Grower Interview: David Flocken

This is part of a series of conversations with other growers about their experiences growing carnivorous plants. It's always useful to see how someone else does things! The full series can be read here, or by grower at the Series page.

David Flocken is a sundew grower and Drosera capensis enthusiast living in Utah. We've chatted about plants on Facebook and elsewhere, so we decided to do a Grower Interview for the blog, the first in a while. Hopefully we'll get back to doing these a bit more regularly!


Sundews Etc.     So Dave, thanks for sitting down for an interview.
SE     I'm glad we could finally work out the logistics!

David Flocken     No problem, thanks for having me I'm pretty excited.  
DF     And yeah we were all over the place there for a minute.  

SE     We first chatted on TerraForums a bit ago about Drosera capensis, why don't you talk about what you're doing with that species right off the bat.  

DF     The first thing I'd like to say about the species Drosera capensis is that it's one of the most overlooked species in the hobby. However, to me, the plant continues to interest me all these years later.

SE     It's a wonderful plant.  

DF     Drosera capensis, in its many growth forms, varieties, unofficial cultivars has a very Dionaea-esque feel. Right now I'm trying to acquire as many types as possible, but have been particularly enamored with a recently discovered variety "Big Pink."

D. capensis "Big Pink" as grown by David Flocken.

SE     That's a hybrid of the 'Albino' cultivar with the red form, right?  

DF     Yes, that's the conclusion a few growers and myself have come to, though it's not completely confirmed. We'll have to sort that out with manual and purposeful hybridizing of capensis 'Albino' and the "All red" plants – presumably all true red forms originate from Gifberg South Africa.  
DF     And the "Alba" is a variety which occurred and only occurs in cultivation.  

SE     I've been researching the all-red variety and yes, all the full-red plants in cultivation come from Gifberg, and were collected by Eric Green.

DF     "Big Pink" differs from "Red" in it's growth rate and a lowered ability to produce anthocyanin in the leaves, this causes a blotchy or oftentimes "pink" coloration.  

SE     That sounds pretty cool. How many different forms of D. capensis are you growing currently?  

DF     Currently I'm growing "Wideleaf", "Bainskloof", "Alba", "Typical", "Narrowleaf", "Big Pink", and "Red" but at least 10 more varieties are sitting idle as seed in my fridge, along with many, many thousands of typical seeds.  

SE     Cool. What sort of goal do you have in mind with this research, if any?  

DF     Well for one, I hope to describe and officially differentiate the many unofficial statuses of these plants. Glean a new variety from typical seeds (just through brute force of growing many and looking for good traits)
DF     I hope to make interesting crosses, one I'm working on right now is "Big Pink"x"Wideleaf" using two of my most beautiful specimen plants.  

SE     That sounds like a lot of fun.  
SE     What's your growing setup like?  

DF     Well I have my outdoor grow which rests idly in dormancy in our unheated garage, whilst my indoor setup is downstairs; which I primarily use to grow Drosera and Cephalotus.  
DF     We have a cool basement, which I use to my advantage. The grow chambers can get rather hot as they are essentially 4 foot t8 lights resting over various plastic and glass terrariums.  
DF     I use reflective material like mylar and tinfoil to keep in the light, but nothing too special.  

The Cephalotus grow tank.

SE     I think cool temperatures are often overlooked as a factor for lots of sundews.
SE     There are lots that don't appreciate it hot, especially at night.

DF     I agree, I've noted this in species like capensis, regia, adelae, spatulata. In fact there isn't a single species I can think of aside from burmanii maybe that doesn't dew up more, or color up more, from lower nighttime temperatures.
DF     Across the board carnivorous plants seem to benefit from a cooler resting period.  
DF     What about your pygmys? Do they need that temperature drop? I've always wondered about those guys.

SE     They definitely don't mind it. Certainly if we have a prolonged hot spell there are species that go dormant.
SE     Although I live in the inner Bay Area, so I basically have a tropical highland climate, which is almost cheating for carnivorous plants.
SE     Always cool, but almost never down near freezing at night.  

DF     That's quite the contrast to where I live. We're what you call an arid sub-tundra desert. Right now it's 20 degrees outside, and dropping.
DF     Which leaves me incapable of growing almost any sundew outside in a non-bog environment.  

SE     Yeah that would complicate my growing situation significantly, hahah.
SE     When did you get started growing carnivores?  

DF     Growing up I was always that kid, or that family rather, with the snake or the tarantula. Always looking for that novelty plant at the convenience store.  

SE     Oh, so your family is in to similar stuff.  
SE     That must be nice.

DF     Oh yeah, despite their groans and occasional complaints my family has been extremely supportive throughout my growing career. My dad even gets involved in the building projects from time to time.  
DF     I must have been around 12 or 13 when I first emailed "Sundewman" seeking out help to not kill my lowly Drosera spatulata.

SE     Oh man, Aaron May. What a hero. His site is what got me started too.  

DF     I agree, shout out to Aaron. He's been the reason more than once I was able to re-enter the hobby.  

SE     So you're a sundew guy, like Aaron and I then.

DF     Oh yeah, while interning at Meadowview Biological Research Station, Phil often called me a "Dew-head" always looking for his "Dew-fix" often seeking out his "Daily-dew" and many others I'll not say here.  

SE     Hahahahah that's great.  

DF     And honestly, those little globular beads at the end of those tentacles have gotten me through a lot. They certainly speak to simpler times when I was just starting out in high school.  

SE     How was interning at Meadowview? That must have been awesome for a carnivorous plant enthusiast.

Dave in Virginia, looking at a clump of Drosera capillaris (not pictured).

 DF     Meadowview was a fantastic opportunity, I worked at the site called Joseph Pines in Northern Virginia. I did restoration work relating to Longleaf pine, and their associated habitats. So I saw some amazing Sarracenia and bog habitat while I was there.
DF     If you're ever in Virginia, both Meadowview's nursery in Fredericksburg and Jospeh Pine's preserve in Disputanta are a must-see.  

SE     I'd love to visit.
SE     A trip to the southeast is definitely on my radar in the next few years.  
SE     What plants do you grow besides your D. capensis collection?

DF     Well after Meadowview, I've become invariably hooked on Sarracenia, particularly flava, give me anything flava. I have a sizable collection of Cephalotus, a few hundred venus flytraps (sigh), and my most recent obsession of germinating and raising Drosophyllum.  
DF     Along with many other South African sundews, I feel capensis is the staple of my collection.

SE     Hahah oh man. That sounds like a lot of plants. How much time do you spend with them in a given week?   

DF     I'd say they get about 4 hours of truly useful care during the week, and seemingly endless (probably 15 overall) of endless tinkering.  

SE     You feed your sundews, right? What do you use?

DF     I have an obsession with feeding my sundews. Sometimes I think the plants secretly hate me for it. I feed them ground freeze dried blood worms.

SE     Do you rehydrate them or grind them, or just apply as-is?  

DF     In the morning I go into the basement and begin feeding. I use the grow lights to wake myself up in the morning and treat a little bit of seasonal depression.  
DF     I tried rehydrating for a while, but that was too much work for the amount of feeding I did.
DF     Then I tried grinding the food and mixing it with water in pipettes which also took too long.

SE     One must always weigh how useful something is against how likely they are to actually do it.  

DF     So now I just grind it up in my palms, and dust it onto the leaves seems to be the fastest method for me if you account the food preparation time.  
DF     Unfortunately I've developed a death-like allergy to the stuff.

SE     Oh no!

DF     The things we do for our plants am I right?  

SE     Absolutely.

DF     Regarding the large amount of feeding, I've noticed a huge amount of growth and speedy development.
DF     So it's not all crazy (I hope). 


SE     Yeah, feeding is a huge factor I've noticed.  
SE     How much does your collection cost you on a monthly basis?  

DF     It's hard to say without accounting for things like energy costs from the lights and mental strain on my family, but I'd say at least 40-50$ a month.
DF     Luckily I can counteract that with small time seed and plant sales.

Using sewing string to mark the cross-pollinated flower.

SE     Yeah that's the good move.
SE     Make it all equal out.  
SE     Are there any carnivorous plant societies in your area?

DF     Ah, I knew we'd get to this, and sadly no there are none.  
DF     You'd be hard pressed to find any Utah growers unfortunately.

SE     That's too bad.  
SE     You should take some of your extra flytraps and D. capensis to like farmers' markets and try and entrap people.  

DF     Not a bad idea, who knows what will come of it in the coming years.  

SE     Well, at least there are forums and Facebook and all that.  

DF     I'm glad you mentioned that since forums and online sharing were my upbringing in this hobby.  

SE     We're very fortunate to have the online resources that we do. It makes it a lot easier to get into the hobby and get better at it.  

DF     Yeah, I didn't believe you could grow anything outside in my climate until I consulted the forums. It turns out a desert is just fine for many species like Drosophyllum.

SE     So you have good success with Drosos then? I've been meaning to try that plant.

DF     Being a dew-head, Drosophyllum is a most wondrous plant indeed.  
DF     And so tolerant of the dry and high-altitude conditions here. Even in the dead of summer they're plugging away.

Drosophyllum doing very well in Utah.

SE     That's awesome. I should give that one a try. I keep putting it off.  
SE     Do you have any big goals for your collection in the next year or so?

DF     I'm hoping to work on the space and logistics of my collection coming up. Adding new setups before acquiring new plants has been a challenge I mean to tackle this coming season.

SE     Are you going to donate any seeds during the ICPS Holiday Seed Drive?
  
DF     Yeah, along with my annual giveaway of Drosera indica seeds, I hope to send them a couple thousand. Hopefully they don't have too many at the moment.

SE     It never hurts to donate! I'll be rounding up a lot of my seed as well.

DF     Sounds like you already have the burmanii covered? I'll have to round up some capensis seeds as well!

SE     Send whatever you can spare I reckon!
SE     Finally, before I let you go, I seem to remember that there was talk of you starting a blog sometime in the near future...  

DF     Oh, the blog! Your site, growsundews.com and the Carnivore Girl have all got me excited about making my own blog.
DF     Something that looks really nice where I can post and keep track of my random plant activities.

SE     You should do it, blogging is great.
SE     It's great to be able to search your old posts and look through your old pictures.

DF     Oh yeah, I feel it's a better place for that than forums. And like your site it's a great place to get some attention towards sales and trades. I'm sure your blog has accelerated your hobby to new levels.
DF     I hope to do the same with mine which will be called "Dave's Dews."

SE     It certainly makes me keep trying new stuff and documenting it!
SE     Awesome, let me know if/when that gets started, and I'll share it on the blog.  

DF     Thank you I certainly will. I expect it will be up an running by this coming year 2016.  

SE     Great.
SE     Thanks for doing an interview! Any last words of wisdom for fellow growers?

DF     Thanks so much for having me!  
DF     To the CP community I'd just say I love you guys, a lot of you don't know it but you've helped me through so much. I also hope you'll all join me in the quest (shenanigans?) to revive Drosera capensis to the status it deserves.

SE     Amen to that. Thanks Dave.

Nice mix of species in Dave's indoor growing area.

Grower Interview: Aidan Selwyn

This is part of a series of conversations with other growers about their experiences growing carnivorous plants. It's always useful to see how someone else does things! The full series can be read here, or by grower at the Series page.

Aidan Selwyn is a carnivorous plant grower living in southern England, where he owns and operates insektenfang plants, a CP nursery specializing in some truly stunning Sarracenia. I highly recommend you like his Facebook page, which will provide you with a steady stream of unbelievable carnivorous plant photos to enjoy. He kindly agreed to meet up on Skype last week and have a chat for the blog.


Sundews Etcetera       So thanks for agreeing to sit down for an interview.

Aidan Selwyn       That's fine.

SE       You operate insektenfang plants, which is a carnivorous plant nursery in the UK.
SE       How long have you been growing carnivores, and when did you take it to the next level and start running a nursery?

AS       There's not a straightforward answer. I have always grown things, even as a child and I think like most who develop an interest in the carnivorous plants, I obtained and killed several Dionaea as a youngster,
AS       Then I obtained Adrian Slack's first book and learned how to keep them alive. From that point on I always kept some carnivores and the number gradually increased.
AS       Then you have a collection and the collection grows. With the advent of the Internet it grows faster... and at some point it gets out of hand and you have to decide what to do with it all! In my case I turned an interest into a business and that started around ten years ago.

SE       I feel like I've talked to a couple of nursery owners who sort of fell into the business side of things once their personal collections started to become larger and then even larger.
SE       You grow primarily Sarracenia, correct? The pictures I've seen of your plants are wonderful.

AS       Yes and thank you.

SE       What attracts you to that genus in particular?

AS       All the genera have a certain fascination and I grow at least some of most. The Sarracenia grow well in my climate, are remarkably easy to care for and very rewarding. Beautiful flowers and long lasting pitchers in an astonishing variety of forms and colours. What's not to like?

Sarracenia flava var. ornata, Apalachicola National Forest, Florida. Grown by Aidan Selwyn.

SE       Sarracenia are very striking too.
SE       They really pop and grab people's attention.
SE       Are there any particular challenges in growing carnivores in southern England?
SE       Here in California water is a big one, since collecting rainwater just isn't possible most of the time.

AS       The climate is ideal for growing the temperate carnivores under glass - or in my case a polytunnel. More usually called a hoop house in the States.
AS       It's a bit of a cliché that lack of rain is not usually a problem in England! Spring and summer may be very dry some years, so having sufficient storage for winter rain is important. I have 11,000 litres available and still have to resort to reverse osmosis water purification on occasion.

SE       Wow that is a lot of water storage.

AS       ...and the plants burn through it in hot weather!

SE       How large is your collection of stock?
SE       I assume we must be talking about at least hundreds of plants.

AS       Actual numbers of plants? I can't give you a precise figure but it must be several thousand. There are at least three examples (mother plants) of every plant I grow, which is the core collection. Plus all the sales plants.

SE       To maintain a collection/stock of that size you must spend a good deal of time with your plants every day.
SE       Does anyone else work with you, or do you maintain things by yourself?

Sarracenia x 'Uncle Jim's Road' flower, grown by Aidan Selwyn.

AS       I'm a one man band... The amount of work required to maintain the collection is variable throughout the year. Relatively speaking, summer is the easy time. Autumn and winter are the busiest period spent cleaning up the collection, dividing and repotting plants etc.

SE       How often do you repot/divide your Sarracenia? The general advice I've heard is "wait until the rhizome is almost splitting the pot"

AS       Rather than letting it reach quite that point, repot when the growth points reach the edge of the pot. Rhizomes will exert tremendous pressure and break pots quite easily, but by that time they will be congested and can prove difficult to disentangle and divide.

SE       What's the CP community like in your area?
SE       Are there fairly active groups that meet up on a regular basis?

AS       There is one national group - The Carnivorous Plant Society. There are open days held most weekends throughout the summer, where a grower opens his/her collection to other members.

Open day 2012 at insektenfang plants.

SE       See, that's something I've been thinking about trying to get started here in the Bay Area.
SE       It must be nice to see how other people grow their plants, and get the opportunity to talk with them about their experiences.

AS       It can be interesting, certainly. Especially for new growers. I would think you should be able to organise something with the BACPS.

SE       I hope to in the next couple months.
SE       What do your friends and family think of your collection, and the fact that you run a carnivorous plant nursery?

AS       My parents have always known me to be growing odd plants so I doubt it is any great surprise to them. Others I believe are surprised by the variety and sheer size of plants. As I'm sure you have experienced, mentioning carnivorous plants to the average person usually results in little response other than perhaps a vague awareness of Dionaea.

SE       Hahahah totally.
SE       And surprise when I tell them it's from the Carolinas.

AS       Absolutely and most of your fellow citizens are unaware of the existence of Sarracenia!

SE       What the most fun part of growing CPs for you?

AS       That is a hard question to answer...
AS       Oddly enough, receiving a compliment from other another grower may be very gratifying. To have someone say of my plants "Just like they are in the wild." was a good moment. It means I must be doing something right!
AS       Then there is seed, which never ceases to amaze me. Instant life... Just add water!

SE       Oh I know.
SE       I feel like that when I do leaf cuttings of my Drosera.
SE       And then suddenly, there are new plants!

AS       (nod)

Sarracenia flava var. rubricorpora "Red Burgundy", grown by Aidan Selwyn.

SE       I feel like I read somewhere that you don't ship plants to the US, right?

AS       That has recently changed. I do now have the facility to provide all the required documentation - Phytosanitary Certificates and CITES export permits. It is however a somewhat complex and expensive process. You are looking at approximately $300 over and above the cost of the plants and shipping. So it is only going to be a worthwhile process for large orders, where the additional cost is effectively split over a number of plants.

SE       Well, people definitely do group orders for Nepenthes and Heliamphora that way.

AS       Plus any USDA/APHIS requirements at your end.

SE       Right.
SE       Well it's exciting that at least the possibility exists for Sarracenia enthusiasts here stateside.

AS       I will be pleased to service your order Devon! :D

SE       :)
SE       Well, it's been fun chatting with you!
SE       Do you have any parting advice for people who might be just getting into the hobby, or who want to try and make their Sarracenia as beautiful as yours?

AS       Warmth, direct sunshine and rain water... and they really are that easy to keep happy.

SE       Hahah, excellent.
SE       Thanks for sharing your time, it's been a pleasure.

AS       Likewise.



I'm sure you want to see more of Aidan's Sarracenia – seriously, go look at the photostream on the insektenfang plants Facebook page. In the meantime, here's another shot of that S. flava var ornata. What a plant.

Sarracenia flava var. ornata, Apalachicola National Forest, Florida. Grown by Aidan Selwyn.

Grower Interview: bluemax

This is part of a series of conversations with other growers about their experiences growing carnivorous plants. It's always useful to see how someone else does things! The full series can be read here, or by grower at the Series page.

I first encountered bluemax posting about petiolaris sundews on Terra Forums some months ago, and he kindly agreed to sit down with me on IRC for the first in the Grower Interview series of posts. He chose to be referred to in this interview as "bluemax," which is the name under which he is active in CP communities on the internet. We chatted last night, and he very kindly also shared a few photos of his collection. Enjoy.


Sundews Etc.       So, thanks for agreeing to chat about plants for the blog.

bluemax       Sure. I'm looking forward to it. I can always chat about growing cps.

Drosera paradoxa grown by bluemax.

SE       How long have you been growing carnivores?

BM       Well, this is my third stint. I had a very unsuccessful run when I was a pre-teenager then began again when I was in my 20's and then 25 years later this session began.
BM      So about 4 years this last time. A lot has changed.

SE      In terms of hardware/technology?
SE      Or the plants that are available?

BM      Yes :)

SE      Hahah

BM      When I was growing in the 70's there were only 3 species of Nepenthes I could get ahold of and I had better connections than most.

SE      Wow.
SE      What sort of plants do you grow? Is there a specific genus you focus on?

BM      I now focus on sundews but I grow a bit of many genera.
BM      I also grow utrics, pings, a few neps, drosos and Byblis. Oh, and sarrs.

SE      Well we all end up growing Utrics :p
SE      I'm also a sundew fan.

BM      Sundews are the coolest!

SE      I love how diverse the genus is.
SE      So many different adaptations to different conditions.

BM      Yes, they come in so many shapes and sizes.
BM      I'm also a big fan of the humble vft.

SE      How big is your collection, roughly?

BM      If I gave it in square footage it wouldn't amount to much, being a 55 gal and a 10 gal terrarium, and then some very large and smaller pots outside.
BM      How about you?

SE      I have 6 or 7 pots outside in a couple trays, and several trays inside under lights.
SE      Something like 35 species
SE      How many species/clones do you have?

BM      I counted 29 a few months ago but I missed some and I have gathered a few more since then. It never ends.

SE      Hahahah of course not.

BM      One of the great things about Drosera is they mostly don't take up a lot of space.

SE      Absolutely, that's part of why I grow them.
SE      What are your growing environments like?

BM      The big terra is sub-tropical with moderately high humidity. The smaller 10 gal terra is the 'hot tank' that I grow petiolaris 'dews in. The out of doors is temperate with cool winters and moderate summers, and lots of rain.

A variety of sundews growing in bluemax's larger terrarium. Apparently it's much more full these days.

SE      You live in the Pacific Northwest, right?

BM      Right.
BM      Do you focus on any particular groups?

SE      I'm a sundew grower.

BM      S. African? S. American? US?

SE      I've got mostly subtropical species right now, but I'd very much like to start growing petiolaris 'dews soon.

BM      Petiolaris sundews are a rational project for any intermediate/advanced grower.

SE      I like Sarracenia because they're so striking, but I'll need to work out a less expensive water source if I want to expand my collection.

BM      That would be a limiting factor if I couldn't collect rain water as the sarrs do use a lot of it.

SE      I was just going to ask if you collected rain water.
SE      So you use that for all of your plants?

BM      Yes, I use rain water almost exclusively these days.

SE      Hahah that must be nice.
SE      How much time do you spend with your collection each week?
SE      Like, actively.
SE      Propagating/feeding etc.

BM      Good question. I think it averages 3-6 hours. There's always something to repot and when that builds up the time I spend might increase.
BM      But I deal with them in some capacity pretty much daily.
BM      I'm always watching for some seeds or other to sprout out.

SE      Sure.
SE      What's your least favorite CP chore?
SE      I really dislike preparing media, but that's probably because I haven't developed a good system for it.

BM      Hmm. Mixing media can be a task. I really dislike dealing with pests, which fortunately hasn't happened this year.

SE      Yeah, I haven't had many problems with pests so far. What sort of pests do you get?

BM      Often in the fall when I bring plants in to winter indoors I will bring aphids with them. Also I sometimes have to deal with chewing pests in my bog pots outside.
BM      On the plus side I usually bring springtails indoors when I bring in plants.

SE      Springtails! My 'dews would love that.

BM      Springtails are easy to culture indoors and are the best for feeding 'dew seedlings.

SE      How do you deal with the aphids?

BM      I generally use Bayer 3-way as I find systemic insecticides are most effective. The stuff is very toxic and kills springtails too.

SE      You use T5 lights in your terraria, right?

BM      Yes. But if I were setting them up again I would probably use T8s as they are cheaper and easier to come by. The larger size isn't too much of a problem to me.

SE      Huh, that's good to know.
SE      I use T8s but have been thinking about using T5s on upcoming grow spaces.
SE      T5s are cheaper per lumen, but I don't spend too much on lights anyway.
SE      How long a photoperiod do your indoor plants get?

BM      For the subtropicals it varies from about 10 hours in winter to about 13 hours in summer. I like the plants to have seasonal changes.
BM      I often have problems getting rid of the heat produced by the T5s.

SE      That's good with the petiolaris dews though, I imagine.

BM      With the petiolaris tank the heat of the lights is fine as long as the cover glass doesn't get too warm. If it does it shrivels the leaves and tentacles of the plants.

SE      Interesting.

BM      So I have to allow enough space from the lights to the glass.
BM      With a taller tank this wouldn't be an issue.

SE      Do you grow any pygmies?
SE      I was just wondering if the photoperiod changes result in gemmae production.

BM      All I have is scorpioides. I suspect someday I will grow others.
BM      When the photoperiod drops in the winter – that is when I adjust it – the scorps do produce gemmae. I would like to avoid that as they take months to recover.

SE      Speaking of lights and stuff, how much does your collection cost you per month?
SE      In terms of lighting bills, media, new plants, etc.

BM      I've never added it up. I buy media sporadically and I really don't run that many tubes. I mostly use peat and that is still only about $10 for a large bale of compressed material.

SE      That doesn't sound too expensive.

BM      The only time I feel the expense is when I am setting up a new large outdoor pot.

SE      Probably less than $40/mo, huh?

BM      I would think so. Also, if I am to replace old florescent tubes that can get expensive. I really need to do that soon.
BM      It would be interesting to do an entire year's expenses and see just what I spend.

Drosera dilatato-petiolaris growing in bluemax's "hot tank."

SE      What do your family/friends think about your hobby? Are you in any CP societies?

BM      My family and friends view me as sufficiently eccentric that it is to be expected, I'm guessing. :p I do get complements, tho'.
BM      I am sort of a co-founder of the Portland Area CP meeting group. We do meetings every month at a local pub. It's a ton of fun.

SE      That sounds great.

BM      It happened very spontaneously after a few of us made some in person plant trades.

SE      Part of why I'm doing this interview series is to get more grower interaction.

BM      The reason I dropped out of growing cps the last time, in the 80's, was because I had no interaction with other growers.

SE      I know when I was first starting out it would have helped to be able to ask people questions about solving specific problems.
SE      Speaking of, do you mix/prepare your media in any special way?
SE      As I mentioned, that's my least favorite part of growing plants.

BM      I have variations for different genera/ species. My standard is peat with recycled glass sand and perlite. I wet the perlite down and just stir the ingredients together in a large enough container. If I am on top of it I put the resulting mix into a large screen collander and pour water through it to drain off dissolved impurities.
BM      You get less 'green slime' this way but it's not too intensive. For outside plants, which get top-water, I don't rinse at all.

SE      No really intensive washing, then.
SE      I have a hard time pouring water through my media, I think it's too heavy.
SE      My current bale of peat is very fine.

BM      Maybe if you used more sand or other added materials to break it up some?

SE      Yeah I'm going to try upping my sand ratio for my next batch.

BM      What are your favorite species right now?

SE      I love Drosera burmannii.
SE      I started some from seed back around Christmas, and they've grown so quickly.
SE      I also like pygmies, especially Drosera allantostigma.
SE      It's a really pretty sundew.
SE      How about you?

BM      I like burmanii, too. I am looking forward to trying sessilifolia.

SE      I'm trying to get my hands on some sessilifolia.

BM      Right now I am very focused on petiolaris sundews but that will surely shift.

SE      Any particular favorite in that group?

BM      I don't think so. When I go down the list I really like each species a lot. I am very fond of paradoxa especially.

SE      Are there any big goals for your collection in the next year or so?
SE      New grow spaces, plants to acquire, anything like that?

BM      I am still looking for the species I don't have of the petiolaris sundews. Overall tho' I am hoping to grow healthier/bigger plants in that time. I always find some challenges to deal with and I want to find solutions, ha!

SE      Yeah that's sort of how it goes.

BM      How about you?

SE      I'm going to either start a high-temp petiolaris tank or a cool highland setup soon.
SE      Depending on whether I decide to start with petiolaris 'dews or Orchidiodes utrics/S. American 'dews.

BM      Those are both cool and interesting projects.

SE      Can you think of any mistakes you made growing CPs that you've learned from?

BM      It is hard to focus in on one or two, ha! So many mistakes but lots of learning, I hope.

SE      What's your favorite part of collecting carnivorous plants?

BM      A great question.
BM      I think sharing experiences, images or conversation with others who also collect them. It multiplies the experience, which is pretty amazing even before.

SE      I like how active they are.
SE      They feel very alive and responsive, besides just being very interesting to look at.

BM      I agree. It adds to the aliveness a lot for me.

SE      I think it makes them especially fun to trade and discuss, because it feels like you meet a new personality whenever you get a new plant.

BM      Yes, a new species is a whole new world.
BM      Of favorite species I would like to add D. slackii. They never bloom for me but they get freakin' huge.

Drosera slackii grown by bluemax.

SE      Hmm, D. slackii.
SE      That's one of the winter-growing S. African species, right?

BM      More of a standard sub-tropical. Mine really do well when it is hitting 90 in the terra every day. They like a lot of humidity.

SE      I'll have to seek it out.
SE      Well thanks for sitting down for an interview!
SE      It was fun.

BM      You bet. I enjoyed it as well.