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Post by chloroplast on Mar 8, 2009 14:30:47 GMT
Brian,
I have grown this plant for only 6 months but they seem to be doing fine in the following conditions: Grown under lights (6" under 160W daylight bulbs), 15 h photoperiod 1:1 peat:coarse silica sand mix in 6" deep pots Temperatures 60F's day, 50F's night. Light foliar spray with 1/4 strength urea-free orchid fertilizer monthly. Humidity 40-50% 1/4" water added to tray after it has evaporated for a few days
Best,
Ken
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Post by rsivertsen on Mar 8, 2009 15:16:33 GMT
rsivertsen Feeding regia with blood worm? (= mosquito larvae...... tubifex = sludge worm, sewage worms are entirely different) I would have thought the occasional mouse or rat would be more appropriate .... counting your arms afterwards. ;D Having said that ...the largest prey my plants have caught was a guinea fowl.... stupid thing.... how it got in there is a mystery.... luckily I was nearby and rescued and returned it to it's owners. No lasting damage occurred to either predator or prey ;D Hey Fred, yeah, nice plants! The frozen fish food packet I get at the local pet supply store says "blood worms for fresh water fish", but after I thaw out a small pop-out blister packet, they are indeed tubiflex worms. I use this to feed all my Drosera, especially seedlings, which require me to use a 5X jewelers loupe and needle tip tweezers to get the proper size piece placed into the small seedling's leaves, without smothering the whole plant, which could kill it. I've tried fruit flies, and other things, but invariably, these things get so moldy that they resemble some old Q-tips swabs with fibers all over the place. These worms don't seem to do that, even when I over feed them, which only causes the leaf to decay prematurely. The D. regia leaves curl up like corkscrews, and takes some time and patience to spread out the food to the entire leaf, especially those that are over 12 inches in length. Too much in a small spot of the leaf will just cause that part of the leaf to "burn" and decay. After a month or so, the base of the plants swell to a larger size and often produces new very thick fleshy roots. Older plants seem to produce long, unbranching roots that are nearly woody, but have a pink growing tip to them. With all the plants that you have, why not try an experiment, and feed one or two plants heavily, and note the difference in their growth compared to the rest!? I grow them in NJ Pine Barrens sand, because I originally wanted to see if they might have some mycorrhizal associates, as many plants do which also have thick, fleshy unbranching roots both orchids and some ferns (Botrichium sp.), and I harvested this sand in such a place where those plants grew, leaf litter and all, both oak and pine needles. Whatever it is, they seem to be growing very well for me, well fed and all. I hope to see them flower soon, and try to get some seed to increase the genetic diversity of these plants. - Rich
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Post by Not a Number on Mar 8, 2009 16:00:08 GMT
What is commonly sold as Blood worm are the larvae of non-biting midges of the Family Chironomidae. They superficially resemble mosquito larvae.
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Post by killerplants on Mar 8, 2009 16:19:41 GMT
Hi Rich, I take it this is the same kind of sand you would find D. filiformis growing in? Sounds very interesting.
Cheers,
Joe
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Post by rsivertsen on Mar 8, 2009 16:45:59 GMT
Yes, exactly! Many people, myself included, have remarked about how the best Dros, always seemed to grow in these sandy areas, which is another reason why I switched to this stuff; but I collected the sand in an area where there are several native terrestrial orchids growing close by, in hope of capturing some of the mycorrhyzal associates as well. The sandy mix is nearly all black, a dark charcoal gray color, with a lot of organic matter and detritus and of course residue of the fire ecology of the area as well. The sand itself is a paper-snow white fine silica sand, and can get washed, and separated from the detritus in some locations, and a quick drive-by, one might think it's a snowy embankment they were looking at! - Rich
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Post by quogue on Apr 19, 2009 4:21:06 GMT
I's just like to add a couple pics to this thread if that's alrighty... D. Regia 'Big Easy' I grow em cool, loose and not too wet... they're voracious too, should feed em again soon. Pics are a few months old.
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ksnive
Full Member
D. Regia Seedling 4/3/09
Posts: 17
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Post by ksnive on Apr 19, 2009 5:40:00 GMT
I've had the same 2 D. regia in cultivation now since about 1995. Biggest secret any one can learn about regia is that just because it looks dead above the soil doesn't mean it is. I've had all the leaves die off three or four times now. Keep them cool & moist not soggy and they can & will come back. My regias summer outside every year. They will be moving out of the GH in another week or two when I'm sure frost is done for the season. Last fall I was a bit late getting them back into the green house. They got a frost and they are both doing fine today. In fact I've got 4 or 5 volunteer seedlings from last summer's seed. It will also go easy from root cuttings taken late in the fall and kept cool & moist thru the winter. They can handle more moisture when temps are below 60 Deg. F than they can above. Keep the potting mix a bit sandy. Frosty making it's come back. 3 of the new babies I think I caught the last one with it's mouth full. Kevin
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Post by rsivertsen on Apr 19, 2009 14:27:08 GMT
I've moved all my D. regia plants to pure NJ Pine Barrens sand and grow them in relatively shallow pots, and other containers. They get very wet (I use distilled water), but dry out quickly. They don't seem to like conditions too warm and humid, like the steamy lowland Nepenthes conditions. They really do respond very well to feeding. I feed them "blood worms" which are some kind of mosquito larvae, (and doesn't get moldy on the plants); I had a closer look at them, and indeed they really are large red mosquito larvae (and not the tubiflex worms that I thought they were.) I can load up every leaf that has functional dewy tentacles top to bottom. The leaves curl up like corkscrews afterward, and within a few weeks, the base of the plants swell and grow larger, more roots are formed, and the entire plant makes a jump in growth. Like most Drosera, they can't seem to get too much sunlight. During the late Spring after the threats of frost, I set them outside on the lawn, where they get direct sunlight nearly all day long. The morning humidity at ground level, with the dew covered grass seems to provide the plants with enough moisture to last all day. I've never seen them flower yet, and look forward to having them flower so that I can get some seedlings with more genetic diversity other than the "Big Easy" that I have. Last year, one large plant died back, and when I pulled it out of the pot, I noticed live roots with pink to white tips. I set it down in the basement in damp sand, and after about 6 weeks, a new basal growth emerged, and produced a very healthy new plant. - Rich
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Post by chloroplast on Apr 19, 2009 19:54:43 GMT
Matt,
Great plants!
Is the booze the secret to your success?! ..spray a little on the leaves once a month?! ;D
The 'Big Easy' and typical clones you gave me at the last show are coming along nicely. They're coming out of "dormancy" and putting out many new leaves.
Ken
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Post by quogue on Apr 20, 2009 13:49:50 GMT
Hiya Ken, The booze is fer me! the plants get bugs... Catches lotsa moths! Craneflies, japanese beetles and bluebottles too. At least in the warmer months.
Glad to hear those plants are doing well for ya, hope to see em at the big show!
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Post by chloroplast on Apr 21, 2009 20:07:05 GMT
Hi Matt,
No booze for the 'dews?? Awww....
This July (2nd Saturday), I've arranged to have Michael Szesze of carnivorousplantnursery.com give a Powerpoint and hands-on presentations to the NECPS on how to build and maintain an outdoor bog garden. He's also going to bring some plants for sale. We may also go to the Great Swamp to see the Sarracenia and sundews. It may be worth making the trip from New York.
Ken
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Post by quogue on Apr 21, 2009 23:42:03 GMT
I'd certainly like to Ken, it's a fun group to hang around for sure ;D
Woulda liked to do the Holiday party and Uconn too... might be able to get to the Black Jungle BBQ I hope. I have been wanting to check out the Great Swamp. We'll see what's up with the time & $$(gas, ferry) That presentation does sound too good to miss!
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jimscott
Full Member
Tropical Fish Enthusiast
Posts: 122
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Post by jimscott on May 11, 2009 14:26:07 GMT
I'm no expert on this species having killed a TC pot of them and struggling to get my current plant through the winter. I got this plant last year and kept in on the tray method, at a south window sill. The first growth point died but a new node had mercy on me and produced a new growth point. It has been in a perpetual cycle of one leaf emerging; one leaf peaking;, and one leaf dying. The leaves had been only 1 inch long. I recently repotted it to deeper and wider pot and moved it from the sill to the rack, where it gets mostly artificial lighting. It also does not get any appreciable day/night temperature differential. It did recently participate in an unexpected fungus gnat feeding frenzy (above) and now the leaves are 3 inches long. I plan to take the plant, along with the rest of my pygmy sundews, outside for the next 5 months (as soon as inside and outside temps are comparable). Then it will to the sill again for winter.
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