intro/drosera pollination/portland area growers

From: mike wilder (it_290@hotmail.com)
Date: Wed Oct 13 1999 - 12:22:58 PDT


Date: Wed, 13 Oct 1999 19:22:58 GMT
From: "mike wilder" <it_290@hotmail.com>
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg3554$foo@default>
Subject: intro/drosera pollination/portland area growers

hello,
my name is mike wilder, and i've been growing cp's in terraria for 5 years.
i grow most of the carnivorous genera, but i mostly focus on drosera and
nepenthes. i currently live in portland, oregon, though i was fortunate
enough to have studied at uc berkeley, which allowed me to be a member of
the outstanding bacps for 2 years. i also collect cp literature and have a
fairly nice library. anyway, on to a couple of questions:
1) My D. paradoxa has just sent up 2 spikes. i would very much like to
attempt to pollinate the flowers. i've read the oft-repeated "use a
water-color brush to pollinate", but i wonder if anyone can give me more
detailed advice. specifically, should i attempt to rub flowers from each
spike together, and/or transfer pollen from one flower to another? (this
assumes that both spikes will bloom simultaneously; an assumption which may
or may not be justified.) or should i just try to self-pollinate any flower
using a paintbrush? also, how long should i wait before attempting to
"harvest" my seeds? i've never before made an active attempt to pollinate a
sundew, so any info for this "virgin" would be much appreciated. also, has
anyone successfully taken leaf-cuttings from this species? if so, please
give details on compost, humidity, light, etc.
2) i've had difficulty getting in contact with the northwest cp society.
also, my impression is that the group meets but once a year, and that i've
missed this year's meeting. i would very much like to hear from any
portland-area growers who might like to meet for plant/information exchange.
In closing, some of the info. i've requested might be of general interest,
while some might be better addressed directly to me. my address is:
it_290@hotmail.com
thanks in advance, mike



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