Question
hello, i have susessfully got a seed of drosera regia to grow in tc as well as a drospyllum lusitanicum however the regia is gettin big and i have a tank for it im gona se up soon. What are the conditions for a regia its seems to thrive in the jar at 25 deg celc in the day and like 18-20 at night dep on season, they will get good light and i will plant it in a big put w peat or spagnum which is better? also i have a HPS 400W light i want to use over my terrarium but it feels really unsafe to me as it is in my room over a terrarium. Im thinking of purchasing a nice small one from a nursery that is prof made and looks great and runs on husehold power, would this still be safe if i had a fa on it to cool it? and the one at the nursery is $169 dollars , im only 17 and that exp for $8 an hour(mind u ive spent like 500 on plants once) but if its worth it iwill buy it but is it in the long run for my nepenthes/ thanx for all the help. PS do u have any other pointers i should know on D.Regia?
thanks kindy ,,

Jessy

Answer
Hello Jessy,

Good going on growing your D. regia and D. lusitanicum. The main pointer for D. regia is about temperature, and you seem to be having no problem about providing that. D. regia needs cooler temperatures at night and prefers its roots cool in general. D. regia also needs a lot of light, so full sun in a south facing window or very strong florescent lights is a must (so long as your plant gets a minimum of 12000 lumens 4-5 inches from its leaves if artificial light is used it should be fine). You will not need a terrarium for D. regia, it can adapt to low humidity like a house plant if you do so slowly, so long as your household humidity is over 15%. Your plant will grow more robustly and will be less likely to suffer from infections from root rot and fungus.

Sphagnum peat and long fiber sphagnum or live sphagnum all work well. If you use peat you will need to mix 1/1 perlite to the mix to give drainage and aeration to the tightly packed peat fibers.

You might also ask this question of Sarracenia Northwest as they have more experience with D. regia than I do.

Christopher