###################
From: mjc <ASMJC@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Date: Thu, 03 Jan 91 08:26:19 MST
Subject: cold

Well, I am back from Connecticut!  While I was away we had record cold
and record SNOW here in Arizona, so I had a little unwitting experiment
in cp cold tolerance for my outdoor plants.  Fortunately all my outdoor
stuff is expendable.  I don't know how cold it got, or for how long;
plus I can't make much of what microclimate surrounded each plant
wherever it was placed, but here is the list; make of it as u wish::::

Pretty much killed by subzero temps:
D. montana   D. natalensis   U. sp. 'Venezuelia',U. calycifida, older D.
burmanii plants.
                 (often low-growing seedlings of these pulled through.

Plants which didn't like the cold, may have lost leaves, but survived:
D. lovellae, D. capillaris, D. burkena,

Plants which were unphased by the cold:
D. rechingeri,  D. roseana,  D. capensis,  U. longifolia, Drosophyllum,
U. subulata, North American Droseras, pings, sarrs.

MJC

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Fri, 4 Jan 91 11:47:53 +1100
Subject: Re: cold

>Well, I am back from Connecticut!  While I was away we had record cold
>and record SNOW here in Arizona, so I had a little unwitting experiment
>in cp cold tolerance for my outdoor plants.  Fortunately all my outdoor
>stuff is expendable.  I don't know how cold it got, or for how long;
>plus I can't make much of what microclimate surrounded each plant
>wherever it was placed, but here is the list; make of it as u wish::::

We've just had a heat wave with two consecutive days of 40+'C, with
night temperatures in the low to mid 20's.  Luckily humidity was around
the 50-70% mark - Darwin and the Kununurra area has these sorts of
temperatures for a large portion of the year with 80-100% humidity ... 

>Plants which were unphased by the cold:
>D. rechingeri,  D. roseana,  D. capensis,  U. longifolia, Drosophyllum,
>U. subulata, North American Droseras, pings, sarrs.

I doubt that there is anything that will kill a D. capensis :-)

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Fri, 4 Jan 91 12:13:33 +1100
Subject: Re: time

>Dear Paul 'Falconeri'; I was curious.  I have often received messages
>from you in the middle of the day, often these are quick responses to
>messages I have recently sent out.  Now, is it true that daytime here
>is nighttime at your place?  If so, are you up all night at the
>computer?!? 

You might notice that some notes arrive a day *before* they were sent :-)
I generally reply to mail as soon as I receive it, hence the quick response.
Having modem access to RMIT/VUT means that I am not limited to access during
office hours (in fact, it is currently my only means of access), which is
probably why time differences don't make a big difference to response times.

>The reason I ask about this daytime phenomenon is because I figure that I may
>have better luck growing Australian droseras (under lights) if I illuminate
>them at NIGHT rather than in the day!

>Actually this may be true (not because of diurnal cycles) but because
>here in AZ it is very hot indoors even under flourescent lights.  If
>the lights are turned on in the night rather than the day, some of the
>heat problem can be avoided.  If the terrarium is in one's house, the
>lights can be on at night (when one will most likely have the air
>conditioner on (to sleep) and when one is most likely to be around to
>enjoy the plants.)  Have u tried this, Barry? 

The heat/dark, light/cool cycle may disturb the plants more that just
extra heat during the day.  The weather around Perth is probably similar
to that in Arizona so "natural" conditions would probably suffice.  I'll
give you Perth's statistics for you to compare with:

         JAN   FEB   MAR   APR   MAY   JUN   JUL   AUG   SEP   OCT   NOV   DEC
MAX ('C) 31.4  31.7  29.5  25.2  21.4  18.8  17.7  18.3  20.0  22.3  25.4  28.5
DAYS       8     7     4     0     0     0     0     0     0     0     1     4
>35'C
MIN ('C) 16.7  17.3  15.7  12.6  10.2   9.1   8.0   7.9   8.7  10.1  12.3  14.6
SUN      10.8  10.2   9.1   7.3   6.1   5.0   5.4   6.4   7.4   8.9   9.9  10.7

(hrs/day)
RAIN (mm)  7    13    14    44    122   177   172   139   67    48    25    12
RAINDAYS   3     3     4     8    14    17    18    17    14    11     6     4

###################
From: mjc <ASMJC@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Date: Fri, 04 Jan 91 12:18:18 MST
Subject: whether or not

Earl, Hmm, as I recall you said you were growing plants in a greenhouse?
you tried cp outdoors?  It would seem like many species would probaly do well
in your climate, simply in pots set in a tray of water.  Greenhouses can get
rather stifling for plants in warm places.

Paul 'Falconeri" Thanks for the Perth
data!  I will have to find an Arizona almanac now, and cross-reference.  (I am
not as used to the metric temps as I should be).

Yeah, Arizona has a lot of nice
scenery and great hiking country.  For what this state lacks in culture and
civilized mentality, it still is a great place to be if there aren't any
Arizonians nearby!
MJC

###################
From: dunwich%SOLPL@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Sat, 5 Jan 91 17:50:54 mst
Subject: Re: cold

I wonder if the crazy freezing weather in California has hurt many
of the growers out there... In particular, I wonder how
Gordon Snelling is fairing...

Goddamn weather! Three nights on the telescope, and it looks like
I'm gonna get rained out again... Last night it was so foggy
on Kitt Peak that the visibility was about 30 ft (or 10 meters to
the more civilized of us, or 1E9 angstroms for anyone microscopic).

Barry

###################
From: mjc <ASMJC@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Date: Mon, 07 Jan 91 10:57:10 MST
Subject: stuff

Barry; I just got a letter from Gordon.  He says he has had a few casualties,
but no major losses from the record cold.
Note: he also says that Byblis gigantia is one plant
which does NOT like Diazanon!

Earl:  I am not too sure about growing
Nepenthes outside.  You would be best to experiment with extras.  Are
your Nepenthes doing alright in the greenhouse?  They can take stifling
hot humid conditions better than any other cp, in fact most require it. 
Otherwise, I bet you could grow just about every other cp sp.  outside. 
Don't worry about the humidity being too low outdoors.  If I can grow cp
outdoors in Arizona, you should have no problem!  Just set the pots in a
tray of water, and try to work them up into full sun.  Avoid too quick a
transition to the sun, But try to get them as much ligt as possible. 
Most sp.  have their best color in good light.  I have had the best luck
with Drosera outside.  Ordinarily, the common Drosera are very easy to
grow.  My guess is that your greenhouse envioronment was responsible for
your loss of this genus.  I grow Drosera in a greenhouse in AZ, but this
g-house is heavily air-conditioned.  It is kept pretty cool and and very
dry. 
 MJC

###################
From: dunwich%SOLPL@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 91 13:04:28 mst
XSubject: Re: stuff

Paul, I just can't gripe enough about how you live in such a CP rich
region..... Thanks for all the info about glanduligera and temps. I am
trying my glanduligera in deep, sand/peat (3 to 2) pots, and am starting
to get a lot of seedling activity.

As Michael mentioned, we've had some freak weather in the Western U.S.
I was out of town for the holidays, but apparently parts of Tucson got
6 inches of snow!!! This is a town in which perhaps once a year we'll
get 1/4" of snow that melts by noon.

>AZ it is very hot indoors even under flourescent lights. If the lights are
>turned on in the night rather than the day, some of the heat problem can be
>is most likely to be around to enjoy the plants.)  Have u tried this, Barry?

Yeah Mike, I have subjected my plants to lots of strange photoperiod
experiments. The terrarium in my office is on a reversed schedule
right now for two reasons. One is that the fixtures are cheap and buzz
and drive me crazy, so I have them on when I'm not at work. Secondly, I
tend to get distracted by them when I'm working! Timers to turn lights
on and off are cheap and cost about $11 (US) around here.

>I doubt that there is anything that will kill a D. capensis :-)

Well, Paul, I can tell you that my `wide-leaf' clones of capensis are
VERY fragile. I have killed Many of these!

>civilized mentality, it still is a great place to be if there aren't any
>Arizonians nearby!

Thanks a lot, Michael! (sniff) :-)

Well, as I said, I'm back from the holiday excursions and useless
observing trip to a rainy mountain. No science done. My mailbag was
quite full!
In my off hours on the mountain I brought my tool chest and took
advantage of the relatively mild temperatures in Tucson by ripping out
the electrical system in the Greenhouse and rewiring it with a much
better thermostat. I figured out a way to use a single thermostat to

A)power the heater if it gets too cold
B)Power my cooler at low speed if it gets too hot
C)Power my cooler at high speed if it gets even hotter

I am pleased with myself.

I notice that with the onset of cooler weather I'm starting to get some
flowering in my Utricularias.  Namely, the livida that I have from
Gordon and Rob are flowering, and the graminifolia from Rob is producing
inflorescences as well.  This is the plant that we thought was
reticulata for a while.  The plant that Paul McMillan has that HE
thought might have been reticulata is going to flower as well...possibly
more graminifolia?  Paul got his "reticulata" long ago from WIP, and I
bet that that's where Rob's clone originally came from (so many trades
ago).  My B. gigantea continues to grow, as does my D. regia.  The B.
liniflora `Kununurra' that I grew from seed from Allen is about to
flower, and I can say that it is noticeably different from the liniflora
clones that are commonly in cultivation.  The plant is a little taller,
by about 30%, but the internodal distance is greater, so the plant has a
lankier look (although it is robust).  The stem is also rather reddish,
producing an interesting colour contrast.  I haven't caught it in flower
yet.  I'll keep you posted on flower morphology and seed production. 
The seed production on my D. indica is good.  I have decided that this
is a very nice plant if you can get it to flowering size.  It needs a
big pot, though, as it topples over early on (and that is in full sun). 
I talked to Gordon Snelling last night.  He verifies what Michael said,
i.e.  he's doing alright in spite of the freezes he's been having.  He
said that it did set his D. petiolaris `Kununurra' back a bit.  Well,
that's all for now.  I have to go and work on my class syllabus for
Astronomy 101. 

Barry

P.S. Earl, are you growing the standard form of D. capensis? That's a
super easy grower...

###################
From: mjc <ASMJC@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Date: Mon, 07 Jan 91 16:10:36 MST
Subject: utrik flowere

My U. livida is pumping up flowers.  The last I looked they were about ready
to open... they are white and not so "livid" as I had imagined.  Nevertheless
they are fairly large.
U. prehensilis also is a' scaping, but not s' scaping as
i imagined it might.  I thought this one put up a long flower stalk that would
lash back n' forth like a bullwhip untill it lashed its strangling grip about
whatever solid matter it encountered.  So far it is just growing straight up.
It doesn't even move.
MJC

###################
From: dunwich%SOLPL@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Tue, 8 Jan 91 10:56:18 mst
XSubject: Re: utrik flowere

> No, not growing any sundews now.  Don't know what I had before....
>I did have a specie that grows in the Alakai swamp here on Kauai
>before but that too died after awhile.  Supposedly, we have one
>native cp here in Hawaii...that sundew in the Alakai swamp.

Well, if you send me an address, I can ship out some small plants
of a vigorous capensis clone. I haven't got any seeds because I
nip off their flower buds as they form, but I am sure that plants
or root cuttings would survive the trip. It is probably the easiest
Drosera species to grow. There is no dormancy period.
The Hawaiian native CP that you have is, I think, a tropical form
of D. intermedia. This plant is common in the eastern US, where it forms
hibernacula (winter resting buds) during the cold season. If I remember,
your intermedia either does not form such buds, or it grows as an
annual. I have recently gotten an intermedia `Cuba' from Rob, and am
curious to see if it produces such a winter bud. Anyway, it is possible
that your intermedia just died its normal death as it tried to get ready
for winter hibernation but was forced (by warm conditions) to continue
to grow. Who knows how long that species has been in Hawaii, trying to
adapt (rhetorical question)? You probably were trying to grow a plant
that is just barely hanging in there in the first place!

>My U. livida is pumping up flowers.  The last I looked they were about
>ready to open...  they are white and not so "livid" as I had imagined. 
>Nevertheless they are fairly large. 

Yeah, this clone of livida isn't very livid. There is a lot of colour
variation within the species. Look for a white corolla, with a lilac
dusting on the lower lip, and a dash of yellow as well. You say your
livida flowers are large? Mine are less than 1cm in length...

>U. prehensilis also is a' scaping, but not s' scaping as
>i imagined it might.  I thought this one put up a long flower stalk
>that would

U. prehensilis does not have to be prehensile. I have only had one scape
ever form, but it aborted. Look for a yellow, spurred flower.

BAMR

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Wed, 9 Jan 91 08:54:09 +1100
XSubject: Re: utrik flowere

My livida flowers open white, and gradually darken to a violet/lilac color
(fairly pale), with a greenish-yellow streak, as they grow older.  I think I
read somewhere that it needs some sun for good coloration.

###################
From: dunwich%SOLPL@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Tue, 8 Jan 91 23:44:50 mst
XSubject: Re: utrik flowere

>My livida flowers open white, and gradually darken to a violet/lilac color
>(fairly pale), with a greenish-yellow streak, as they grow older.  I think I
>read somewhere that it needs some sun for good coloration.

Hmm. I'll watch mine, but I think that mine matured without getting
very much past light light lilac. I grow most of my CPs in full sun,
although I know that I shouldn't on some.

###################
From: mjc <ASMJC@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Date: Fri, 11 Jan 91 12:48:10 MST
Subject: tubers

HELP!  I have just ordered some tuberous drosera tubers.  I forgot how
helpless I am with these!  Does anyone have some suggestions, do's and
dont's about growing them?  I would really like to get mine growing an a
northern Hemisphere cycle.  I think I will try an experiment on one of
the less desirable tubers.  Giberellin is a plant hormone which can be
used to break dormancy in seed and other under- ground plant organs.  I
will see if a little giberellin dip might get one of these tubers
growing. 

Barry: you wanted to keep yours dormant by planting them and keeping
them warm?  My uneducated guess would be that if you want to keep them
dormant, keep them right in the bag.  As soon as you bury those puppies
they will be exposed to every kind of fungus, bacteria, virus, slime
mold, insects, protists, and alga which breed in the dirt.  Plant them
if they start to grow in the bag.  I would also say, keep them cool
rather than warm.  They are trying to ride out the hot Australian
summer, but the tubers are cool and deep down under (the soil).  My big
question is: what triggers the end of dormancy.  Is it an internal
(hormonal) or enviromental (temp, moisture) signal???  Barry, if you are
writ- ing Lowrie again I would ask him everything about dealing with
dormancy.
MJC

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Sat, 12 Jan 91 21:57:10 +1100
XSubject: Re: tubers

>HELP!  I have just ordered some tuberous drosera tubers.  I forgot how
>helpless I am with these!  Does anyone have some suggestions, do's and
>dont's about growing them? 

If you bought them from Allen Lowrie, don't kill them ;-)  His prices
are a bit expensive, but his range of plants is excellent.  Last resort
only for me... 

I probably gave my seeds too much heat, which would explain why only I
only got 3 (?  - 1 survivor) seedlings.  The main element you want is
heat & ash, not necessarily flames, so straw/grass etc.  would be
perfect.  I used straw with some methylated spirits to kick start it
(probably my mistake). 

The survivor is over 3 feet high, but is starting to die back rapidly
after 2 years of constant growth.  The small side shoot about an inch
from the base has died back a bit too, but this is probably where I will
cut the stem (argh!) once the top dies back. 

>In spite of Paul T.'s words of gloom the rosettes continue to enlarge. Of
>course, this is a relative term, as the largest few rosettes are perhaps only
>6mm in diameter.  I am hoping that they get relatively large before they
>flower. I want to get self-sustaining on this plant.

I'm still waiting to plant my seed (mid-summer here), so can't add
anything to the comments I posted from other growers.  I can't vouch for
their validity - the same grower also said that U. australis was
difficult to grow in containers

###################
From: barry@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Tue, 3 Sep 91 18:39:42 MST
XSubject: Re: tubers

>After a great deal of worrying, it appears that our Byblis gigantea has
>survived its dormancy.  The side shoot has quite a number of leaves about
>an inch long,

I took my B. gigantea out of the greenhouse today to tuning-fork
pollinate it, and had it in the sun for only about 5 minutes and it
started to wilt!  I frantically stowed it back in the G-house.  I have
to go back and make sure it's OK :(

>>Does anyone know of a source of (natural) CP bogs of North America? 
>Doug, the book "Carnivorous Plants of the US and Canada" by Don Schnell
>has good general maps for each species.  It doesn't pinpoint the bogs
>and wetlands

Bog-finding just isn't easy, unfortunately.  If I were planning a US
trip to go CPing, I think I'd either head to the South Carolina area, or
to the Mobile Bay area.  First thing I'd do is call Bruce Bednar or O.
Clyde Bramblett and ask the m what they think.  They do a lot of bogging
down there.  Best thing is to get some local expertise.  I've
discovered, from my own goofing around, that you can get to just a few
hundred feet of prime CP territory and not know it.  Another route is to
plop down in prime CP territory (like South Carolina) and blow a day in
the herbarium researching recent collections.  That's what I've done and
it work s pretty well. 

I got some seeds of those Nepenthes you mentioned from the seed bank, and
am trying to get them going. I tried Mike's method of putting them in a
pot of soil in a baggie that was microwaved (introducing seeds AFTER the
microwaves) but I think that the seeds are getting killed by fungus. Last time
I listen to Mike!  :)

Well, I finally got to look through this Peter Taylor double issue of CPN. I
have a couple of comments, since I seem to have been given the title of
Utricularia fiend...

I think that the treatment of the N. American Utrics is great, with two
keys to ID your plants.  Also the notes on each species are great, with
ranges for the plants (which makes up for the lack of range maps).  It's
also very nice for the CP-horticulturist that he includes information
which is the closest he ever gets to growing instructions, like
``....habitat is wet sand or peat or in shallow water....'' That he
included this info, which is very sparse in his monograph, is probably
because of prodding from Don Schnell who always suggests I include this
kind of information in the stuff I've written for the mag.  Usually a
clear writer, Taylor makes a goof on his description of U. juncea
(p17-18) when it sounds like he's saying a cleistogamous form of U.
juncea is validly called U. virgatula. 

The rest of the Utricularia stuff is just derivative of his monograph. 
So, it's mighty useful if you don't have the 40 pounds to shell out for
the book, but since I've got it most of the CPN issue is just redundant. 
I'm particularly happy that they've printed the list of invalid names,
so people can correct their tags of U. racemosa, capensis, etc etc. 

The photos of interesting species, especially the ones with antennae-bearing
flowers (which are thought to be pollinated by flies), I found very welcome.

BUT THE BIGGEST AND BEST THING ABOUT THIS ISSUE WITHOUT A DOUBT IN MY
MIND is the treatment of Genlisea.  Here we have a first, complete key
to the genus.  Hurrah!  A very short description of each species, and a
bibliography!  What a great thing to have.  I'd eagerly buy those pages
alone for more than I'd like to admit!  I am psyched! 

Anyone going to send off for the 1991 World CP list? I think I might...
especially since this Jan Schlauer claims there are references for each
plant. This is a way to finally get some data on the ancient D. communis/
burkeana/spathulata/capillaris problem and so on.

OK, this is great....  The other day I was getting entirely fed up with
the mats of algae that I get floating in my trough of U. resupinata. 
Utricularia resupinata is a species that grows in peat/sand about an
inch or so submerged by water---it looks like grassy blades growing out
of the substrate, waving in the water.  So anyway, I was looking at my
grassy blades getting choked by a thick mat of green algae, when I had
an idea.  I got a sturdy metal comb I use for brushing out the coat of
my golden retriever/lab mix, and ``combed'' the plants.  The result? 
All the algae got strained out and the Utrics stayed behind unaffected
(except for a quite dashing, well coiffed look).  I think any coarse
comb would work great for this.  I wouldn't suggest it for most free
floating aquatics, though. 

Not high tech, not low tech, but just the right tech.

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Wed, 4 Sep 91 12:20:03 +1000
Subject: re: Utrics

>I have a U. calycifida in flower right now.  The flower stalk produced
>7 kind of smallish pink flowers.  I got some plants from Gordon a few
>weeks ago

I thought that calcyifida had yellow flowers, and only Polypompholyx
(spel?) had pink flowers.  Speaking of which, our P.tenalla plants
haven't done much yet apart from producing a few leaves each. 

I'm tossing up whether we should leave the old Byblis stem on the plant
above the new shoot (in case it shoots again), or if we should chop it
off.  Any suggestions? 

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|   John Taylor  [The Banshee]   |   Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology  |
|  s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au  |       (Department of Applied Physics)      |
|   MOKING IS A HEALTH HAZARD.   |        Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Wed, 4 Sep 91 21:06:17 +1000
XSubject: Re: re: Utrics

>I took my B. gigantea out of the greenhouse today to tuning-fork
>pollinate it, and had it in the sun for only about 5 minutes and it
>started to wilt!  I frantically stowed it back in the G-house.  I have
>to go back and make sure it's OK :(

This has happened to our Byblis before (although our weather isn't quite
as hostile as yours), and simply giving it a good drink was enough to
make it happy again.  You will probably need to provide some support for
the stem when it gets around 12 inches long, so it probably wouldn't
hurt to stake it earlier than this is you are afraid of breaking/bending
the stem. 

>John, if you chop off the B. gigantea, could you replant
>it and get another plant?  I've read that the only good
>way to propagate this plant is from stem cuttings as I recall.

Actually it was Paul... (don't let the login ID fool you!)  I'm not sure how
the stem cutting would take, since it is quite woody and lacking in leaves.
Even so, it is probably worth a try, just in case the new sideshoot decides to
die...

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|      Paul Taylor [Falcon]          Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology |
| C/O s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au            Melbourne, Australia.          |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

###################
From: ATLAS@JHUVMS.BITNET
Date: Wed, 4 Sep 91 21:06:17 +1000
Subject: CP

Regarding Nepenthes from the seed bank, I got a packet of N. Fusca and
planted the seeds two weeks ago, but no germination yet.  Speaking of
Nepenthes, does anyone know the reason why, when taking cuttings, you
should chop off the upper two-thirds of the leaf?  I was wondering... 

Remember the discussion some months ago about cheap reverse osmosis (ro)
units from that mail-order company??  Well, I requested a catalog, and
it finally came.  They had a pollenex unit for 30 bucks that claimed to
be a genuine ro purifier.  After discussing this with an environmental
friend of mine, I figured I'd give it a try.  Alas, when I phoned in my
order, Damark (the company) said they are sold out.  Boo hoo!!  They do
still have the 200 dollar under-the-sink model available, but the price
is too steep for me. 

I've been noticing a lot of snails in my S. Purpurea pitchers.  Anyone
know if they are harmful or useful to the plant??  Also, is there
anything one can do about "indigestion?" My S. Flava is turning brown in
a small spot about 5 cm from the rim of the pitcher, and the brown area
seems to be slowly spreading.  Is this a Maalox moment?? 

doug

###################
From: barry@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Wed, 4 Sep 91 18:13:51 MST
XSubject: Re: CP

>to be.   I guess he had been on field trips there as a
>young boy.  He said you could find sarracenia,
>pinguicula, drosera, and of course dionaea.  I assume also

A danger with old information is that any tips  older than 10 years
should be regarded with caution. The first thing that developers do with
bogs and wetlands is drain them. There's a lot of development. On a related
topic, my mother-in-law (hiss! boo!) who truly despises me, was playfully
trying to offend me on the phone once. She doesn't know about my CP interests
and she said, ``well Barry, I suppose if you ever buy land it will probably
turn out to be a swamp!'' I agreed with her.

>>I have a U. calycifida in flower right now.  The flower stalk produced
>>7 kind of smallish pink flowers.  I got some plants from Gordon a few weeks

>I thought that calcyifida had yellow flowers, and only Polypompholyx (spel?)
>had pink flowers.  Speaking of which, our P.tenalla plants haven't done much

John and/or Paul, read that article on calycifida I sent you. That species
produces pink, lilac, white  or purple flowers. Get that wacky thought out of
your mind that only subgenus polypompholyx Utrics have purple flowers. Lots
and lots of Utrics do...

>My U sandersonii from Barry is also doing well...I should say was

Earl, your sandersonii will benefit from the transplant. I also suspect that
things may be getting too hot for them. If they get hot, the first thing they
(and most other Utrics I've grown) will do is wither any flower stalks...

>(water) losses in the cutting.  If the cutting is placed in 100% humidity
>this perhaps is not necessary, but then again, if the leaf has pitchers
>the plant may "want" to fill up that pitcher w/ water and/or enzymes, and
>that would be a considerable drain on the cutting.

Now really, Mike. Wouldn't this only be the job of the glands in the pitcher?
You make it sound like a leaf is a big leaky pipe! Not knowing any better,
I'd think the water accumulation would be moderated by the glands, and not by
the basal part of the leaf!

Rob M, it's good to hear from you.  I hung on every line of the field
trip travelogue.  I'd like to get up there some summer and impose on
your and Dee's hospitality!  My largest petiolaris `Kununurra' has
produced two side plants, budding from the base.  These plants remind me
very much of Dionaea.  I have a very similar record regarding which of
my seeds from Allen have come up, with the exception of D. glabripes. 
My beloved D. alba plants croaked too!  Not on your list, my D.
cistiflora `Red' and pauciflora `yellow' are doing well, the latter big
enough perhaps to flower.  But the name pauci-flora means either
few-flowers on a scape, or maybe the plant rarely flowers... 
Incidentally, both petiolaris `Kununurra' I got from Allen were from
live plant shipments, but I lost my falconeri from him.  I think I'll
try seed some time, especially with that handy heating info.  My D.
regia seems to be doing well.  I encountered the same strange losses
that you mention.  I think that you just have to have some luck to get
the plant past that phase.  As long as my plant bears the heat its
fighting right now I should be able to propagate it in a few months (oh
please please please!)

Just when I thought it was toasted, I'm getting a leaf up in my pot of
U. humboldtii!

I wish I knew how to get my U. praelonga to flower. Our esteemed Australians
have mentioned that theirs do... Boo hoo.

I have gotten a new weed problem in my greenhouse. Everywhere I look I'm
getting Pinguicula coming up. Problem with this is they could be either
caerulea, ionantha, primuliflora (two forms), lutea, planifolia, and possibly
even pumila! Ahhhhh! All were flowering this summer, and although I tried,
I know (well obviously) I didn't harvest all the seed.

BAMMO

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Fri, 6 Sep 91 22:16:49 +1000
XSubject: Re: CP

>Barry, regarding trading with Fred Howell, I can surely back up Paul's
>claim that he's a very fair trader.  In fact, he's sent me more plants
>than I deserve (and feeling a wee guilty I might add)!  Have noted D.
>pygmaea contamination in D. manniana and D. spilos gemmae received from
>him and some tubers are not well labelled.  It does add a certain
>thrill of adventure and the unexpected in growin such plants as you
>never really know what might turm up.  For example I received a D.
>stolonifera tuber from him and it turned out to be ssp.  porrecta! 

I'm glad your plants reached you in good condition.  I'll pass on your
compliments in my next letter, along with an order for a D. stolonifera ssp.
porrecta ...

>I wish I knew how to get my U. praelonga to flower. Our esteemed Australians
>have mentioned that theirs do... Boo hoo.

Our plant hasn't flowered yet, but when it does, I'm sure it will have pink
flowers ;-)

>I have gotten a new weed problem in my greenhouse. Everywhere I look I'm
>getting Pinguicula coming up. Problem with this is they could be either
>caerulea, ionantha, primuliflora (two forms), lutea, planifolia, and possibly
>even pumila! Ahhhhh! All were flowering this summer, and although I tried,
>I know (well obviously) I didn't harvest all the seed.

We usually have problems with Drosera peltata seedlings which somehow
manage to get into every pot within a 10 metre radius.  Pygmy gemmae are
sometimes a problem when trying to harvest them, although most end up in
your face than in other pots (hint: knock the gemmae onto a sheet of
paper while holding the pot at a 90 degree angle - never try and scrape
them off the rosettes!)

Have collected some P. caerulea seeds - any tips on growing them?

###################
From: barry@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Fri, 6 Sep 91 12:56:25 MST
XSubject: Re: CP

>Oops, I never found the time to read it properly.  I know the many many
>Utrics have purple flowers, I was only talking about pink.  (Real? 
>pink, not rose lilac or other purples). 

I can't think of any right now, but I'm sure there must be some.

>harvest germinates the best) on peat moss (Canadian). I like to mix in about

Bah! Nationalism! I prefer Arizonan peat moss!

>but they mysteriously succumbed after about 1-2 months.  Perhaps they
>need to be introduced to stronger light (I germinated most of these
>seed under semi-shaded conditions) soon after germination.  What's
>your secret? 

I wish I knew. I just put them on a peat/sand mix, high water table, full
sun in the Greenhouse and waited.

I got a letter from Don Schnell verifying that Adrian Slack is indeed
dead, and has been in this condition for about 18 months. He had a stroke
and then as he was recovering he had a heart attack that did him in.
Apparently there was excessive use of grape, which didn't help. Under
new management Marston exotics has increased prices and reduced inventory.

I had mentioned to Don S. my own interest in going to S. Carolina, and he
sent me some detailed field notes of places to go. Since there was some
discussion of this here, I'll mention his general sites. If you want more
detailed info I can photocopy it. Of course, I do would do this with the
assumption that this is an observation/appreciation/photography venture,
AND NOT for collecting!

1)Lexington County----a bog west of Columbia, last visited in '88,
possibly purchased by Nature Conservancy. Probably still open to
visitors.

2)Berkeley Co. near Summerville, between Columbia and Charleston off
I-26. Don says this is a must see, stands of plants `just like the old
days.' (sniff)

3)Francis Marion National Forest and Santee Coastal Reserve
Also good sites.

Jeez, now I really want to go!

BAMMO

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 91 15:16:04 +1000
Subject: Langwarrin F&F Reserve revisited again!

'Twas a nice sunny weekend (for once), so Paul and I jumped in the Moke
and had a quick walk around the Langwarrin Flora and Fauna Reserve. 
Polypomphlyx tenalla plants are out and in flower (most were almost
ready to open - should be a good display in the next week or so - with a
few fully opened).  Drosera peltata and auriculata (maybe) plants are
gettimnghng a bit taller (a few inches now) and some peltatas are
flowering at this height.  Found two new species of ground orchids
(tuberous) - one short greenhood (species unknown) and a yellow
sun-orchid (Thelymitra antenniflora - or something like that).  The only
other find was a single D. spathulata in very wet ground (was underwater
a month ago) and a few small D. glanduligera plants (we can't get them
to grow either ;-)  There is no sign of the D binata plants, or of the
aquatic Utric in the old reservoir (except for a few possible hair-like
strands). 

###################
From: Robert.Allen@Eng.Sun.COM (Robert Allen)
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 91 15:16:04 +1000
Subject: Queensland sundews: an observation.

Not that this will come as any great surprise to most of you,
but I'm amazed at how sensitive the Queensland sundews (adelae,
schizandra, prolifera) are to light.  If my prolifera gets even
an hour or so of direct sunlight, its' growth slows way down.
However, with 75% shade cloth over it, it rolls out a new leaf
at the rate of one every 5 days or so.  Same thing with my adelae.
    (I don't have a schizandra :-( ).  I've heard that they are sensitive
to heat, but it seems that sunlight, and of course possibly the
heat generated in the leaves by the sunlight, may be a more telling
factor.  Since Peter Damato grows his schizandra in the HOT area
in his greenhouse, with his lowland Nepenthes, I'm inclined to believe
that it is light/light-generated-heat, not ambient temp, which
affects these species the most.

As soon as the little plantlets are big enough, I'm going to
transplant one into my 80 degree terrarium and see how it does
in there under lights.

BTW, some live spahgnum I have in the terrarium got molded over
with grey, fuzzy, stuff.  I presume this is a result of not enough
ventilation, right?  But if ventilate more, the temps and humidity
go down.  Any suggestions?  Perhaps keep the moss more wet?


###################
From: Robert.Allen@Eng.Sun.COM (Robert Allen)
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 91 15:16:04 +1000
Subject: peat planting mixtures.

BTW, when I was visiting California Carnivores Peter D'Amata
disclosed to me that he uses peat/perlite mixtures, with very
fine perlite.  He said it works just as good as peat sand, and
the pots are a lot lighter.  I tried it, and it seems to be a
good deal.  Put a later of straight peat on top though to keep
the perlite from floating if you water fro above.

Pots are veeeeeery light this way.j

r.

###################
From: Scott Brown <hsbrown@vices.Princeton.EDU>
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 91 15:16:04 +1000
Subject: Longwood Gardens

Maureen and I went to Longwood gardens in Pennsylvania
on Saturday.  This is a trip I would recommend to any
plant lover who is in the area.  The highlight for me
was seeing some very large, well grown Nepenthes.  The
orchid display was also very impressive.  In addition
to the Nepenthes,  CP on display included
some common drosera and sarracenia and some large
dionaea.   One particularly interesting plant was a
huge waterplant (their own hybrid) whose
leaves can (each) keep a 100 pound weight afloat.

Michael, you might want to contact Longwood about a job.
They are very large and could use a few more CP.

Scott

###################
From: Scott Brown <hsbrown@vices.Princeton.EDU>
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 91 15:16:04 +1000
Subject: Re: Longwood

>    Yeah, Longwood gardens is great.  They have a great Nepenthes
>    collection.  Not so good with the other cp's, but it has been
>    several years since I've been there.  Do you recall if they had N.
>    raja or other goodies on display? 

I don't remember seeing N. raja.  The labels I looked at turned out to
be hybrids.  It was kind of hard to see the labels because we were in
the greenhouse at night.  Why? you ask... because we were seeing a fireworks
show in addition to the plants.  The greenhouses were not too well lit
and it was difficult reading the labels on the hanging plants.

Scott

###################
From: Robert.Allen@Eng.Sun.COM (Robert Allen)
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 91 15:16:04 +1000
Subject: random mutterings

My D. peltata tuber is finally coming up.  It must be an
import :-).

I've had it since May, potted, and it's been inactive.  Every
month or so I'd carefully move the sandy soil aside, looking
for a shoot.  About a month ago I found one.  This month there
was still no activity, so I went digging again, and found it
about 1/4" closer to the surface.  (can you tell I'm impatient?)

I expect it to break the surface soon.  Cool.  Everything else
is slowing down, except the nepenthes and tropical utrics I
have under lights, which are going great guns.  I've ordered
some Nepenthes seed from the seed bank which I hope to spend
the winter germinating under lights.  Maybe I'll have something
next year to give out.

Robert

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 91 08:44:26 +1000
Subject: Drosera peltata

>My D. peltata tuber is finally coming up.  It must be an
>import :-).

I think the rather strange winter we had here confused many of the
plants, including D. peltata.  The seasons seem to have been delayed a
month - June was quite warm, and we still have excellent snow conditions
in September! 

The established pot of D. peltata was flowering around July, and is
still going strong.  Tubers from a tray we had that I repotted in two
pots and in the garden are only just getting into peak growth, as are
the ones at the local CP haunts.  Once the shoot hits the surface, the
growth rate will increase dramatically...  a few mosquitos for dinner
also helps. 

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|      Paul Taylor [Falcon]          Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology |
| C/O s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au            Melbourne, Australia.          |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

###################
From: Robert.Allen@Eng.Sun.COM (Robert Allen)
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 91 08:44:26 +1000
Subject: Terrarium idea.

While waiting for my seed bank order to arrive I've been
thinking about how to germinate what I've ordered.  I've
decided to place all the seeds in damp, milled, spahgnum,
either in pots, or in little six pack containers.  The
problem is, I want the containers to be within a few
inches of the lights, and the Nepenthes in there are too
tall for that.

The solution?  I have some plastic grid sitting in the bottom
of the acquarium so I can keep about 1/2" of water in there and
not have the Nepenthes sitting in water.  What I'm going to
do is to cut a piece of the grid off, then raise that portion
alone up to the lights, using plastic pots to block it up.
I'll have a split level terrarium.  Of course, some of you
have probably already figured this out, but I was sort of
pleased with myself for making the most of my limited space.

Robert

###################
From: dngess01%vlsi.louisville.edu%ulkyvx.bitnet@cunyvm.cuny.edu
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 91 08:44:26 +1000
XSubject: Re: Terrarium idea.

Robert Allen says:
>>My D. peltata tuber is finally coming up.  It must be an
>>import :-).
>>
>>I've had it since May, potted, and it's been inactive.  Every
>>month or so I'd carefully move the sandy soil aside, looking
>>for a shoot.  About a month ago I found one.  This month there
>>was still no activity, so I went digging again, and found it
>>about 1/4" closer to the surface.  (can you tell I'm impatient?)
>>
>>I expect it to break the surface soon.  Cool.  Everything else
>>is slowing down, except the nepenthes and tropical utrics I
>>have under lights, which are going great guns.  I've ordered
>>some Nepenthes seed from the seed bank which I hope to spend
>>the winder germinating under lights.  Maybe I'll have something
>>next year to give out.

I count 6 D.peltata seedlings just sprouting from a pot I sowed last
April.  I almost gave up hope for them.  I'm harvesting seeds now from
the D. indica I sowed at the same time.  When I used to grow D.peltata,
I remember that they flower during the first year, so it's possible to
grow them as annuals if you don't want the hassle of taking care of them
as they go into and out of dormancy.  Does anybody know of other
easy-to-grow tuberous Drosera other than auriculata and peltata that
will flower during the first year?  I also ordered more Nep seeds from
the seed bank.  They should be arriving any day now.  Is anyone growing
N. x dyeriana?  This seems to be the Nep with the largest pitchers of
the common types that are grown.  The species N. rajah is the one that
is most often noted as having the largest pitchers, but I've also read
somewhere that N. merrilliana holds that distinction.  Maybe there's a
different criterion (e.g.  one is "tallest", the other "contains the
most area in cubic units").  Longwood Gardens, by the way, is supposed
to contain the best Nepenthes collection in the USA, at least according
to an old CPN - March 1979.  The best in the world is supposed to be at
Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Gardens.  The curator at Longwood is (was) Pat
Nutt.  Another CPN said there are private greenhouses at Longwood that
ICPS members can see if they announce their interest.  What kind of
species/hybrids of Neps does everyone grow?  I might have a few cuttings
of N. x curtisii (?) to trade.  This plant was originally labelled as
"N.  x superba".  The plant doesn't look anything like either of the two
parents listed in the World CP List.  This is probably the plant "N. 
curtisii" mentioned in CPN 1987-p.69.  It has a wide peristome and looks
a little like N. maxima.  The true maxima I've read is supposed to have
a glandular crest, but my plant doesn't have one.  It may be N. x mixta
"superba" though.  It produces rather big pitchers - around 8 inches! 
Other Neps I have - N. tobaica, N. anamensis (both are small - about the
size of year old seedlings), N. gracilis, N. khasiana (Michael sent me a
cutting of this), N. ampullaria (green), N. ampullaria (red) (I got the
"red" variety from Barry - both are too small for cuttings), N. x rokko
(I got this from Barry too - still reviving after being slow to root), I
HAD alata (boschiana mimic) from Barry but it croaked before rooting, N.
gracilis x hookeriana (may have enough for a cutting - fast growing -
pitcher not too exciting), N. x hookeriana (?) (got this from Michael,
haven't seen a pitcher yet), N. x boissiense rubra (maybe lecouflei), N.
x wrigleyana (kosobe) - (originally labelled x kosobe, looks like
wrigleyana, nice completely red pitchers, looks like pic on p. 86, Sept
87 CPN - fig 5), N. x balfouriana (doesn't produce a lot of pitchers,
may have enough for a cutting, creamy-colored pitchers w/ not very wide
peristome, sort of ordinary looking).  Has anyone germinated the N.
ventricosa hybrids from the seed exchange yet? 

Anyone interested in orchids too?  I have a duplicate Slc. Empress of Mercury
"Gwo Luen" AM/AOS I can trade.

About D. collinsiae, it may still be a hybrid even if seed is fertile. 
If the embryo is an amphiploid (where the two sets of chromosomes from
the two parents don't synapse), the resulting plant may produce viable
seeds.  This is according to a CPN from 1990.  The article was about
Drosera evolution.  I got a couple D. collinsiae from Michael too.  My
plants produce leaves at a 45-degree angle, like D. intermedia.  The
leaves look like intermedia, but the petioles seem to be a little
longer. 

Rob M.: Did Barry say you sent him a message about a CP field trip?  Could
you put me in your CP mailing list?  I didn't get that message.  My address
is "dngess01%vlsi.louisville.edu@ulkyvx.bitnet".

Barry, sorry to hear your D. falconerii died.  Did your D. arcturi ever
germinate?  What kind of things does Don Schnell grow?  There used to be
a big list put out by Bob Ziemer that listed all the different species that
people grew, and noting those species people had to trade.  I remember Don was
a big Nepenthes grower; and, of course, being an expert on Sarracenia, had
a ton of these too.  It was sort of surprising to see that he didn't have
any tuberous Drosera, not even a peltata or auriculata.

###################
From: ATLAS@JHUVMS.BITNET
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 91 08:44:26 +1000
Subject: stuff

Regarding the mosquito larvae, I have the same problem as Earl.  I
usually just change the water every two weeks or so, but am thinking of
experimenting with utrics to remedy this. 

The D. Binata NZ and D Aliciae I got from the seed bank have sprouted.  Any
recommendations on light intensity for the seedlings??  Still no action from
the N. Gracilis or N. Fusca.

Since I like Sarrs, I was thinking...how difficult is it to "fool" them
about the season??  I thought it would be nice to have some non-dormant
sarrs around in the wintertime.  I could keep them inside over the
winter, and put them in the fridge over the summer.  Can this
reorientation be done with mature plants, or is it best to do it with
seed/seedlings??  Any ideas? 

Somehow, there are several annoying flies in my kitchen, and they are too
fast for me to swat.  So I brought in a couple D. Capensis, and am hoping
they will do their thing by the time I get home today.  I love biological
warfare!!  Which brings up an interesting point:  one fun thing I get to
tell people who ask me why on earth I grow cp is for the irony of it...I am
a vegetarian and eat plants but not meat, but I grow plants that eat "meat."

doug

###################
From: Robert.Allen@Eng.Sun.COM (Robert Allen)
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 91 08:44:26 +1000
Subject: Re: Damn ants

>>I don't have problems with ants but with MOSQUITOES!  I have my
>>plants in trays of water and I guess because I don't empty them
>>out now and then, the mosquites start to breed in them...
>>I hate to remove all the plants, empty out the water from the
>>trays, scrub them free of moss, and put the plants in again...
>>Any easier way??

Are your trays clear?  I've been using some clear trays and
they grow moss a lot faster than opaque trays.

As far as the mosquitos, the only thing I could recommend
is planting lots of hardy drosera, so the adults can't get
close enough to the water to lay eggs.

###################
From: ATLAS@JHUVMS.BITNET
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 91 08:44:26 +1000
Subject: cp seed

I just checked my (real) mailbox, and I received my seed order from the
seed bank.  Let's see...I got N. Tentaculata, Rafflesiana, Mirabilis,
Khasiana, and D. Stolonifera Compacta.  I start sowing tonight.

Speaking of seed, I'm interested in growing D Peltata, 'cause I've heard
it's one of the easiest tuberous droseras to grow.  Didn't someone on the
net say he has/will have some seed??  Or was it just a dream??

doug

###################
From: MAHARAJ@MCMASTER.BITNET
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 91 08:44:26 +1000
Subject: Here's that "CP field trip" message Don

Hi everyone! A marvelous thing occurred this morning: the muses of organic
chemistry granted me some precious time away from the chemicals and synthetic
manipulations for a morning. A great opportunity to catch up on the triple
digit emails bursting from my Newmail Folder!

I spent about four days up in and around our capital city, Ottawa, on
both business and pleasure.  The last day was reserved for a pilgrimage
to D. linearis country along the shores of Lake Huron near the famed
Bruce Penninsula.  Braving the swarms of horseflies (whose bite is not
noticed until a few minutes AFTER it has dined) while travelling up the
eastern shoreline of Dorcas Bay Nature Reserve, I arrived at one remote
station just a hundred feet or so from the lake water.  The area - about
30 sq.  feet - is supported by run-off from lime- stone-based forest of
the interior.  Here D. linearis was growing in abundance (about 500
plants) along side with P. vulgaris and a few S. purpurea ssp.  purpurea
f. ripicola in full sun.  Plants were about 1-2 inches high and
blood-red and most had already commenced hibernaculum formation
(Date=AUgust 12).  An interesting observation is that the linear leaf
sundew only seems to grow in locations that receive at least 5 hours/day
of direct, unobstructed sunlight and the previously-reported
observations of its intolerance to plant competitions certainly seems to
hold.  Also, very, very few plants seem to grow in moist but
well-drained areas, preferring wet substrate with a H2O table about an
inch or so below the soil surface.  Two other stations were visited, one
of which was fenced off private land purchased in 1962 by the Federation
of Ontario Naturalists (FON).  Growing conditions were very much the
same as for the first station, except that the plants were growing in
pure sand.  Here I also found U. intermedia in full flower, their huge
canary yellow corrolas resembling the U. juncea ones illustrated in Don
Schnell's book.  Further detective work around a dried up lagoon area of
the reserve turned up thousands of the ripicola form of S. purpurea in a
1 acre flat location.  In a bushy area by a small stream next to the
purps revealed a good sized colony of P. vulgaris growing in almost full
shade (in contrast to the full sun location at the first D. linearis
station).  I was hoping to see (well, not really) Eastern Canada's only
poisonous reptile, the infamous Massasauga rattler.  The Dorcas Bay area
is one of about 2 or 3 small areas in Eastern Canada where the rattler
can be found.  At another D. linearis location at Petrol Point (about 50
km south from the Dorcas Bay Reserve, see CPN article on D. linearis by
Don Schnell, ca early to mid 1980's), the sundews are on average 1 inch
larger than their Dorcas Bay counterparts.  It is not know whether this
is genetically or environmentally determined but by next summer I should
have an idea from growth observations of my 1 yr.  old seedlings.  The
Petrol Point area is fortunately a reserve, also bought out by FON, to
protect the last reminants of prime habitats of unique Lake Huron fauna
and flora from development (primarily
cottages).  I'm happy to report that over the past 4 yearly visits to
these areas the D. linearis populations are strong in both quality and
quantity, with possible exception to the Petrol Point reserve where
numbers have dwindled somewhat.  This summer, D. linearis was officially
recognized by the Canadian government as an Endangered Species.  Well,
its about time! 

I heard from Gordon about a week ago via post.  He sent me some of the
Nepenthes seed that everyone has been mumbling about.  I sowed them on
pure milled Sphagnum the day I received them and popped them in a Ziploc
bag under lights.  So far nothing but at least no signs of fungus.  I
dislike peat mixes for Nepenthes seed since they tend to entice fungal
growth in my experience.  Gordon also sent me many months ago some of
those N. ventricosa hybrid seed but after about 8 months at least, I
have yet to see a peep from them.  Gordon said to hang on to them since
a few grower have reported germination: for some reason, these
particular seed insists on taking their cool time. 

Barry, regarding trading with Fred Howell, I can surely back up Paul's
claim that he's a very fair trader.  In fact, he's sent me more plants
than I deserve (and feeling a wee guilty I might add)!  Have noted D.
pygmaea contamination in D. manniana and D. spilos gemmae received from
him and some tubers are not well labelled.  It does add a certain thrill
of adventure and the unexpected in growin such plants as you never
really know what might turm up.  For example, I received a D.
stolonifera tuber from him and it turned out to be ssp.  porrecta! 

I have about 10 plants of D. petiolaris "Kunnunurra" accelerating
quickly to the 1 cm diameter mark.  Had also germinated D. falconeri -
according to Allen's suggested 32-35 C 2-3 week treatment of the sown
seed (on peat)- but lost all seedlings presumably to damping off.  Next
attempt, I'll keep the falconeri pot drier.  Allen has also germinated
D. banksii, D. lanata and other petiolaris types using this method. 
Establishing mature plants through purchase from Allen has not been
successful for me: plants invariably arrive in the mail either dead or
so weakened that they never recuperate.  I think seed's the way to go
and the seedlings are growing very quickly.  Regarding other seed from
Allen, D. regia, D. ramentacea, D. glabripes, D. sp.  "Floating", D.
venusta, D. admirabilis, D. spathulata forms have germinated but nothing
as yet from D. acaulis, D. arturi types, D. stenopetala, D. gigantea, D.
bulbosa "Eastern Wheatbelt", P. sharpii, P. vallisneriifolia, P.
bohemica, D. pauciflora and a few others.  Although I get a good
germination rate for D. regia, most of the seedlings just die after
attaining 4 or 5 leaves and before the first true root is formed.  And
my growing conditions are fairly cool (ca.  15-25 C) with well- drained
peat/sand. 

Well, one of the muses' is tapping me on the shoulder and pointing one
of his fingers over at the lab door.  I think that I'll reluctantly call
it quits for now.  Although I would not be able to contribute as often
as I like, I would still like to hear the latest on the email waves, so
keep them coming!  If something new and interesting surfaces though,
I'll be sure to network it.  Good growing...... 

Rob (M.)

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Wed, 18 Sep 91 11:45:36 +1000
Subject: Re: Peltata seed

>Speaking of seed, I'm interested in growing D Peltata, 'cause I've heard
>it's one of the easiest tuberous droseras to grow.  Didn't someone on the
>net say he has/will have some seed??  Or was it just a dream??
>
>                                       doug

Yes, we will have some to swap (or maybe give away).  Our plants don't stop
producing them and are becoming more of a weed than D. capensis, and
U. livida and subulata!.
We'll let you know when it's ripe (probably in a month or so).

###################
From: Robert.Allen@Eng.Sun.COM (Robert Allen)
Date: Wed, 18 Sep 91 11:45:36 +1000
Subject: mumblings

I've been fighting an ongoing war with aphids on some of my
CP, mainly drosera and dionea.  I resolved the problem on
my pot o' flytraps masterfully, with a skillful application
of half-strength diazanon, sprayed on.  More recently my
D. prolifera and maybe D. x Nagamoto (which is growing like
a weed; thanks Barry) got them.  So, I've sprayed them with
a 1/4 str. diazanon solution.  The D. prolifera looks a bit
shriveled up now, but it's still alive, and I think I may
have killed the aphids.  Just FYI.

Propagation: while pruning my plants, I accidentally cut
off a length of D. filiformis last month, on the 8th.  I
packed it in moss, and put it in my terrarium under lights.
One month later, after moving it around and thus changing
the lite intensity, the leaf is sprouting at least one plantlet.
I've also moved a D. prolifera plantlet in, and even at 80 degrees
during the day, and near 100% (guessed) humidity, it's growing
real fast under lights, and stays quite dewey.

Blooms: U. livida is sending up a scape finally.  Only after keeping
it quite wet did it do this.  P. agnata is also sending up a scape.
Maybe I'll try and self-pollinate it when it blooms...

###################
From: barry@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 91 18:59:53 MST
XSubject: Re: mumblings

>Can you detail collinsae for me?  I have a small one, and I'm
>wondering how big they get, what color they get, do they go
>dormant, etc.  Mine has leaves with long petioles and the
>blades are roundish, about 3/16" wide.

The simplest description would be as follows: Very similar to D.
intermedia in leaf shape and arrangement, but not suffused with red
(except in tentacles).  They do not form hibernacula, but slow down
growth during the winter, after seed production ends.  Flowers pink/red. 
My oldest plant is 3 years almost.  Seed takes up to 8 months to
germinate.  Leaf cuttings produce a plant very fast

>I'm trying to propagate my two Mexican Pings (kondoi and rotundifolia) as
>fast as I can.

Thanks. Contact me again before you send it to make sure I haven't scammed
a copy by then. I should contact Joe---he may have an extra copy still,
although it's been a long time. I recall seeing the old ads for this
system he had.

>I can't find it now, but I remember reading in CPN that Nepenthes can be

I don't know anything about tissue culture, but I thought that it needs
some active meristem tissue to work. I'd think a tendril in growth would
have plenty of apical meristem tissue growing...

>Barry, how is your "large trap" variety of Cephalotus compare to the typical
>type?

Still too young to be sure. I got these from Mistah Maharajh, who got it
from Grant Hallchurch from Guelph (or something like that).

>About water-absorbing gel in CP soil, it doesn't appear to be absolutely

My only concern is there might be some residual (toxic) chemicals in the
gel. Also, they break down over time (I've heard a few years) and release
Fixed nitrogen in the process---again, this is what I've heard...

>I got a catalog for indoor metal halide light fixtures.  They are very

Of course, the one cost you didn't mention for these things is the
electrical bill. I gather they can be substantial. A grower, DeFranco
I think was his name, has experimented with these bulbs---check old
CPNs. I wrote to him a few times---nice sort but doesn't know a whit about
spectra that makes any sense.

###################
From: mjc <ASMJC@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Date: Tue, 01 Oct 91 19:06:04 MST
Subject: stuf

I agree with Barry, Nepenthes tendril must contain mucho meristem.  Not
apical meristem, but intercalary meristem.

I too have heard that water-absorbant jells may promote fungus growth. I
have not heard about toxic effects, but the chemical that they are made of
is similar to a chemical which is toxic to humans (and much used for electro-
phoretic jell-rigs).  Somehow the name of the stuff escapes me.

I knew a guy in Connecticut who grew Nepenthes under metal halide, or a
similar light source.  The thing was big, hot, heavy, and undoubtely
expensive to buy and run.  i did not like the looks of the yellowish light,
and neither did his nepenthes.  Nevertheless, the plants grew, and the heat
was a benifit in a cold Connecticut basement.  It threw a lot of light, but
the largbe circular area of irradiance was a lot harder to work with than a
linear tube-lit area.  I'd say forget halides and stick with flourescents.
MJC

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Wed, 2 Oct 91 21:27:02 +1000
XSubject: Re: stuf

>>My B. gigantea is growing quite well from its offshoot after dormancy, and
>
>How long was it dormant? How did it signal entering dormancy?

It was dormant for around 6 months.  The main signs of dormancy that I
can remember is that it stops growing, and fails to replace the leaves
that die back along the stem.  I think it then starts dying back from
the tip towards the base - if you're lucky the plant will produce a
shoot before the "death zone" reachs soil level...  Our plant had around
6 inches of green stem above where the shoot was produced (about 1-1.5
inches from soil surface).  The new growth is around 4-5 inches long. 

>>Yippee!  Our Polypomphlox tenella plants are sending up flower stalks, so
>>there is a very small chance that we might have some seed to spare in a few
>>months.
>
>This may be a tricky plant. If I were you I'd resow every bit of it yourself.

Doesn't seem to be that tricky to grow - the small clump of plants we
had self-sowed and is growing strongly.  I can't remember whether we
treated it as a normal Utric.  (i.e.  standing in water year round) or
let it dry out over summer...  The plants in the wild near us are
growing in a mud/sand soil along with D. pygmae, which turns rock hard
in summer so the second method might be best. 

Speaking of seeds, the D. peltata seeds are currently in the collection
phase - you don't get as many seeds per pod as a Sarracenia (approx. 
250 seeds per pod for our S. purpurea ssp.  venosa plants last year),
but since there are around 6 pods per plant, there should be enough to
go round. 

>It's funny---whenever you two talk about seasonal plants like
>Sarracenia I always have to stop and add six months to the date to see
>if it makes sense.  Right now my Sarracenia are producing seed and
>slowing down in growth, while the leucs are in the middle of their
>second (and superior) crop of pitchers.  I don't know what kind of
>Sphagnum you grow, but it sure doesn't sound like mine.  I encourage
>Sphagnum to grow in my Sarracenia pots, as does Don Schnell and many
>other growers I know.  I have about three unidentified species with my
>Sarrs and I think they benefit from it.  I don't know what bush moss
>is, and even if you described it I doubt it would be familiar. 
>Probably another one of those wacky divergent evolution things that
>happened since your continent decided to go solo. 

"Bush moss" is a general term I use for any moss which isn't sphagnum
moss :-)  I'm not sure what mosses you have growing in the U.S., but the
types of mosses that cause problems are those that are found growing on
rocks, trees, in lawns etc.  Most have fine thread-like "leaves",
forming dense mats that form a distinct layer on the soil surface
(making it easy to remove).  Apart from smothering the soil, the moss
shrinks when dried out, leave a gap around the edge of the pot.  This
also occurs with peat, but peat will expand again when soaked in water -
the moss doesn't.  The shrinkage also causes the moss to lift away from
the peat below, causing most small plants (e.g.  pygmy Drosera) that
survive being smothered by the moss to die from lack of moisture. 

Live sphagnum causes very few problems, but most of the sphagnum in the
pots in the dormant/dead variety.  Of the little that does grow, the
tips tend to turn black as if burnt, although the pots containing only
sphagnum moss (e.g.  Cobra lilies) seems to grow without many problems. 
I'll see how the moss-free pots perform, and possibly replant fresh,
live sphagnum if the results aren't up to scratch. 

###################
From: Robert.Allen@Eng.Sun.COM (Robert Allen)
Date: Wed, 2 Oct 91 21:27:02 +1000
Subject: stuff

The dreaded grey mold has struck my newly planted seeds.
        :-( :-(.

I've opened up the covering to get some air circulation
and am still hoping for some germination.  I also had
an idea: I'm going to look for one of those little solar
powered fans which they build into hats, and see if it
will run in my terrrarium from the flourescents.  Maybe
if I can keep the air circulating during the day the
mold will stay away.

My D. prolifera is flowering.  I'm going to let it, hoping
to see the famous vegetative buds on the stalk.

D. peltatu tuber has broken the soil surface.  Yay.  A
bunch of the rest of my plants have gone dormant. Boo.
Now both my D. capensis "red" and D. capensis "Giant"
are sending out adventitous roots.  What weeds.  I'm
surprised they haven't gone dormant while the North
American species have.

Oh yes, D. adelae: some time ago I ordered one from Gordon
Snelling.  It arrived looking pretty happy, but had a steady
decline after I planted it.  One day I looked and it seemed
to have died.  However, remembering the words of wisdom from
this group, I left the dead plant in the pot.  This week I
noticed new growth.  I'm amazed.  This plant didn't just die
back to it's crown: the crown had rotted, and I pulled it out.
There was clearly enough roots to grow back though.  Contributions
from Barry and Michael have undergone similar trials: the
adelae from Barry is finally coming back in force, with 3
crowns and nice leaves.  Michaels' still looks dead, but it's
the latest acquisition.  The adelae from Gordon Snelling was
obtained between the other two (I ordered it before Barry sent
me one, so it was an accidental extra).

Robert

###################
From: barry@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Wed, 2 Oct 91 21:40:43 MST
XSubject: Re: stuff

>I agree with Barry, Nepenthes tendril must contain mucho meristem.  Not
>apical meristem, but intercalary meristem.

Oops. Imagine my eternal shame! Back to the books for me!

>I knew a guy in Connecticut who grew Nepenthes under metal halide, or a

Adding more to the mystery theatre, I heard on the radio today that some
Phoenician (i.e. out of Phoenix, Mike's territory) got arrested for growing
Cannibus in his garage under `special lights.' Probably the same bulbs. Hey,
anybody heard from Mike lately? He may be the very one!

>>Yippee!  Our Polypomphlox tenella plants are sending up flower stalks,
>>so
>Doesn't seem to be that tricky to grow - the small clump of plants we
>had self-sowed and is growing strongly.  I can't remember whether we
>treated it as

Sounds like you're doing well.  I've only had one plant from old Poly
come up--- a lone multifida.  Didn't set seed though.  :(

>"Bush moss" is a general term I use for any moss which isn't sphagnum
>moss :-)  I'm not sure what mosses you have growing in the U.S., but
>the types of mosses that cause problems are those that are found
>growing on rocks, trees, in lawns

OH...I know what you're talking about. In the States we call that Bellyrug
moss(*) or, on the East-coast, Clam-hair moss(*).

>       Now both my D. capensis "red" and D. capensis "Giant"
>       are sending out adventitous roots.  What weeds.  I'm

Weeds, huh?  Weeds that make....seeds?  Not that I'm finagling for some
capensis `red' seeds, naw, not a bit.  Not unless you're offering, that
is.  Naw.  Not finagling at all.  Root cuttings?  Just curious.  Just
curious. 

(*) Not really. But since you're all the way on the other side of the globe
how are you to know! :)

BAMR

###################
From: barry@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Wed, 2 Oct 91 21:52:28 MST
XSubject: Re: stuff

Got a letter from Gordon. Some things he mentions of interest are:

He also has no problem growing D. hamiltonii and propagates them much
as others do---via root cuttings. To induce flowering, he thinks they
should be exposed to frost. He has gotten flowers but believes they must
be crossed.

As for ants (he grows 'em!) he says Sphagnum is fine because it maintains
a nice humid area for them, with plenty of nooks for them to hold the brood.
He thinks S. rubra ssp. are superior ant collectors. Lastly, he says the
wasps the Taylors were discussing are indeed European wasps and are
apparently larger and a tad more aggressive than the ones indigenous to
the States. Our State-side one is also being replaced by the European ones.

****************

Another scape from my U. caerulea pot has produced a flower. These are almost
pure white, in contrast with the other plants. I wonder if the batch of seeds
represent a heterogenous lot, or if I'm seeing a cultural change. I *did*
spray the Sarracenia with diazinon last week. I wonder. But that's on the
other side of the Greenhouse...

BAMR

###################
From: mjc <ASMJC@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Date: Wed, 02 Oct 91 22:01:03 MST
Subject: Cannabis

Drat!  Guys, I got nabbed for growing Cannabis!*  They let me make one last
bitnet call.  I thought, with all my heart, I must call you guys.  Heh,
wait a minute, you don't think they will trace my call and get to you guys
and your hash stash?  Naaah, they'd never think of it!

MJC
* He's lying.  :-)

###################
From: Robert.Allen@Eng.Sun.COM (Robert Allen)
Date: Wed, 02 Oct 91 22:01:03 MST
Subject: Re: Cannabis

>>Drat!  Guys, I got nabbed for growing Cannabis!*  They let me make one last
>>bitnet call.  I thought, with all my heart, I must call you guys.  Heh,
>>wait a minute, you don't think they will trace my call and get to you guys
>>and your hash stash?  Naaah, they'd never think of it!

Hey, who is this guy posting to our list?

>>>I knew a guy in Connecticut who grew Nepenthes under metal halide, or a

Yeah.   Right.  Nepenthes.  Sure...

Actually, recent discussions have led me to wonder what would
happen if the cops ever dropped by my place for a look.  I can
see it now: "Well Mr. Allen, just how dangerous to small children
are these plants?  Have you had a toxicology study done on these
        `digestive enzymes'?".  The thought wasn't as funny as I'd hoped.
>>
>>>     Now both my D. capensis "red" and D. capensis "Giant"
>>>     are sending out adventitous roots.  What weeds.  I'm
>>
>Weeds, huh?  Weeds that make....seeds?  Not that I'm finagling for some
>capensis `red' seeds, naw, not a bit.  Not unless you're offering, that
>is.  Naw.  Not finagling at all.  Root cuttings?  Just curious.  Just
>curious. 

That's what I get for making a casual, or is it causal?, remark.
It hasn't put up a stalk yet, since it died back to the crown for
a while before coming back in strength.  However, I'll keep your
lack of interest in mind when I get a scape, or when the root
system is active enough to merit cuttings :-).  Or, hmm, I coult
stuff a leaf cutting in my terrarium and maybe get small (non-
shippable) plants in a month.  I'll try and remind myself to do it
tomorrow.

I'm still amazed that both capensis' I have are growing outdoors,
while the N. American species have gone dormant.

I've decided against trying to take leaf cuttings of my P. agnata
right now, since it's flowering.  Time to find an "implement"
to do The Deed.

###################
From: barry@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Wed, 2 Oct 91 22:10:08 MST
XSubject: Re:  Cannabis

Uh, dear officers of the law. I just got a bitnet message from Michael
Chamberland, who I've never heard of before. I don't know anything about him.
I think he must be a wacko. When you put him in jail please send his plants
to me, that is if he has any plants but I don't know because I've never met
him before. Any plants other than the illegal herb that is. Especially any
CPs, but as I said before, I don't know who the guy is so how would I know
if he has any CP

Anonymous Tip

P.S. Please don't read my name off the mail header above, unless he has some
good plants. (but not the herb)

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 91 15:22:50 +1000
Subject: Re: Poly and also Nemotodes

>>Yippee!  Our Polypomphlox tenella plants are sending up flower stalks,
>>so Doesn't seem to be that tricky to grow - the small clump of plants
>>we had self-sowed and is growing strongly.  I can't remember whether
>>we treated it as
>
>Sounds like you're doing well.  I've only had one plant from old Poly
>come up-- a lone multifida.  Didn't set seed though.  :(

Could be that multifida is a harder plant - never had the chance to grow it.

Are nemotode (worms) harmful to Utrics?  I removed a small tuft of moss
from one pot and several nemo's wriggled out (ugh!).  If only we had
some carnivorous fungi.... 

###################
From: Scott Brown <hsbrown@vices.Princeton.EDU>
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 91 15:22:50 +1000
Subject: winter rest

The weather is starting to get cool here in
New Jersey and will probably dip below freezing
some night in the next few weeks.  Since this is
my first winter growing CP I am a little concerned
with how to properly rest the plants.  I had almost
all of my plants outside for the spring and summer
and they did very well.  I plan on leaving some of
the plants outside all winter such as S. Purpurea
which grows in the wild nearbye.

I don't have a greenhouse but just finished making
a large light rack where I currently have my orchids.
The rack is in my bedroom where the temperature will
not get too low because I have to live there.  I have
2 options.  Leave the plants outside where night temp
will sometimes fall below freezing, or inside where
the temperature will not fall below 50 F.  Naturally
I don't want to kill any plants with the low outside
temperatures but I am concerned that the indoor
temperatures will not be low enough to start the
plants hibernating.

How low should the temp be to initiate hibernation?

I water my CP by leaving them in trays of water
which has worked well so far.  I understand that
during the rest period, watering should be reduced.
Should I remove the plants from the water trays and
occasionally water-from-the-top, or would it be OK to
leave them in the trays with a lower water level?

I know different plants will have different needs
but I am just looking for some rule of thumb
ideas.  I have mostly Sarracenia, Drosera, and
utricularia.

I am going to a wedding this weekend in Rochester NY
and planned on visiting Niagra Falls and Peter Paul
Nursery while I was in the neighborhood.  I called for
directions to the nursery this morning and was told
that they are not open to the public due to insurance
problems.  What a disappointment.

Scott

###################
From: Robert.Allen@Eng.Sun.COM (Robert Allen)
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 91 15:22:50 +1000
Subject: Re: winter rest

Regarding windering plants: I can only offer what I read
in Slack.  He wrote of a man who had a small bog garden
in a large planter.  The guy put 4" or so of live moss over
his plants when they went dormant, and left the whole affair
outside.  In the spring he removed the moss, which protected
the plants from a freeze, and they reportedly did well.

Perhaps you could pack the pots in compost, which if chosen
carefully will generate some heat, and put moss over the tops?
Keep the root system from freezing seems to be the mesg here.

>From sunny california,

robert

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Fri, 4 Oct 91 16:26:26 +1000
Subject: Re: Winter Rest

>I water my CP by leaving them in trays of water
>which has worked well so far.  I understand that
>during the rest period, watering should be reduced.
>Should I remove the plants from the water trays and
>occasionally water-from-the-top, or would it be OK to
>leave them in the trays with a lower water level?

We keep our Sarras in tray during the growth season (spring-early
autumn/fall) but then only water to keep them damp/moist during
dormancy.  Same for Droseras except we always water from the top (not
enough trays!).  Utrics can be kept in their trays all year.  Ours are
grown in a unheated glasshouse, but those in the bog garden survived OK
even though they were rained on often (the water table is about 4"? 
from the surface of the bog or less).  However, we didn't have any frost
problems this year (greenhouse effect?), so maybe that helped. 

>>Perhaps you could pack the pots in compost, which if chosen
>>carefully will generate some heat, and put moss over the tops?
>>Keep the root system from freezing seems to be the mesg here.

If freezing conditions are likely, you could try spraying mist all over the
plants.  The water freezes all over the plants and actually insulates them
from sub-zero temperatures.  At least I've seen it done for fruit trees
on some TV program somewhere.  You could also try plastic bottles as domes
or even plastic bags to make mini-greenhouses over your plants.

>>From sunny california,
>>robert
and sunny Australia

###################
From: Robert.Allen@Eng.Sun.COM (Robert Allen)
Date: Fri, 4 Oct 91 16:26:26 +1000
Subject: Ants

Ants: there still seem to be some living in my tearrarium, but
I normally only see one or two.  watering the moss my N. ampullaria
is living in doesn't cause them to roil up anymore either.  The
ampullaria is growing great guns: underground.  The normaly
meristem is growing ever so slowly, but underground there are
at least two full sized pitchers (for the plant size, I think it's
still young), plus more coming up.  Live spahgnum seems to be
an optimal growth medium for this species.  I've tried to look
at how the undergrownd pitchers are growing, and I don't think
the grow from a rhizome, as described in Randall Schwartzes book.
I think they just grow from vestigial leaves.

Robert

###################
From: barry@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Sat, 5 Oct 91 09:40:10 MST
XSubject: Re: Ants

>Could be that multifida is a harder plant - never had the chance to grow it.

Yeah, that must be it!

>Are nemotode (worms) harmful to Utrics?  I removed a small tuft of moss
>from one pot and several nemo's wriggled out (ugh!).  If only we had
>some carnivorous fungi.... 

I thought that nemotodes were practically microscopic? Anyway, I don't think
those little worms I believe you're talking about are harmful. Slugs can be
a real pain, though.

>some night in the next few weeks.  Since this is
>my first winter growing CP I am a little concerned
>with how to properly rest the plants.  I had almost
>all of my plants outside for the spring and summer
>and they did very well.  I plan on leaving some of
>the plants outside all winter such as S. Purpurea
>which grows in the wild nearbye.

Important topic, hibernation, and one I don't think you should
disregard.  Even plants that don't form real hibernacula or phyllodia,
but rather just slow down in growth, in my mind benefit from winter
dormancy.  I take a very dim view of people trying to grow various
plants (i.e.  tuberous Drosera) continuously.  So, each year as winter
approaches I inventory all my plants and give each an appropriate
treatment.  By far, most of the tropical Drosera and Utricularia in your
collections do not need any winter dormancy.  This includes D. capensis. 
The North American Drosera (excluding capillaris and brevifolia) can
take light frosts in my experience.  Obviously, plants local to N.Jersey
etc can take colder temperatures during the winter---with an important
difference.  Plants in the wild have a couple of feet of snow and ice
insulating them from the biting cold.  Plants in an exposed pot do not. 
In Arizona, I let them get down to about freezing for a couple of weeks. 
They'll come out of dormancy when they want to.  I keep a few plants in
the fridge if they like a very long dormancy (some D. anglica from Rob M
stay dormant 9 months out of the year for me!).  I think what is
important here is to not interfere with them when they are trying to go
dormant---trying to prolong their growing time seems to exhaust them and
then they can't form large enough winter buds when they finally do bed
down.  Same treatment with my Sarrs, except for northern or mountain
plants like purpurea purpurea, oreophila, or rubra jonesii.  These I let
FREEZE SOLID for a couple of months.  They LIKE it!  What is more, scale
and pests do not!  Freezing them is something I was worried about,
although grower Paul McMillan swears by it.  This last winter I did it
and they loved it.  I'm not talking about putting them in the freezer of
a refrigerator---that's probably too cold.  Anyway, with these
exceptions, most of your winter plants will do well just being kept
chilly---you know, 40--50 F with occasional frosts

I've got three different clones of intermedia from the USA, one supposedly
`Giant.' But it isn't too impressive. I have recently gotten a clone that is
actually larger, and produces big stemmy plants. It's also producing seed
and I think I'll have enough to stuff the mattress AND feed the soviets.
As for my Cuba and also my `tropical' and `Mt. Roraima' forms, these are
all plants from seeds (I think) that Rob M. sent me some time ago. Not
anything remarkably different in any way, at least not yet. I'll be
interested to see if they form hibernacula this winter.

>Anyway, I seem to remember reading somewhere (Slack, maybe?) that this
>species' seeds usually germinate quickly and easily.  So I wonder if maybe
>the seeds I got are either old or duds.  Has anyone else got these seed
>bank seeds to sprout??

I've had a couple seedbank Nepenthes sprout but that was a batch from
long ago. None of this new stuff came up. I didn't do anything fancy.
Just put them on the soil surface and waited. I thought I remember
reading (Slack, maybe?) that Nepenthes seed were fast to germinate, but
that doesn't seem to be the concensus of the people I know.

Well some news from the (radiatively chilled) greenhouse. My U. calycifida
from Christoph Belanger flowered and, much to my boredom, turned out to be
a clone of my `spotted flower' form. Snore. BUT, some good news from the
Byblis front. I attacked many individuals with my tuning fork and found
the following:

1)B. gigantea seems to have some swelling ovaries. Seems some pollination
efforts may have worked.

2)My B. liniflora `Kununurra,' which Allen thinks is a new species, has
finally succumbed! Up til now I have been entirely unsuccessful in getting
pollen. The tuning fork did the trick.

3)B. liniflora `Darwin'---tuning fork also works, but may not be necessary.
This plant is really civilized---you touch the anthers with the fork, and
the pollen is released and falls directly onto the (female) stigma. Quite
cooperative, and this was appreciated by me.

Also I am thrilled to note my specimen of Genlisea (hispidula?) from
Christoph is getting quite large and my leaf cutting from it struck! I
immediately took three more cuttings. If I build up a base of plants I'll
be able to start distributing them, as long as I don't do anything stupid.

Lastly, something VERY STRANGE has come up in my D. banksii seed pot.
I have never seen this plant, nor do I know anything about it. Well,
Something is in my pot which looks like a cross between a tuberous and
a pygmy Drosera. It looks most like D. pygmaea, but instead of forming a
snug ground hugging rosette it is erect, holding its leaves like a tiny
D. capensis. What is more, the elliptical leaves (1 mm across) are
bright red (lamina, the petioles are green), and peltate. I've never
seen anything quite like this plant. It is surely very similar to a
pygmy of some sort, but I have about 35 spp of those and this is
different. Anybody ever grown D. banksii? Does this sound like it?

Well, gotta go. What a pisser---I got pick pocketed this weekend.
Really annoying.

BAMR

###################
From: stuf <ASMJC@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Date: Mon, 21 Oct 91 18:34:58 MST
Subject: mjc

It looks like i have one N. tentaculata seedling up.

We just had a big plant sale at the Bot garden and I bought a nice
Melocactus azurius var.  pachycanthus, if any O' you are interested in
such things :-)  (It's a sky-blue barrel cactus from Brazil.  No
cephalium yet.)  Speaking of succulents, Barry; how is your Edithicolea
grandis?  Did it flower? 

MJC

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Tue, 22 Oct 91 12:53:10 +1000
Subject: Re: Genlisea

>>Recent "expeditions" to a local CP haunt (Langwarrin Flora and Fauna
>>Reserve) were quite successful.  Along the cleared fire break near the
>>car park are
>
>
>As usual, I was very irritated to read your account of seeing all those
>CP.  Really irritating indeed! 
 :-) 

> I have recently gotten a clone that is
>actually larger, and produces big stemmy plants. It's also producing seed
>and I think I'll have enough to stuff the mattress AND feed the soviets.

Sounds good - maybe you can swap us some of the seed (and uglinosa seed too?)
for the peltata seed (which is almost ready for posting to you all).

>Lastly, something VERY STRANGE has come up in my D. banksii seed pot.
>I have never seen this plant, nor do I know anything about it. Well,
>Something is in my pot which looks like a cross between a tuberous and
>a pygmy Drosera. It looks most like D. pygmaea, but instead of forming a
>snug ground hugging rosette it is erect, holding its leaves like a tiny
>D. capensis. What is more, the elliptical leaves (1 mm across) are
>bright red (lamina, the petioles are green), and peltate. I've never
>seen anything quite like this plant. It is surely very similar to a
>pygmy of some sort, but I have about 35 spp of those and this is
>different. Anybody ever grown D. banksii? Does this sound like it?

I know that many of the "rainbow" sundews (peltata etc.)  produce a
rosette of leaves before sending up the main stem, but never that small. 
I'll have a look at our books, but something that springs immediately to
mind is that for some reason, Erickson placed banksii at the end of the
drosera section of her book ("Plants of Prey").  This always puzzled me,
since it should have been with the other rainbows.  Maybe it is a weird
plant!  The other possibility is that it really is a pygmy "weed" - not
all of them are ground huggers (I think). 

******

According to Rica Erickson's book, it sounds like you've got a D.
banksii seedling!  "Lower leaves minute and withered, increasing in size
to about 1mm across (huge!) on very slender leaf stalks up to 5mm
long..." Suprisingly, it seems that this plant is not tuberous "..no
bulb." and may be an annual (not stated, but possible - keep your seeds
if you get any, just in case).  Now I know why it was stuck at the end
of the Drosera section... 

Some of our newer Utrics are flowering this year (yey!).  U. capensis
has a nice but small flower which is pale purple on the corolla with two
dark spots on the lower lip, just below the "large" (comparitively)
palate.  The upper lip of the corolla it quite pointed and
notched/divided.  Looks very nice.  The U. peltata and U. praelonga
(bought as a U. tricolor :-( ) have several flower stalks, as does the
U. pentdactyla and (of course) U. sandersonii, livida and subulata
(which is growing in most pots in the greenhouse - @#$#%^#$ weed!).  U.
menziesii looks like it's dead :-( I hope it managed to produce a tuber
or two...  Drosera binatas are all growing well and sending up flower
stalks.  Even the dichotoma "(not so) giant" is seeming to be growing
well for once... 

###################
From: barry@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 91 18:19:43 MST
XSubject: Re: Genlisea

>According to Rica Erickson's book, it sounds like you've got a D. banksii
>seedling!  "Lower leaves minute and withered, increasing in size to about 1mm

I looked at the library copy of this book (I still can't find a damned copy!)
and came to the same conclusion. I hope I can sustain the plant past this
first one.

>and U. praelonga (bought as a U. tricolor :-( ) have several flower stalks, as
>does the U. pentdactyla and (of course) U. sandersonii, livida and subulata

Sounds like you have a nice clone of bisquamata (capensis).  My clone is
a bit, well, bland.  Not well coloured.  Report back when your
``pentadactyla'' flowers.  It should look much like the bisquamata, but
with 4 deep notches (making the five fingers) instead of the two smaller
notches on the bisquamata (making the lower lip only three lobed). 

He told me something that irritated the $%&*@ out of me.  He said the
clump of U. resupinata I sent him is sending up scapes.  I'VE BEEN
GROWING THIS DAMN PLANT FOR A $%@# 2 YEARS AND HE HAS IT FOR 2 MONTHS
AND IT FLOWERS!  I'VE BEEN GIVING THE DAMNED PLANTS EVERY SPECIAL
TREATMENT I CAN THINK OF AND HIS FLOWERS IN TWO MONTHS! 

###################
From: barry@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Tue, 5 Nov 91 17:41:45 MST
XSubject: Re: Genlisea

>Subject: D. collinseae question.
>       In a nutshell, does it go dormant?  Mine is died back, I
>       think it's still alive, but I'm wondering if it's normal
>       or if this is life threatening.

No, at least not in the sense of regressing to a hibernaculum.  Mine do
slow down substantially after producing seed each year.  As the leaves
die back the plant gets smaller.  With any luck enough will remain so it
will come back to life next year.  If you still can, take a leaf cutting
as insurance (it's very good on leaf cuttings), since seed is much
slower. 

Anyone ever grow D. cistiflora to an appreciable size?  Mine is about a
year old and still less than 1cm across.  It is a red flowered clone and
I wanna see it flower! 

BAMR

###################
From: MAHARAJ@MCMASTER.BITNET
Date: Tue, 5 Nov 91 17:41:45 MST
Subject: D. cistiflora

>Anyone ever grow D. cistiflora to an appreciable size?  Mine is about a
>year old and still less than 1cm across.  It is a red flowered clone
>and I wanna see it flower! 

>BAMR

I have tried on many an occasion to reclimatize mature plants (normal and
var. zecheri forms) to northern hemisphere growing conditions but without
luck. Plants sent from South African growers in the growing state NEVER
grew and eventually rotted. One plant, however, limped along for one growing
season but never emerged the following spring. I've also got a red flowering
clone raised from seed which is at the 1 cm high mark - my most mature batch.
The working hypothesis for success with this species - as with most other
"difficult" South African species no doubt - is to keep it cool (10<T<20 C)
during the growing season while providing direct sunlight (> say 3-4 hours/
day). So its one of those plants that should do well right next to your
N. rajah!

Rob

###################
From: barry@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Wed, 6 Nov 91 17:20:56 MST
XSubject: Re: D. cistiflora

> So its one of those plants that should do well right next to your
>N. rajah!

Oh yeah, and under my man-eating plant of madagascar.

>plants have cut back on growth.  I have no doc on collinseae:
>is it tropical?

Jah mon, dat it is.

>Oh, what's the procedure for removing gemmae?  A mystery pygmy

Following Gordon Snelling's instructions in a recent CPN, I made an
aspirator and it works pretty well. If you don't have one of those,
I'd suggest putting some droplets of water on the gemmae mass, then
knocking them out with a toothpick, and using surface tension to carry
them away. What a pain, especially if you grow more than a dozen or so
species. The water droplet is really there to prevent gemmae from getting
flung a few feet into another pot, into the corner, up your nose, in your
mouth, and in your eyes.* Some gemmae, especially the flat ones like
pygmaea or X Badgerup, don't get propelled by the stipules this way.

*Yes, I've had every one of these things happen before I used my aspirator.

BAMR

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Thu, 7 Nov 91 16:14:49 +1100
Subject: Gemmae

>>Oh, what's the procedure for removing gemmae?  A mystery pygmy
>

(Probably mentioned this before, but anyway)  We use a piece of cloth, which
has holes too small for gemmae to get through but enough for air, tied over
the end of a vacuum-cleaner nozzle and simply suck them up!  CAUTION: make
sure your plants are very well rooted...
(cut down the airflow with more cloth if it's too much)

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|   John Taylor  [The Banshee]   |   Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology  |
|  s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au  |       (Department of Applied Physics)      |
|   MOKING IS A HEALTH HAZARD.   |        Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

###################
From: ATLAS@JHUVMS.BITNET
Date: Thu, 7 Nov 91 16:14:49 +1100
Subject: cp

Well, I didn't win the lottery, but my mystery seedling is DEFINITELY a
drosophyllum.  It kinda looks like a hand with 4 fingers reaching out of the
soil, with the two middle fingers rolled up.  However, the cotyledons are
very much underdeveloped...maybe this means not enough light??

Last night, I buried all my sarrs and dionaea in the backyard.  I have this
sinking feeling that this bury/dormancy thing won't work, but it seems to
be the best option.

It looks like I might also have a N. Fusca seedling growing, but it's
too early to tell for sure.  The other day, I read an old CPN article
that said it some- times takes 6 months or more for Nepenthes seed to
sprout, so here's to waiting!! 

Speaking of Nepenthes: Mike, the N. x Hookeriana you sent is doing very
well, and its first new pitcher, a nice FAT one, is about to open.  One
of the two aquatic utric's you sent is doing well, the other one bought
the farm courtesy of my cat, who knocked the container over.  Bad
kitty!!! 

###################
From: barry@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Thu, 7 Nov 91 17:15:47 MST
XSubject: Re: cp

>I usually don't get a chance to see the color - I just kill 'em as soon
>as I see 'em.  Use pyrethrum spray and make sure you hit them or it
>won't be any good (we bought concentrate - it works out cheaper and you
>can strengthen the mix if it didn't work the first time). 

Ever since Don Schnell told me he uses pyrethrum sprays without problems
I've been looking all over for it. The only place I've ever seen it is in
Tick and Flea dip. I've also been looking, fruitlessly, for malathion in
powder form. Don says he uses ``malathion 25% WP'' where WP stands for
``wettable powder.'' Seen plenty of Diazinon powder but no Malathion.
Apparently some of the solvents used in liquid malathion are potentially
CP unfriendly. On a related note, I read once that ``Round-Up'' (a
commonly used herbicide) is dangerous even though it claims it isn't.
Get this loophole: none of the *active* ingredients are dangerous to
people, but the 97% *inert* ingredients are! The inert ingredients don't
have to be detailed on the label. At least, this is what I've read.

>(Probably mentioned this before, but anyway)  We use a piece of cloth, which
>has holes too small for gemmae to get through but enough for air, tied over
>the end of a vacuum-cleaner nozzle and simply suck them up!  CAUTION: make
>sure your plants are very well rooted...

This is funny. No, I'm sure you haven't posted this information before!

My N. maxima hybrid from Don has produced a fantastic and big pitcher.
Simply lovely. This plant has gone to my very short list of favoured
Nepenthes, EVEN though it's a hybrid.

BAMR

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Fri, 8 Nov 91 12:46:45 +1100
XSubject: Re: cp

>Ever since Don Schnell told me he uses pyrethrum sprays without problems
>I've been looking all over for it. The only place I've ever seen it is in
>Tick and Flea dip. I've also been looking, fruitlessly, for malathion in
>powder form. Don says he uses ``malathion 25% WP'' where WP stands for
>``wettable powder.'' Seen plenty of Diazinon powder but no Malathion.

We haven't had any problems here.  You could try some of the other "herbal"
sprays such as garlic or even "Cleansel" (spel?) insecticidal soap - if you
can find them (disclaimer: I haven't tried either product, but they are
probably safe).  We have the liquid malathion products (aphid or catepiller
sprays) but prefer pyrethrum - not quite as nasty as the chemical brews.
Alternatively, get some pyrethrum plants/seeds and make your own!  I think
you mix powdered *unopened* flower buds (more pyrethrum in them) with
kerosene, and possibly dilute with water, but I'm not sure.

>>(Probably mentioned this before, but anyway) We use a piece of cloth,
>>which has holes too small for gemmae to get through but enough for
>>air, tied over the end of a vacuum-cleaner nozzle and simply suck them
>>up!  CAUTION: make sure your plants are very well rooted... 
>
>
>This is funny.  No, I'm sure you haven't posted this information
>before! 

Well, it really does work.  Just hold the "baffled" nozzle close to the
"rosettes" of gemmae and gently poke at them with a pen/stick/etc if they
are a bit stubborn.  Then put the gemmae coated nozzle over a sheet of paper
and turn off the power, and coax any stuck gemmae off the cloth.

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Sat, 9 Nov 91 09:35:12 +1100
Subject: Drosera auriculata

>John, received your D. auriculata seeds yesterday, Wednesday, the
>6th.  I planted them in a mixture of 1 part perlite and 3 parts peat..
>just scattered the seeds on the surface.  Don't know if this is
>correct...how long does it take to germinate?

Sounds fine, although I use sand instead of perlite (only recently
discovered a source for perlite & vermiculite - are there any plants
which LOVE these in the mix instead of sand?).  Germination varies, but
should be only a couple of weeks at the most.  Best just to keep them
watered and see what happens... 

>I got it yesterday.  Thanks much!  Are there
>any special instructions to plant them?  Currently
>I have them in the 'fridge.  Should I just plant them
>and keep them warm & wet, or do they require a regimen
>of heat/cold/fire, etc?

Just plant them!  Since they would be germinating in autumn-winter in
the wild, cool & wet is probably closer to the mark.  Fire would most
likely destroy the seeds - their tubers would survive the fire, so they
don't need to produce asbestos-lined seeds like other plants! 

>Subject: How does D. peltata grow?

Up of course!  :-)

>Mine has produced the rosette, but has not started climbing
>yet.  This got me curious as to what the cycle is for the
>tuberosities, or specifically, peltata.  How many months
>does it grow for?  Of that, when does it start climbing and
>for how long does it climb.  I sort of wonder why it starts
>as a rosette and then starts climbing later too.

It grows for up to 6 months (autumn-spring).  Actual times depend upon local
conditions, phase of the moon, stock market prices etc. etc.

"Climbing" as you put it is also quite variable.  Some plants I have had
(D.  auriculata dressed up as D. peltata) don't bother producing a
rosette, and just start "climbing".  Others spend a fair amount of time
as a rosette before producing a rather short "climbing" stem.  0-2
months in the rosette phase would be about right. 

The rosette may be for the plant to gain some energy before producing
the "climbing" stem - remember that it has been feeding off its tuber
while struggling to the surface.  The rosette may also act as a brace
for the stem to protect it against strong winds ...  any budding
engineers out there want to test this? 

Must dash ...  off to the Victorian Carnivorous Plant Society show -
details in a later edition! 

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|      Paul Taylor [Falcon]          Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology |
| C/O s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au            Melbourne, Australia.          |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Sat, 9 Nov 91 13:52:19 +1100
Subject: VCPS show

Usual assortment of CP's, in mediocre to great condition.  Best plant
IMHO was a Heliamphora heterodoxa *in flower*.  Also of interest were
some flowering Darlingtonia plants, but their traps weren't so great. 
Some of the prizes awarded to plants were rather strange - best exhibit
went to a large pot of Sarracenia purpurea ssp.  venosa (in flower),
which did not seem to me to have much to offer.  The sales table was
well stocked, but most of the plants on sale we already have in our
collection. 

A quick trip to Gardenworld on the way back turned up some new arrivals
- we ended up buying a Drosera falconeri and a D. petiolaris "true
form".  I've put them in our terrarium inside our greenhouse alongside
our D. adelae which is thriving.  Any growing tips for these two
species? 

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|      Paul Taylor [Falcon]          Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology |
| C/O s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au            Melbourne, Australia.          |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Sat, 9 Nov 91 20:31:14 +1100
Subject: D. falconeri

Just in case you (like me) have never heard of this species, here's a brief
description:

This must be one of the strangest looking sundews I've seen.  D.
falconeri has a rosette of Dionaea (VFT) like leaves, which have the
same broad leaf stalk but instead of the "bear-trap" it has an almost
perfectly round leaf.  The new leaves point upwards and when they open,
they gradually move down to ground level (judging by the young leaves on
my plant).  Most of the plants on sale had somewhat red-tinted leaves,
but mine is rather green (should change with sunlight).  I've no idea
what the flowers will be like, but the usual, dull white flowers are
more than likely.  Also in the pot (and one or two of the others) is a
small amount of Utric.  I'm hoping it's something different from what
we've already got, but I've a nasty feeling it's U. sublata :-( (at
least it came for nothing)

Does anyone know where this species originates from?

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Sat, 9 Nov 91 15:45:56 +1100
XSubject: Re: D. falconeri

>He doesn't get concerned with liverworts. He sort of likes them.

I normally leave them alone, even encourage them to grow (I like them
too), but I draw the line when they start smothering my Utrics.  Our
liverworts have small cup-like growths which hold gemmae or
spore-packets, with the usual ground hugging leaves with undersides
covered in fine roots.  I haven't had any of the "star-growing" species
for quite a while. 

BTW, picking them out of the pots seems to have worked - although
there's still some small plants in there which are likely to take off
again soon :-(

###################
From: dngess01 (Don)
Date: Sat, 9 Nov 91 14:57:48 -0500
Subject: CP

>Also in Gardenworld was a CP book by Juniper, Robbins, and Joel (can't
>remember the title).  Only the dust cover was on display (book behind
>counter), and at AU$145 (possibly more!) I haven't been game enough to
>have a look at it...  Has anyone seen this book?  Is it worth the
>price?  The label on the cover also states that there is absolutely no
>discounts available on it - what's the going price in the US/Canada? 

A CPN of last year lists this book as going for $150.  Not what I call bargain-
priced!  The college library has this book.  I think it's fairly interesting,
Barry doesn't like it at all - he said in a previous message that it contains
a lot of wrong information.  It looks like the authors took the CP literature
of the last 200+ years and re-hashed it into this book.

D. falconeri:
This species is part of the D. petiolaris complex.  It grows around the Finniss
River in the Northern Territories (wherever that is).  The Sept./Dec.  CPN
has a nice picture of D. falconeri on the cover, along with an article on the
D. petiolaris "complex".  An old article in CPN says the plant is found in
soils with an alkaline pH of 8.  This species may go dormant in the dry
season.

Pyrethrum:
I have a catalog from a place that sells Pyrethrum insecticide.  They
also have a gizmo, price of $43, that automatically dispenses the spray
every 15 minutes.  A month supply of Pyrethrum goes for $10.  Look
locally first from greenhouse suppliers or from places that sell organic
gardening supplies.  Also, check the labels, "Red Arrow" is the brand
name of one insecticide that contains pyrethrum.  I've been just using
Safer Insecticide Soap myself although it doesn't seem to kill scale. 
Also from the catalog, you can get "beneficial insects".  They list such
things as "scale predators", lady bugs, mantis egg cases, "mealybug
predators", "beneficial nematodes", green lacewings etc.  A recent
rec.gardens messages stated that a spray containing Ivory soap + water
was just as effective as the Safer insecticide.  The phone #'s for
getting free catalogs are 274-9676 and 331-3994 (both 1-800). 

D. collinsiae:
My plant is in flower.  Nice lavender flowers.  To the person who said the
plant went "dormant", try looking for beasties first.  I had two plants, but
one of them was eaten down to the ground by a slug.

###################
From: barry@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Fri, 8 Nov 91 19:45:51 MST
XSubject: Re: CP

This reminds me of something that happened when I was driving on the
Air Force base where I teach astronomy classes in the evening. I admit I
was driving a bit fast, and was pulled over. When prompted by the cop I
reached into my glove compartment for the vehicle registration. Well
earlier that day I had been sucking gemmae with my aspirator. My aspirator
is a glass erlenmeyer flask, with a rubber stopper with two holes, and a
couple of rubber hoses tipped with glass tubes.  All in all it looks a
lot like some form of exotic drug paraphernalia.  When my glove box
opened, this thing flopped out and the cop's eyes got REALLY BIG.  By
the time I convinced them I was not another statistic for the WAR ON
DRUGS, other cops had been called, and it was very exciting. 

>Speaking of all those insecticides etc. I sprayed one of my S. purpurea(?)
>with diazanon mixed with Captan and it died....

Must have been the Captan, Earl. I use Diazanon on Sarrs with no ill effects.

I got a letter from Gordon in which he addresses some of the E-mail topics of
conversation.

He says he winters Sarrs outdoors.  He only gets 2--3 weeks of frost. 
His purp purps from Canada don't do so well.  (I add that mine, which
get the deluxe northern Arizona catered hibernation service, attended to
by the lovely and talented Bridgett Meyers-Rice, do well). 

He also thinks hibernation is not induced so much by temperature drops as
decrease in light exposure. He said, for example, he's induced hibernation
in D. rotundifolia by putting them in the shade, same ambient temperature.

He doesn't get concerned with liverworts. He sort of likes them.

Don, he says he's ``not 100% sure in regards to the P. kondoi either. My
large plant at this point appears almost identical to a neighboring P.
esseriana.''

Davin, he grows Darlingtonia out doors in Southern Cal and its hot there.
He doesn't use chilled H20 but he does water daily. They sit in water. The
humidity rarely goes over 50%, but can go over 90% at night.

Rob Allen, The Nepenthes labelled K.K. Sabah means Kota Kinabalu Saba.
Hope that means more to you than it does to me!

BAMR

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Sun, 10 Nov 91 10:25:54 +1100
XSubject: Re: CP

>A CPN of last year lists this book as going for $150.  Not what I call
>bargain priced!  The college library has this book.  I think it's
>fairly interesting, Barry doesn't like it at all - he said in a
>previous message that it contains a lot of wrong information.  It looks
>like the authors took the CP literature of the last 200+ years and
>re-hashed it into this book. 

Why the ridiculous price-tag?  Surely they can't expect to sell many
(especially to poor CP enthusiasts).

>D. falconeri:
>This species is part of the D. petiolaris complex.  It grows around the
>Finniss River in the Northern Territories (wherever that is). 
>The Sept./Dec. CPN has a nice picture of D. falconeri on the cover, along 
>with an article on the D. petiolaris "complex".  An old article in
>CPN says the plant is found in
>soils with an alkaline pH of 8.  This species may go dormant in the dry
>season.

What?!  I was expecting it to come from deepest, darkest Africa (or
somewhere equally remote, not from our own "backyard"!  When was it
discovered?  (None of the books I have even mentions it - especially not
Rica Erickson's "Plants of Prey" a (once) fairly concise guide to our
native CPs).  "Complex" is definitely the right word for it - it doesn't
look anything like D. petiolaris!  What other plants are in this
complex? 

>Pyrethrum:
>I have a catalog from a place that sells Pyrethrum insecticide.  They also
>have a gizmo, price of $43, that automatically dispenses the spray every
>15 minutes.  A month supply of Pyrethrum goes for $10.  Look locally first

Well, pyrethrum is not absolutely safe for humans.  According to "The
Colour Dictionary of Herbs & Herbalism", "prolonged human contact may
lead to allergic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis and asthma".  So best to
use it only when required rather than every 15 minutes on the off chance
that you might catch an aphid sneaking into your collection...  However,
compared to most sprays, it is very safe to use. 

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Sun, 10 Nov 91 16:41:55 +1100
Subject: Nepenthes

After thinking that we had lost our N. mirabilis ssp.  echistoma (it
dried out even though the terrarium has an inch or so of water in the
base below the pots), it turns out that it is producing at least seven
new shoots along the stem.  (I'm not sure whether to be happy or not -
I'm sick of fussy Nepenthes!) The N. alata is still hanging in there
too, although one of the two stems may be dying back. 

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Sun, 10 Nov 91 16:49:04 +1100
Subject: drosophyllum

We're ordering some Drosophyllum seed from Fred Howell this week (along with
another 8 Utric. species :-)   What is the most successful method of growing
these seeds?  The only specific reference we have is Slack's double clay pot
set-up which is somewhat awkward.

BTW, there was a nice flowering example of Drosophyllum at the VCPS show.  I
wonder if it will survive the travelling...

###################
From: ATLAS@JHUVMS.BITNET
Date: Sun, 10 Nov 91 16:49:04 +1100
Subject: Re: drosophyllum

For a "simplified" nested pot method for growing drosophyllum, see the
September 1989 issue of CPN.  This method uses an inner clay pot with
no drainage, and an outer plastic pot.  The benefit of this method, best
I can tell, is that you can stand the (outer) pot in a couple of cm of
water.

I am kinda paranoid about losing my one drosophyllum seedling, so I plan
to "slack-pot" it once it gets a little bigger...

  "But daddy, I've got 4 leaves already!!  Aren't I big enough to be
Slack-potted yet??"

"No.  You'll get your outer pot when you get a little bigger."

  "But all the other lusitanicums at school have theirs already!!  Please??"

###################
From: MAHARAJ@MCMASTER.BITNET
Date: Sun, 10 Nov 91 16:49:04 +1100
Subject: Seed Bank Nepenthes and Mexican Pings.

Massive germination  from the N. rafflesiana (K.K.Sabah) seed and now
starting to notice mild germination from N. fusca and N. tentaculata after
about 3 months since sowing. Seed are on a 70:30 peat/spahagnum mix, enclosed
in a baggie and under lights at about 8 inches (20 cm). Temperature
fluctuates between 80 and 65 F during day/night cycles.

This weekend I ventured up to Guelph to visit "Magic" Hallchurch (aka. 
Grant) and his robust-growing collection which he grows under
flourescent lights in his cool basement.  He has some remarkable sized
P. zecheri plants exceeding 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter.  Very
beautiful lance-shaped leaves that color up with a light tinge of red in
good light.  One P. colimensis plant in winter dormancy had over 12
divisions and flowering profusely.  This plant looks very similar to P.
caudata except for slightly shorter leaves and flower characteristics
(fatter spur).  He claims that certain Mexican Pings require a basic mix
for better than mediocre growth, examples being P. gypsicola, P.
zecheri, P. X "George Sargent", P. moranensis rosei, and P. X "mola". 
One favoring an acidic mix is P. colimensis.  His mixes are 1:1
peat/vermiculite with 1 tablespoon of limestone (CaCO3) per 700 mL of
mix and pure milled Sphagnum.  I noted that the substrates for his
Pings.  are just barely moist.  I think that the most important variable
in his growing success is the cool temperatures afforded by his basement
(ca.  55-75 F). 

Rob M.

###################
From: Robert.Allen@Eng.Sun.COM (Email Mujahideen)
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 91 09:21:10 PST
Subject: Re: drosophyllum

>>For a "simplified" nested pot method for growing drosophyllum, see the
>>September 1989 issue of CPN.  This method uses an inner clay pot with
>>no drainage, and an outer plastic pot.  The benefit of this method, best
>>I can tell, is that you can stand the (outer) pot in a couple of cm of
>>water.

My setup is a drained clay pot, w/ "crockery" over the drainhole,
nested in the aforementioned shallow pot w/ soggy moss between
the inner and outer pot.  I still leave this in up to a cm of
water and have no problems, because the base of the inner pot is
about 1cm above the water.  Water is wicked into the soil through
the sides of the clay pot.  Plant seems reasonably happy, but
could use more sun.

BTW Barry, me not being an astronomer, and stupid to boot, I
couldn't figure out why I was getting less sun in my backyard
spot than I used to.  I thought about it, and figure it must
because the Sun is enscribing (?) a different path this time
of the year, rather than the local trees having gotten bigger.
My backyard gets a few hours of sun as the sun crosses east
to weast, but I'm boardered on all sides by trees and condos,
so right now I'm not getting much sun.  Does this sound reasonable,
or have the trees really grown that much?

r.

###################
From: barry@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 91 17:54:39 MST
XSubject: Re: drosophyllum

>This weekend I ventured up to Guelph to visit "Magic" Hallchurch (aka. 
>Grant)

>favoring an acidic mix is P. colimensis. His mixes are 1:1 peat/vermiculite
>with 1 tablespoon of limestone (CaCO3) per 700 mL of mix and pure milled
>Sphagnum. I noted that the substrates for his Pings. are just barely moist.
>I think that the most important variable in his growing success is the cool
>temperatures afforded by his basement (ca. 55-75 F).

Rob, this is good data (the laser printer is churning out a hard copy).
So he uses pure milled Sphagnum for the ones that like acidic, and the
peat/vermiculite with a smudgmo of CaCO3 for the others. Does he add any
CaCO3 via water occasionally? I suppose not too much since the solubility
of CaCO3 is none too high, if I remember those nasty chemistry tables
right. Also, does he make any effort to keep the acidic and basic pots in
separate trays? I'd love to see a first rate Mex Ping collection some time.
(at least our Australian comrades don't file reports about irritatingly
successful Ping field trips!) The only Non-USA/CANADA pings I've got are
lusitanica, moranensis, cyclosecta, ehlersa, and gysicola---the cuttings
you sent me some time ago were demolished in the mail.

>couldn't figure out why I was getting less sun in my backyard
>spot than I used to.  I thought about it, and figure it must
>because the Sun is enscribing (?) a different path this time
>of the year, rather than the local trees having gotten bigger.
>My backyard gets a few hours of sun as the sun crosses east
>to weast, but I'm boardered on all sides by trees and condos,
>so right now I'm not getting much sun.  Does this sound reasonable,
>or have the trees really grown that much?

Astro lesson 1: Take your latitude (I haven't the slightest idea of
where Palo Alto Cal is, so I'll guess 35 degrees N), and subtract it
from 90. That's the angular distance of the sun from the horizon at
noon on the Equinoxes (around Sept 22, March 22). At that time the
sun rises due east, sets due west.

On the longest day of summer, the sun reaches an elevation 23.5
degrees higher than this. It rises NE, sets NW.

The shortest day of winter, subtract 23.5 degrees, sun rises SE, sets SW.

The long/shortest days are on about June 22, Dec 22., not necessarily in
this order.

So anyway, the sun changes in max elevation by 47 degrees---that means a
big change in light and heating. So we get seasons. Voila!

>- Using my trusty old Crystal Light greenhouse w/ integral
>  24" (2) flourescents.

I'd try to get a little more light. I use 4 bulbs and stash my Nepenthes
in a 10G terrarium at work. It used to work fine until the X superba
humongus monster from Don B. started growing. Help!

BAMR

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Wed, 13 Nov 91 12:07:15 +1100
XSubject: Re:  drosophyllum

I've managed to locate the Finniss River on a map of the Northern Territory.
It appears that there could be a town called "Finniss River" near the watery
version (just a short, unlabelled, blue squiggle on the maps I looked at).
It's (very roughly) 50 kilometres SW of the capital, Darwin, and east (about
40? km) of Fog (?) Bay.  I've absolutely no idea what access could be there,
but if there is a town, maybe some sort of road/track exists.

>spot than I used to.  I thought about it, and figure it must
>because the Sun is enscribing (?) a different path this time
>of the year, rather than the local trees having gotten bigger.

That's more or less it.  The North Pole is pointing/tilted away from
the sun, whereas the South in pointing towards it.  In six months
time the roles are reversed.  So right now the sun is lower in the
sky, and up for less time, for you northerners, whereas down here
we are getting a higher sun for longer.
(Well, thats are pretty simplified explanation of it).

###################
From: Robert.Allen@Eng.Sun.COM (Email Mujahideen)
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 91 13:31:01 PST
Subject: office plants

I'm moving to a new office soon.  It will be a single
office, with no outside windows, so I'm looking to make
it a bit more liveable by growing some CP in my office.
Since our building is air-conditioned, it's pretty dry.
I'm thinking of one of two approaches:

    - A single potted plant w/ incandescent grow-light on a
stand, and a bell jar or clear plastic tube around the
plant for humidity.

    - Using my trusty old Crystal Light greenhouse w/ integral
    24" (2) flourescents.

In both cases I'm wondering if the suggested lighting would
be enough for good colour and growth (I'm not concerned about
blooms).

I'm also looking for species suggestions.

Thanks,

Robert

P.S. my attempts to pollinate P. agnata may have borne fruit.
The first flower stalk dried up, but the second seems to have
a swelling seed pod forming.  I'm going to try pollinating the
third and fourth flower as well.  I'll keep people posted as
to the success, in case anyone wants seed.

###################
From: barry@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Mon, 11 Nov 91 12:33:52 MST
XSubject: Re: office plants

>ended up buying a Drosera falconeri and a D. petiolaris "true form". 
>I've put them in our terrarium inside our greenhouse alongside our D.
>adelae which is thriving.  Any growing tips for these two species? 

I grew falconeri not very successfully for a year then it snuffed it. 
I've had petiolaris `Kununurra' for about 1.5 yrs and have done very
well with it.  It is my suspicion this plant does not like terraria
because the humidity may be too high?  Or maybe it is prone to fungus? 
In any event, it does very well in my greenhouse, full sun.  Temps range
around 30-35 C in the summer.  In the winter I let them chill a little
to maybe 10 C, but not lower.  This sends them into dormancy where they
stay for about 3--4 months.  Then they come back and flower.  No one has
had luck getting seed yet, unless you cross pollinate.  Following Allen
Lowrie's advice, I have mine in 50/50 peat-perlite.  I have mine in a
deep pot (13 cm), about 2.5 cm in water.  I don't know what I'm doing
right, but the plant is producing new growth crowns at its base.  The
one in the terrarium I had died. 

>equally remote, not from our own "backyard"!  When was it discovered?
>What other plants are in this complex?

It's a recent discovery---about 5 years back I think.  It was written up
in CPN then.  That explains why it wasn't in Erickson.  Allen Lowrie's
been doing a lot of field work on these plants.  He's found several
interesting forms of petiolaris, which may or may not be some kind of
distinct taxa.  From memory (which according to my wife, and despite my
claims to the contrary, is not infallible) there are

D. falconeri
D. lanata
D. dilatato-petiolaris
D. petiolaris
D. petiolaris "erect"
D. petiolaris "medium rosette"
D. petiolaris "mini rosette"
D. petiolaris "Kununurra"

>Also in Gardenworld was a CP book by Juniper, Robbins, and Joel (can't
>remember

Well, maybe not a LOT of wrong information.  Just some errors that lowly
little ol' me could detect.  I'm applying the tip-of-the-iceberg
principle.  If I can catch *these* errors, how many others lie
undetected?  Don Schnell reviewed the book and gave a very mixed review,
too. 

>Why the ridiculous price-tag? Surely they can't expect to sell many 
>(especially to poor CP enthusiasts).

>From the economics class I took in antedeluvian times, I think this is
called inelastic demand.  Whatever the price, there will be a fixed number of
buyers.  Mostly research and locations of higher learning.  There's no
cultural info.  My advice is to check it out from the library, and
photocopy the first couple of chapters since they contain some useful
information on habitats.  There are a couple of other interesting
sections, so hit those with the copier.  Copywrites be damned! 

###################
From: s883351@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU (John Taylor [The Banshee])
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 91 11:11:34 +1100
XSubject: Re: office plants

>I grew falconeri not very successfully for a year then it snuffed it. 
>I've had petiolaris `Kununurra' for about 1.5 yrs and have done very
>well with it.  It is my suspicion this plant does not like terraria
>because the humidity may be too high?  Or maybe it is prone to fungus? 
>In any event, it does very well in my greenhouse.... 

Actually, they are in the greenhouse, not in the nepenthes terrarium in the
greenhouse as Paul posted, so it may be OK.

>No one has had luck getting seed yet, unless you cross pollinate. Following
>Allen Lowrie's advice, I have mine in 50/50 peat-perlite. I have mine in a
>deep pot (13 cm), about 2.5 cm in water. I don't know what I'm doing right,
>but the plant is producing new growth crowns at its base. The one in the
>terrarium I had died.

The mix our plants came in definitely contains perlite, so it is quite likely
to be a 50/50 peat/perlite mix - they may actually originate from Alan Lowrie
but I can't be sure of Gardenworld's sources.  I even suspect that some of
their plants came from Fred Howell (same mislabelling ;-) )

>From memory (which according to my wife, and despite my claims to the
>contrary, is not infallible) there are
>
>D. falconeri
>D. lanata
>D. dilatato-petiolaris
>D. petiolaris
>D. petiolaris "erect"
>D. petiolaris "medium rosette"
>D. petiolaris "mini rosette"
>D. petiolaris "Kununurra"

Well, that's another two new species I haven't heard of before, not to
mention all the petiolaris forms... 

>>but I draw the line when they start smothering my Utrics.  Our liverworts
>>have small cup-like growths which hold gemmae or spore-packets, with the
>>usual
>
>I'd like to see this sometime. I've seen photos.

Assuming they're still alive, next time we send you seed I'll try to
send some gemmae (?), so you can have fun weeding 'em out of your Utrics
too! 

>Oh, in Jan Schlauer's plant list, he lists D. auriculata as being actually
>D. peltata ssp. auriculata.

Well, until I hear that it has been officially renamed as a subspecies of
peltata,  I'm going to continue calling it D. auriculata.  (and even then I
may not change the name - there are several differences between them that
should warrant it being a separate species, at least in my book).

###################
From: MAHARAJ@MCMASTER.BITNET
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 91 11:11:34 +1100
Subject: Mexican Pings

>Rob, this is good data (the laser printer is churning out a hard copy).
>So he uses pure milled Sphagnum for the ones that like acidic, and the
>peat/vermiculite with a smudgmo of CaCO3 for the others. Does he add any
>CaCO3 via water occasionally? I suppose not too much since the solubility
>of CaCO3 is none too high, if I remember those nasty chemistry tables
>right. Also, does he make any effort to keep the acidic and basic pots in
>separate trays? I'd love to see a first rate Mex Ping collection some time.

No CaCO3 added to water, though Joe Mazrimas swears by this method (CPN,
ca.  1978) but uses agricultural lime (Ca(OH)2).  I remember reading in
CPN that vermiculite is a special soil aeration medium in which the
CaCO3 or Ca(OH)2 can embed or 'hide-out' in its clefts or pores. 
Subsequent waterings can leach out the calcium salts into the growing
medium, thereby maintaining a slightly alkaline pH which most Mexican
Pings.  seem to appreciate or even need.  Thus a combination of alkaline
watering and growing medium MAY be too much for these calciphiles and I
would stick to one technique and not both.  He does not place his pots
in trays, as most Mexican Pings need good drainage.  Grant waters from
above -very mildly- when necessary, which is about once a week or so in
his naturally humid and cool basement.  I should correct my- self from
yesterday's message: P. colimensis will happily grow in BOTH milled
Sphagnum and the peat/vermiculite/CaCO3 mix and not just the former one. 
There appears to be certain species - P. colimensis, P. caudata, P.
agnata, P. pachuca and P. ehlersae - which do not favor a certain mix,
but time and further experimentation will tell. 

Rob (M.)

###################
From: barry@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Wed, 13 Nov 91 18:32:08 MST
XSubject: Re: Mexican Pings

>No CaCO3 added to water, though Joe Mazrimas swears by this method (CPN, ca.
>1978) but uses agricultural lime (Ca(OH)2). I remember reading in CPN that
>vermiculite is a special soil aeration medium in which the CaCO3 or Ca(OH)2

Something that perplexes me about this, and I don't know enough chemistry
for the answer.... It seems to me that peat is pretty darned acidic, and by
adding a little bit of CaCO3, which is pretty insoluble to boot, you wouldn't
do much to change the soil acidity. So, I contemplate several options...

1)In spite of my intuition, the soil does become alkaline.
2)Instead of needing alkaline, the Pings benefit from the Ca++ ions.
3)This is something ineffectual the CPer does to please him/her self.
4)Something else is going on (aka the cover your a** possibility)

Comments on acid/base reactions, Rob M? On the usefulness of Ca++ to plants,
Mike?

>On a similar subject, do crosses with bicalcarata inherit the fangs?

Yep! Now what you need to do is cross bicalc with a Nepenthes with a
broad, shiney red lip  at the entrance. (I think it's called the peristome).
That would be pretty obviously carnivorous!

>Thanks John.  Barrys computations sent me into a tizzy
>of math anxiety unmatched since I took calculus.  I don't

Critics, critics, critics.  :)

BAMR

###################
From: barry@as.arizona.edu (Barry Meyers-Rice)
Date: Wed, 13 Nov 91 18:38:03 MST
XSubject: Re: Mexican Pings

OK, its that time of the year again. I'm looking at my Nepenthes collection
thinking I don't really NEED all these plants. I'm looking to get rid of a
couple fully rooted hybrids, maybe even a species or two. I also have some
cuttings I could make. Here's the list if there are any takers.
The main  reason I'm culling my collection is to make room for that
fantastic N. X superba hybrid Don sent.

Plant                Origin     Condition           Comments

1)alata               Paul McMillan Plant           Very good clone
2)anamensis           Rob M.        cutting         sort of boring
3)gracilis            Mike C.       Plant           Good Pitchers
4)wrigleyana `Kosobe' Don B.        Plant
5)X hookerae          Gordon S.     Plant           Small pitchers
6)``X hookeriana''    Mike C.       Plant,          Excellent plant,
cutting         male, easy plant
7)X rokko             Gordon S.     Plant           Nice pitchers
8)X trichocarpa       Rob M.        Plant
9)X williamsii        Me            Cutting         Very easy

Other comments:

4)Jan Schlauer's list says this is the same as N. alata
5)=rafflesiana X mirabilis, see CPN 16:3:68
6)I don't think the ID is right. Certainly one parent is rafflesiana.
Dimorphic pitchers. A favourite hybrid of mine.
7)=maximaXthorelli, see Gordon Cheers' book, p. 2
8)=gracilisXampullaria
9)Super easy plant, will produce large pitchers freely.

Sorry I can't send these out of the US, Taylor-guys. Also, there is
absolutely no guarantee as to identification authenti