Some Drosera hilaris shots

[bluesboy]

Hi; I haven't posted in a while; thought I'd share some of what's been going on- I've been growing about 15 D. hilaris plants, each from seed for the past 3 years or so. It's considered to have the same kind of growth habit as cistiflora, etc, but this is not really true in the wild, or in cultivation for that matter, since my source of the seed actually collected in the wild, and said that the plants never truly go dormant.

No flowers yet, but some are obviously alba, lacking any pigment at all, which is curious because in a batch of wild collected seed I wouldn't expect the amount of alba individuals that I've ended up with. I'll post later how I've been able to grow these guys successfully. My hope is to establish enough flowering plants to get seed and spread it around- this is truly a remarkable plant, and not too hard if you respect certain things;

One of 'em


Some with other 'dew relatives




Enjoy, more to come..... see ya, Nick 'bluesboy'

[Clint]

That is fabulous! We don't see this species nearly often enough! I hope you get to spread it around widely!

[Sean Spence]

Nice plants. Mine are also coming along nicely. I'm assuming the plants I've grown are from the same source as yours- Silverhill Seeds. Can't say that I've really noticed any plants that may prove to be albino forms. The species in general is much paler than other South African species. I guess we'll need to wait for flowers to be sure. I have 5 pots with varying amounts of plants in each. I'd say there would be a total of 50-60 plants. All were deflasked from TC in August. As it is currently summer here, they do not look their best, but certainly do not seem to be heading towards any sort of dormancy, whereas other species such as D. ramentacea & cuneifolia are struggling a touch.

[stephend7]

I just got some D. hilaris seeds. What are the secrets?

[Brian Barnes]

Nice plants guys...Kudos! Sean, you mentioned D. cuneifolia. Does D. cuneifolia have a definite winter or summer dormancy?
Happy Growing,
Brian.

[Sean Spence]

drosera5150 said:

Nice plants guys...Kudos! Sean, you mentioned D. cuneifolia. Does D. cuneifolia have a definite winter or summer dormancy?
Happy Growing,
Brian.

No, it depends upon how hot the plants get during summer in my experience. Whether or not you let them flower also seems to affect how they grow during the hotter part of the year.

All of my plants definitely slow down and decrease in size during summer. Those that I let flower quite often revert to a small tight bud atop the surface of the substrate. Rarely do they die back completely as do other South African species such as D. cistiflora or D. alba.

Those that I remove the scape as it emerges usually halve their size at the peak of summer and slowly increase in size as the cooler days in autumn/fall arrive.

I have also noticed that different forms of D. cuneifolia behave differently. Those from the Silvermine area seem more prone to dying back than do those from other areas of Table Mountain.

In regards to the question on growing D. hilaris from seed. I can't accurately answer that. Those that I have grown from seed have been very slow and are yet to be anywhere near mature (after 2 years). Those that I had put into TC are now mature and motoring along.

Sean.

[Brian Barnes]

Thanks Sean! Very interesting, it does make sense...I moved a few of my D. cuneifolia plants inside into my grow chamber, with a sixteen hr. photoperiod. They are now producing smaller, tighter leaves and are taking on more of a "pinkish" color on the leaves and glands. The forms i have is very pale/yellow- green and unfotunately it came without locale info.
Since we are in Winter solstace here in Florida, applying a Summer photoperiod definitely contributes to the dormancy trigger. It seems more of a photoperiod thing, than a temperature thing in my opinion...
I also have several D. alba, entering into flower. Do you grow yours the same as your D. cuneifolia?
Happy Growing,
Brian.

[stephend7]

bluesboy said:

Hi; I'll post later how I've been able to grow these guys successfully. ...- this is truly a remarkable plant, and not too hard if you respect certain things;

I jus got some seed from this plant and want to plant and grow them. I don't have easy access to TC and wanted to know what the "secret" is. I need to plant ASAP.

Thanks,

Stephen Davis
[e-mail]