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Post by BarryRice on Oct 15, 2007 17:59:34 GMT
Hey folks, Recently I had the pleasure to tour Phill Mann's greenhouses. The plants were in great shape, but something that really amazed me were the magnificent Drosera schizandra growing in the mosses underneath his benches. These plants were spectacular. I have never seen this plant in flower before, nor had I seen plants showing so well the divided leaf tips that give the plant its species name. I thought I'd point them out here for your enjoyment.
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Post by rhillier on Oct 15, 2007 19:00:54 GMT
Thanks for the pics, Barry (and those in your book too!)... I got a schizzy back in the spring from Cooks Carnivores, which did well for a while and then died from the growth crown outwards. They were growing under two 48" fluorescents.
I thought I had lost the plant, but noticed that the two thick roots on the plant were okay... I was able to get 5 plantlets to spring forth... I have them further from the lights now, and while they're getting significantly larger with each new leaf, I want to make sure they're really happy this time around.
How "shady" would you say it was under the benches... was it the equivalent of "deep shade?"
Thanks,
>>> Rick <<<
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Post by RL7836 on Oct 15, 2007 20:07:05 GMT
Barry, Thanks for the great pics. Any idea what Phill is using for media?
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Post by BarryRice on Oct 15, 2007 21:10:33 GMT
1)I'd call it deep shade, yes. Those photographs I took, I had my camera sensitivity set to ISO 100, and shooting at about F27 the exposures were three seconds long!
2)I'm not sure of the medium. I think Phill told me that he once had sawdust underfoot in his greenhouse, but then earthworms got in and turned it to muck. This certainly wasn't anything he seemed to be working on to maintain.
B
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Post by Not a Number on Oct 15, 2007 21:35:39 GMT
As I recall these grow on decaying leaves in the wild. I suppose decaying sawdust isn't too far off.
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wadave
Full Member
He don't know me vewy well do he?
Posts: 283
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Post by wadave on Oct 16, 2007 8:32:47 GMT
Hi Barry,
I am fairly sure they are growing in moss (not sphagnum in this case if you look at the first few pics) which is sitting ontop of the sawdust.
Phill has moss growing like crazy in his greenhouses.
Dave.
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Post by picrophyll on Oct 17, 2007 14:34:28 GMT
RL7836 As Barry remembered the floor of my glasshouse was originally hard wood sawdust (Eucalyptus marginata) and was a great tidy substraight untill the earth worms enjoyed turning it into black castings. It is a real muck texture. There is sphagnum on the top of it where it has been dumped overtime but it only a thin layer. the plants are growing through that into this "soil" D. schizandra is allergic to strong light. Even in TC it has to be grown in half light or less. Natruarlly it comes from shaded areas of the rainforest. Cheers Phill
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mabudon
Full Member
Metal King
Posts: 29
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Post by mabudon on Oct 17, 2007 18:35:25 GMT
MAN.. rhilier is bringing me a specimen soon and these pics made me DROOL- what a weird looking beast that species is- I have a "tank" (actually a sideways fishbowl) in nice low light filled with D.prolifera and D.adelae and they are thriving like nobodies business.
They are in pretty much all sphagnum tho, substrate being "dead" at the bottom and a 1.5-2" thick pad of living LFS as the surface.
Should I add some peat of leaf mold or something?? I am thinking of starting my D.schizandra out in its own setup then trying some other things once I get it growing well.
Any suggestions there?? The "low light" will be NO problem, but substrate is a big question for me and reading this I am wondering if a more "rich" mix is required- there isn't much in LFS soaked with rainwater after all
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Post by andreasfleischmann on Oct 18, 2007 1:36:23 GMT
Fantastic photos of well grown plants. Barry, however the specific name "schizandra" refers to the split anther tips, not to the leaf tips All the best, Andreas
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Post by Dave Evans on Oct 18, 2007 23:12:52 GMT
Hello Andreas,
Yeah, if it were named for the leaves, the name would be more like "Drosera truncata", "Drosera hirsuta" or somesuch Latin phrase.
Beautiful plants Phill, and interesting photos Barry. I like the close of the flowers. I have only seen D. schizandra looking as happy once before, but Ed was only able to keep them happy like that for about eight months... And they didn't flower.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2007 0:50:55 GMT
the leafs on this plant really remind me alot of ibicela plants......do these plants get big or do they stay small?
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Post by jm82792 on Oct 21, 2007 23:30:57 GMT
Very nice ! I have not been able to even grow adelea .............
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Post by Aidan on Oct 22, 2007 9:49:49 GMT
do these plants get big or do they stay small? A large example would cover about the same area as the palm of your hand.
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Post by shartmeyer on Oct 22, 2007 14:50:30 GMT
Here is a picture of the flower, where the split anthers - responsible for the Greek name - are well visible: I grow several plants since about five years in the shade beneath a table inside our tropical greenhouse. The plants usual flower in spring. I found dried and pressed Sphagnum (after adding water ) the best growing medium. Living Sphagnum is OK, but tends to overgrow the plants, especially the new plantlets that emerge from the creeping root system. To show the size I added a 1 € coin.
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Post by picrophyll on Oct 22, 2007 14:51:49 GMT
The plants Barry photographed are between 15 - 18cm and seem to be fully grown. Cheers Phill
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