Re: Tuberous drosera in northern hemisphere

John Taylor [The Banshee] (rphjt@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU)
Thu, 19 Aug 93 09:22:52 +0000

>I was wondering about the maintainance of dormancy cycles in
>tuberous Drosera grown from seed in the northern hemisphere. Since
>these Drosera are normally dormant during the summer, is it an
>increase in temp (and decrease in water) that brings this on or do
>these plants maintain their circadian rhythm on a Southern
>hemisphere schedule even if they are grown from seed in the
>northern hemisphere (ie do they insist on growing between May and
>September)?

It is probably a combination of both heat and water, but the watering seems to
be more important. It is best to try and grow these in the cooler/wetter
months, as they do in their natural conditions, as you are less likely to rot
the tubers. In the northern hemi, you should be growing them through late
autumn (fall for US readers ;-) ) 'til spring, or until they start to die off
before dormancy. Apart from keeping the plants happy, it gives some interest
and color to your collection during the boring winter months when nothing much
happens... The best time to plant seed for tuberous sundews is during these
cool months so that the cycle starts of right (ie. the seedlings have produced
tubers ready for the summer dry dormancy). You could probably re-adjust the
growth cycle of mature plants by carefully delaying watering each year, but
this could be a little risky, not to mention time-consuming.

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