Question

Terracotta pots   QUESTION: Hi Jeff!

Hope all is fine privately and with the plants!

I currently have sown fresh seeds from following plants in big terracotta clay pots.

Byblis liniflora
Drosera regia
Drosophyllum lusitanicum

For all I chose big terracotta pots and sow the seeds in their final pots directly. As far as I am right, all three don磘 like to be repotted, don磘 like it to wet, and enjoy good temperatures (except for cool nights with D. regia).

So I sow the seeds on their fav?soil mixtures, covered with a plastic sheet and water from tray as long as no seedlings are seen. Soil is moist, but not wet like it would be for a Sarracenia or Drosera... Humidity should be high, however, as it is on a south windowsill, from 11 am to 3 pm i open the cover a bit to prevent from overheat. As soon as the water in the tray is consumed, I refill it.

Am I doing right according to you? I hope so! It has been set up 3 weeks ago, I am looking forward for any greenish seedlings soon, hopefully.

Is it right that I should slightly fertilize Drosera regia seedlings or they might die due to the lack of "nutrition"?

Thank you for any comment and experts advice!  

Regards from Cologne, Germany.

JP

P.s: attached a photo how it looks like.

ANSWER: Hi JP,

Here's some things to know about each plant.

Byblis liniflora:  This is a true bog annual.  Grow it just like typical sundews.  They do like it warm, so keeping it in the 70F and warmer is good.  They do like to be very wet.  It's a very different plant from Byblis gigantea or B. lamellata.  Those two would be set up like you're doing.  The terracotta pot will be ok, and those seeds are too tiny to try and move once you've planted them, so just go with it.  Keep the pot in water all the times.

Drosera regia:  I haven't personally grown D. regia from seed.  If you haven't read this already, it's the best advice I know on growing this plant:  http://www.carnivorousplants.org/howto/GrowingGuides/D_regia.php  The fertilization does help, but don't overdue it.  Do you have access to the pelleted time-release fertilizer in Germany?

Drosophyllum lusitanicum:  This set-up is great for these.  Did you scarify the seeds?  If you didn't, be very patient.  They could take a long time to germinate.  Remove the covering as soon as you get germination.  High humidity will cause problems with Dewy Pines.  Also, they grow very fast once you get germination.  They will catch little bugs, and then bigger stuff as they grow.  You should see respectable size plants in about 4 months after germination.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.growcarnivorousplants.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Jeff,

thanks a tons for your ultra-fast reply and good advices!

We do have Osmocote in Germany, one seller even advised me to throw 1 pellet on my psittacina "big globose traps" once a year and growth would just boost... Actually I wonder about those pellets, if on a spot, how can they release the fertilizer gradually, and how can be over-fertilizing be prevented if the pellet is just on a spot near the plant?

Now a few questions come into my mind regarding the seeds Jeff... I read that Drosophyllum, but also Byblis are supposed to sprout in just a few weeks... Now I am in the 3rd week, getting impatient but nervous at the same time... I did scarify the Drosophyllum seeds as you showed on your Grow CP DVD, but I have a second pot with unscarified seeds, just to see the difference in germination rate/speed.

Also I was wondering, since my Byblis soil, on the second day after sowing, once was a bit too dry, so I wonder if seeds can dry out if they have not germinated? Or can only germinated/open seeds dry out if not moist enough?

Merci et bonne journ閑!

Cheers,

JP

Answer
Hi JP,

Osmocote and similar time-release fertilizers have a polymer coating that releases the fertilizer at very gradual, but fairly consistent rate.  You control the amount of fertilizer the plant is getting by the amount of the pellets you place in the soil.  What you are were told with the S. psittacina is correct.  Since they don't catch very much in cultivation, you can see a dramatic change in growth by using Osmocote.  Plants we are selling I will put four pellets in a square pattern in a 4" pot to evenly distribute the fertilizer.  Avoid putting them right next to roots.

Byblis liniflora takes about a month to germinate, so you have some time still.  Scarified Drosophyllum seeds should start germinating right around day 15.  Watch them for problems with damp-off.  This is another reason I'm not a fan of the covering for Drosophyllum seeds.  They come from a semi-arid climate, so if the seeds are just buried a couple millimeters, you're going to be fine.  If it's been three weeks, you should be seeing germinations now.  Unscarified seeds can take up to a year to germinate.

If your Byblis seeds didn't dry out for a long time, they should be fine still.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.growcarnivorousplants.com