or two. I was quite surprised to find a D. moorei emerging fro the pot I planted my D. zonaria in this year! D. moorei is my first white tuber species, and I guess they look a little more like the sand than the others. I'll have to be more careful next summer when I harvest the tubers, but for now it's a nice little surprise. Sorry about the quality of the picture, the stem forming tuberous species are a little trickier to get good shots of. It's a good start to the growing season! That's all for now. Thanks for looking!
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Post by shoggoths on Nov 26, 2013 19:43:45 GMT -5
Great works Apoplast.
Again, I especially like lowriei. With all the flowers, it is gorgeous. I put my hands on some seeds of this species. I hope for the best.
Tks to CPGeek, I have D. aberrans and D. cistiflora now growing on my cold windowsill. Browniana tubers from Dieter are also starting to show some leave. I hope I'll get nice results like you do.
Quick question : Do you dig all the tubers out every year ?
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Post by lloyd on Nov 26, 2013 20:51:16 GMT -5
Very interesting plants.
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