Re: Drosophyllum conditions

Glenn Rankin (rankin@saiph.hpl.hp.com)
Thu, 17 Mar 94 13:55:29 PST

>
>
> Most of my Drosophyllum seeds are sprouting now, so I have a question.
> I am about to double pot the seedlings, and understand they are native
> to much dryer conditions than other CP. Can someone comment about
> humidity and temp. requirements? Do they need low humidity?
>
> I was toying with the idea of putting some outside, but would hate to
> commit involuntary vegacide.
>
> Tom in Florida
>
>

My son has been growing two Drosophyllum plants outside for three or
four years now (Early on, one of these plants was completely uprooted
by a raccoon, but that is another story). His plants have grown best
when the daytime temperatures are in the 60s and 70s. On summer days
they get three or four hours of midday sun which is diffused by
translucent plastic. On hot days, when it gets to the 90s or low 100s
the plants seem to temporarily suffer a bit. The plants are grown in
pots that drain well and don't have a saucer underneath to hold water.
When the leaves start to droop a bit, the medium around the plant is
watered (up to several times a week). Recently, someone else (Robert
Allen I believe) posted typical humidities for the area that I live
in.

My son's plants are bushier and more compact than ones I've seen that
have been grown in a greenhouse.

I have done some experimenting, and it appears that this species
doesn't mind getting a wet crown for short periods, as long as the
temperatures are in the 40s or 50s, but if it is warm -- hotter than
70 deg F -- wet crowns promote fungus that starts to affect the plant
in a day or two and kills it within a week. I suspect that you should
be wary of the combination heat + humidity there in Florida and be
especially careful not to get the crowns wet on warm days.

I think it's an especially handsome plant if you don't remove the dead
leaves. Being dry and brownish gray, they provide a striking contrast
to the exquisite green of the fresh growth sprinkled with red inside
the mucilage drops.

When the plants are a year or two old, they should produce beautiful
yellow flowers. With our plants, we have not assisted the pollination
and gotten 4-10 seeds per flower. I am told that if use a small
paintbrush to pollinate, you will get more seeds, but they will be
smaller.

Good luck!

Glenn Rankin
rankin@hpl.hp.com