Re: Drosophyllum

Jos Franken (jfranken@pi.net)
Tue, 30 Jul 1996 22:25:29 +0200

> On Mon, 22 Jul 1996 23:29:40 +0200, Jos Franklin wrote:
>
> > I have sown [Drosophyllum] in a mixture of sand and peat, about
> > equal parts. I keep the substrate dryer than normal CP, about as
> > dry (wet) as my regular house-plants. There is a transparent
> > polythene pot on top, so the humidity must be fairly high. The
> > plants are in the shadow but receive enough light. The temperature
> > was a few weeks ago 20-25C (+/- 70F) and is now 25-28C (+/- 80F) The
> > seeds germinate very well, all within 4-8 weeks. They grow fast but
> > when they have about 4 to 5 leaves they wither and die in a few
> > days. There are no visible signs of fungus, parasites or other
> > diseases. I think my conditions are good, what can I be doing
> > wrong?
>
>
> I have seen Drosophyllum growing wild in southern Spain, and can give
> you a few pointers about its growing conditions that might help you.
>
> MEDIUM: All the plants I saw grew in a soil that looks like
> practically
> 100% very find sand with lots of sandstone rocks mixed in of
> various sizes. When it settles and dries, it is almost rock
> hard. I saw many of the largest, oldest, and
> healthiest-looking plants growing directly out of the cracks
> in large sandstone rocks. I didn't see a single plant
> growing in anything resembling peat. Why do so many
> Drosophyllum growers use peat ? The Drosophyllum habitat is
> about as different from a peat bog as I can imagine. It's
> hot, sunny, dry, and sandy. If your plants are already
> potted in peat/sand, you can probably leave them there with
> no problem, but just don't keep it moist all the time - keep
> it dry.
>
>
> WATER: Keep very dry most of the time, just moistening the top of the
> soil with about 1/4 cup of water every couple of days when it
> gets too dry. You can tell when the plants are too dry when
> the outermost leaves start to fall horizontal to the ground
> and the newer leaves don't grow as long as the previous ones,
> get slightly wavy at the tips and don't have much dew. Water
> in the evening or early morning before it gets too hot.
>
>
> HUMIDITY: Very dry. Take the cover off your pots, or else the plants
> may rot.
>
> TEMPERATURE: Yours sounds fine.
>
> LIGHT: Full sun, all day long. In the habitat I visited, I didn't see
> a single plant growing in the areas with partial or full
> shade. They all grew on the same side of the hills - facing
> south, with no obstacles between them and the sun.
>
>
> I don't know what part of the country you live in, but if you're in a
> dry, arid, sunny area you might consider growing them outside. I have
> one plant growing on my balcony that I transplanted from the habitat I
> visited (it was growing right next to the roadside, and was almost
> certainly doomed to get run over soon). Yes, you can transplant them
> if you're careful. It gets full sun all day long, a heavy rain about
> once every 3 or 4 weeks, and a little bit of water every 2 or 3 days
> in between. The daytime temperature gets up to 30-35C on most days,
> and 20-25C at night. It's been growing fine for about 4 months now,
> is getting bigger, and catches more bugs than all the other plants in
> my collection combined.
>
> I hope this helps.
>
> Gordon Wells

Gordon,

Of course this helps. The biggest mistake I made, was to give the seedlings
100% humidity. The seedlings are all dead, but a few seeds haven't germinated
yet. I have already removed the propagator domes so the humidity is now down
to 60%. Still to high I suppose, but with the wind almost always blowing from
the sea the air is always humid.

Thanks,

Jos Franken
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