Seedlings and more

Back in July or so (I'd have to check the tags to be sure, but that seems right) I started some seed of a few different species. Currently two have germinated – Drosera burmannii (no surprise there) and Drosera tomentosa (that one's a bit surprising). The seedlings are putting on some size.

It's been a while since I've had D. burmannii seedlings. I like them this size!

New South American species! I want some more SA 'dews.

The D. burmannii is a form from Gunung Keledang in Malaysia. We'll see if it varies at all from the Australian forms I currently grow. At this point I'm most interested in finding a persistently green form of D. burmannii. The D. tomentosa seed I received in a trade forever ago and finally sowed, and I'm pleased I've gotten plants out of it. I've fed both of these sets of seedings, so I'm hoping things start popping off soon. The other two pots I sowed (Drosera filiformis Florida Red and Drosera brevifolia) have, alas, not germinated.

A somewhat older seed-grown plant is this Drosera indica. This is one species that did not appreciate the period of neglect during the summer.

Keep strong, lonely little leaves.

A number of plantlets conked out after not having been fed. Just look at what the pot looked like initially. I think that D. indica is one species that absolutely must be fed. These two only made it because I got them a bit of fish food a week or so before this picture was taken. I've fed them again since, and am looking forward to healthy plants going forward.

I've started trying to wake up the tuberous sundews I picked up back in January and which went dormant in April.

I still need to remove the moss cap.

I have no clue with tuberous dews. They're really really cool, and I'd love to be able to grow them. There's definitely a finesse to it though, and we'll see if I've got the touch. I really hope they start to re-emerge soon!

One plant that is 100% not coming back out of dormancy is Drosera intermedia 'Cuba'.

It was a good run, D. 'Cuba'.

They went dormant last December, and just never came back. They stayed alive for a long time though – as recently as mid-April I was convinced they'd wake up any day. However, that black color is pretty definitive. Oh well, it makes a bit more room in my collection. Maybe I can harvest those last few flower stalks and start a new pot.

I've actually been quite good about feeding my plants lately, and my Drosera capensis red form has decided to reward me with a flower stalk!

This looks like it could be a really good flower stalk. I'm excited.

When I noticed this I gave it a really heavy feeding, because I'm hoping to get lots more seed from this. Josh has observed that the red form of D. capensis is the least fertile form he grows, and is the only one that will regularly yield no seed at all. I want seed though, so this sucker is getting fed.

This post is just for sundews

Man, it's been feeling like Sarracenia Etc. around here. I must plead circumstance – first of all, I've got a lot of room for new Sarracenia and very little for new Drosera. It's also spring, so all the pitchers are waking up. And finally I keep battling the aphids in my indoor collection. But there's lots going on still, so let's get back to basics and look at some sundews.

First up, the season is over for my two tuberous species, Drosera ramellosa and Drosera rupicola.

This spot is now occupied by my new Drosera slackii.

They definitely went dormant earlier than expected. Now I've set them to dry out, after which I might see what the situation with the tubers is. At the very least I'm going to remove that horrible cap of moss on the pot and replace it with a layer of sand.

My other summer-dormant sundew, Drosera cistiflora, is still very much awake, and enjoying having been recently fed.

Looks like a feast.

 It hasn't formed a stem yet this year, and considering how late we are in the season I doubt that it will. Still, I'm glad that it's apparently so healthy. This one will almost certainly come back next season.

One of my smaller Drosera filiformis plants has woken up.

Always propagate. It's like insurance.

This is very satisfying, since the one that was on its way a couple months ago is now, beyond much doubt, definitely dead.

The question now is: do I keep waiting?

Maybe the shock of being moved up closer to the lights was just too much for it. I'll let the one that's still alive get a bit bigger before the move, I guess.

The first of my Drosera intermedia 'Cuba' seems to be waking up as well.

Wake up little guy.

This is the only plant among the 3 pots of D. 'Cuba' that seems to be waking, though the others are definitely still alive. We'll see.

Another Drosera hamiltonii has apparently sprouted from the roots.

I didn't expect to see these plants start offsetting.

This was sort of a surprise, since this species has always seemed only barely satisfied in my conditions. I guess it can't be so bad.

The two Drosera anglica CA × HI plantlets from the Summer Batch that I thought had died have apparently come back.

Propagation can surprise you.

I've fed them, so hopefully in a month or two we'll have some more of this excellent plant available.

Finally, the Drosera indica situation is still completely out of control.

This is too many plants.

I'm in the process of hardening these guys off. What I'll do after that is anyone's guess.

Feels good to get back to sundews! The aphids seem to be in retreat, so hopefully I'll be able to get back to normal sooner rather than later.

Winter growing plants are pretty cool

There are lots of ways to organize plants. It's something that real serious botanists spend whole careers doing – determining which plants are related genetically, or by ecosystem, or what have you. Hobbyist plant collectors have their own categorization schemes, which may or may not be strictly botanically valid. The hobbyists tend to focus primarily on cultivation requirements, since providing good conditions for plants (especially weird plants like carnivores) can be expensive or difficult, so it's nice to know what groups of plants can grow in the systems you've set up.

Sundew growers are particularly blessed/cursed in that Drosera is such a heterogeneous genus, with plants growing all over the world in all sorts of habitats (in contrast with, for example, Sarracenia, which have relatively similar needs in cultivation).

I have my own, thoroughly unscientific, categories which guide me in developing my collection.

Temperate (Drosera filiformis, Drosera rotundifolia)
South American (Drosera spiralis, Drosera camporupestris)
Petiolaris (Drosera ordensis, Drosera falconeri)
Tuberous (Drosera ramellosa, Drosera zonaria)
Pygmy (Drosera scorpioides, Drosera allantostigma)
Winter-growing South African (Drosera cistiflora, Drosera hilaris)
"Annuals" (Drosera burmannii, Drosera hartmeyerorum)
Assorted warm temperate, subtropical, and tropical plants (Drosera capensis, Drosera binata, the Three Sisters of Queensland)

I recently acquired a plant from a group new to me, the South African winter growers. This is Drosera cistiflora.

It started dewing up so quickly!

I acquired this plant through the Facebook group Carnivorous Plant Auctions and Sales. It's a great resource if you're looking to expand your collection or sell off a few of your extra plants. I've had some D. cistiflora seeds for several months but I hadn't given germination a shot because...well, I'm not sure why. In any case, this plant has acclimated pretty quickly, and it's even coloring up under my lights a bit.

Drosera ramellosa is another winter grower (though it's a tuberous species from Australia). It's not doing quite as well.

Don't go dormant yet! Come on!

The tips seem to be dying back, which is what it will do in summer as it goes dormant. But this is way, way too early to be dying back. It was sorta warm lately, but not that warm. I hope I don't lose this plant. We'll see what happens.

My Drosera rupicola (which I acquired at the same time) is doing much better.

I've fed this one a couple times.

The color is pretty good, and it's definitely still growing. Hope it stays that way.

Pygmy sundews are sort of winter growers. They're summer dormant at least. I've got a stray Drosera omissa growing in this Drosera grievei pot.

D. omissa is really a beast. They've gotten really big already.

I think some of the pygmies in the rear of this tray didn't get sprayed as well, so they have a much lower success rate. I guess I'll just have to wait to harvest some gemmae next year and then re-sow some of these pots. The lesson in this is to make sure that your pygmy pots are easily accessible when sowing on sand, since they definitely need to be kept moist.

The second round of pygmies is in a smaller tray, so hopefully they see more success as I spray them more regularly. This is Drosera oreopodion.

They're just specks.

Well, it's almost D. oreopodion. It'll be D. oreopodion soon. There aren't many pictures of this plant online, so I'm excited to see how it develops!

Tuberous sundews: A Beginning

I took a trip to California Carnivores today! Or rather, I took a trip to Bodega Bay today, and went by California Carnivores on my way home. I had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket and I knew what I wanted.

Tuberous sundews.

New plants from California Carnivores – always a happy sight.

A grower over on Terra Forums recently posted an amazing growing guide to tuberous sundews, including picture after picture of his collection. It made me eager to get started, even though I'm squeezing for every last square inch under my grow lights at the moment.

Both of the tuberous sundews I got are in section Stolonifera, which are among the more erect species. All tuberous 'dews are cool, but the upright species always stood out to me compared to the scrambling or rosetted species. This is Drosera rupicola.

And so it begins.

I liked the color, and the leaf shape is pretty nice. It's looking a little bit messy since I trimmed down the sporangia in the pot.

I'm really excited to have picked up this Drosera ramellosa. It has a really wonderful, whimsical shape.

The green makes it harder to see, but this is a very cool looking plant.

I'm hoping it'll get a bit more compact under my lights so that it can stand upright without getting floppy.

I also grabbed this little pot of Pinguicula esseriana because look how cute.

These pings are so tiny they're getting lost in the Utricularia bisquamata.

Pings are really too cute.

It was a fun day!