Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Why does D. burmannii get caterpillars?

My pot of Drosera burmannii (Gunung Keledang) has been looking sketchy lately.

Drosera burmannii (Gunung Keledang)
Pest-chewed plants always look so sad.
In fact, it's sketchy in a way that I remember. It's a lot like what my old competition pot of D. burmannii (Humpty Doo) looked like when it had a caterpillar. I even noticed some things that look like droppings on the plants. When I realized there was probably a caterpillar somewhere I dug around in the dead leaves at the base of the plants but I couldn't find anything. Anne recommended I just use some Bayer 3-in-1 on it, since the plants don't mind, and the bugs definitely do. Hope it works.

It's probably just coincidence that two separate pots of D. burmannii got a caterpillar. Maybe the shape of the plant is attractive for them. It sucks! I don't want to lose this culture before I get seed!

My nearby pot of the Hann River form is looking ridiculous right now.

Drosera burmannii (Hann River)
It's a really shocking red.
This form gets so red that it messes up my camera. I can't really get pictures of it to turn out right when it looks like this. Also I recently trimmed all the flower stalks, so it's looking funny.

My other form of D. burmannii is from Humpty Doo, and these two volunteers are the final remainders of my once-prized culture.

Drosera burmannii (Humpty Doo)
You can do it little guys.
I should start a fresh pot of these. This is all I have left! After aphids, caterpillars, and bloom-out I guess that's what happens. Still, they can be really amazing when grown well.

Drosera burmannii (Humpty Doo)
Lovely pom-pom.
Memories!

6 comments:

  1. Beautiful :) I have a gazillion of d. Burmannii giant red form humpty doo seeds. Could always send you some if you need any.
    Now I'm worried mine are gonna get caterpillars. Just moved them all outside... gonna have to keep up on the insecticides on them I guess haha

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    1. Luckily D. burmannii is a big weed, so it tends to survive no matter what!

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  2. Devon, how can i subscribe to your blog, to get announced when you respond or post other topics here ?

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    1. I'm not sure actually. I usually get emails about it sent to my "Social" folder in Gmail. Check there!

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