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Post by bluemax on Feb 7, 2011 8:13:31 GMT
I now have 5 D. regia seedlings growing in a 4 inch pot in my terrarium. I have killed at least 5 others due to excessive moisture, as I was warned, but I've since dried-out the soil by approx. a third of the moisture content and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I find it ironic to look at the five Byblis liniflora seedlings, the oldest of which is producing its fourth set of true leaves, and consider that the soil conditions in that pot are exactly the same as originally in the D. regia pot. I have had no Byblis casualties. My other Drosera do well at these moisture levels as well. D. regia is, indeed, a very different thing. While I am hoping that I have seen all the losses that I will have I am keeping a close eye on things - and keeping additional seed in 'fridge should it all go bad! 'Quite a challenge so far. But lots of fun!
I like your seedlings pic, RL7836. They look great.
I completely agree! Thank you!
To Joseph, RL7836 and all others who are joining in the attempt: Success to our endeavors!
- Mark
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Post by bluemax on Feb 24, 2011 4:58:45 GMT
O.K. So, a progress report. I am now down to 3 seedlings but 2 of them are growing quickly and are opening their third true leaves - the third plant being much younger. The larger 2 are about .75 cm high. They seem to just be enlarging visibly as well as getting more leaves. I'm about to steal some springtails from my P. 'Sethos' to feed them. They're just the right size! I attribute all of my losses to fungus but I think that is finally under control. Hmmm. I am confidant enough that I added 3 more precious seeds to the pot, but kept several others in the refrigerator just in case! 'Photos coming soon. - Mark
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Post by joegriffin on Mar 19, 2011 18:33:09 GMT
Ron, What kind of sphagnum are you using? Thanks, Joe I've germinated seed of Drosera regia about four different times through the years. I never managed to keep seedlings alive beyond about 1/2 inch tall. Like Joseph, I have had my fair share of struggles growing D. regia from seed to maturity but I'm trying again.... I sowed 24 seeds on Jan 14 and had 21 sprouts on Feb 2. Great germination imo. Thanks to whoever donated fresh, viable seeds to the seedbank! :hail: Now comes the part that has been historically difficult for me - keeping them alive ... :0o: Not much to see - but here they are (2.5" pot)(looks like I should have used a larger pot):
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Post by RL7836 on Mar 21, 2011 19:58:20 GMT
What kind of sphagnum are you using? Hi Joe, Sorry that I didn't see your question for a while. The LFS that I'm using wasn't from one of my specific cultures so it could be from many locations - possibly even from some that was sent to me with a plant in a trade. In the past, when I used live LFS for seeds, it naturally overgrew them. When I used dead LFS, it sprouted all sorts of other stuff that overgrew the seeds. If I cooked the LFS (live or dead), I usually got even more 'stuff' overgrowing the seeds than without cooking. Peat-based mixes (cooked or uncooked) also grew stuff that overwhelmed the seeds or seedlings. A year or two ago, I cooked some live LFS and treated it with Trichoderma when it cooled down. After keeping it covered for 3-4 days, I planted seeds with a humidity dome over the pot (which keeps humidity high and extraneous airborne spores mostly excluded). This approach has worked better than I ever expected. The cooked & treated LFS stays in the same unchanged condition for months and seeds germinate & grow well. Since I've had issues with seedling D. regia in the past and John's write-up suggests that they needed additional fertilization, I filled a pot (3/4 full) with a peat-based mix (peat, aps, sand, cypress bark) and covered that with my treated LFS (approx 3/8"). Knock on wood, so far this crazy mix has kept them all alive and thriving. Here's a blurry pic from a week ago...
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Post by joegriffin on Mar 21, 2011 20:54:32 GMT
Beyond my expectations in intricacy, lol. It looked like dead sphagnum with algae growing inside, because of the greenish tinge to it, but not growing. Do you do your Sarracenia with the same formula? Where does one get Trichoderma these days/
Thanks,
Joe
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Post by buckcity on Mar 22, 2011 0:52:16 GMT
Wonderful success. I can't wait to see if any of the seedlings have unique qualities.
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Post by bluemax on Mar 22, 2011 5:21:25 GMT
Great-looking little plants, Ron! 'So many, too! What kind of environment do you have them in? Outdoors? Greenhouse?
- Mark
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Post by Bogiron on Mar 29, 2011 14:49:47 GMT
Ron, thanks for the details about how you planted the D. regia seeds. I hope your plants are still growing.
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Post by RL7836 on Mar 29, 2011 16:08:50 GMT
Beyond my expectations in intricacy, lol. It looked like dead sphagnum with algae growing inside, because of the greenish tinge to it, but not growing. Do you do your Sarracenia with the same formula? Where does one get Trichoderma these days/ My apologies for not checking back on this thread (again). The description of what I did probably makes it sound more 'intricate' than it really is. I cooked up some LFS and treated it. Then I placed some of that over some peat-based media mix I was using for some Sarrs and other stuff. I haven't started any Sarrs from seed for a number of years. They haven't given me many problems in the past so I don't know if I'd go to the trouble of doing this. I started using this for seeds that I've had either fungal or moss or algae issues with in the past (mostly dews & utrics). This approach has been working for me so I'll probably keep using it - very nice to not have to search for seedlings amongst the mosses... The Trichoderma that I originally used was from a place called "Grow more Rice". They had developed or isolated some strain(s) that helped rice production. I really liked the idea of strains that thrived in the wet boggy conditions (vs forests, grasslands, etc). Their product came as a fluid in a vial which I used for my 1st 2 or 3 years. The 3rd time I went to re-order, I had a lot of difficulty getting anyone to respond. A year or so later, I got an email from a rep who said they had reformulated and now had effervescent tablets of Trichoderma. They sent me some samples (which I have yet to use). Av8tor1 has shared a bunch of articles on Tricho and mostly uses this stuff. Based on his recommendation, I've primarily been using the Ampac Tricho for a few years. Wonderful success. I can't wait to see if any of the seedlings have unique qualities. Unlike VFTs (or even Cephs), D. regia hasn't appeared to show much variability so I'm doubtful that my less-than-discerning differentiation abilities will notice anything (but who knows?). Having some different genetics for new seeds shouldn't be a bad thing ... ;D Great-looking little plants, Ron! 'So many, too! What kind of environment do you have them in? Outdoors? Greenhouse? Ha Ha! This one cracked me up. Other than my Sarrs, VFTs & 'outside' Cephs - everything lives under lights of one form or another. These little guys are in a 2.5" pot sitting in a mini-water tray with a 'humidity dome' over them (aka: trimmed clear dixie cup). I think this is commonly called a ghetto setup. Here's a pic (from a few minutes ago): I didn't expect such excellent germination - it looks like I'll need to start moving some before I really wanted... Let's hope they keep growing well ... Based on John B's excellent tutorial on D. regia, I've been fertilizing two of the seedlings each week with a dilute orchid fertilizer (applied via q-tip). These two seedlings have not grown any differently than their siblings so I'm guessing all of the plants have adequate nutrients for now.
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Post by bluemax on Apr 3, 2011 8:16:16 GMT
These little guys are in a 2.5" pot sitting in a mini-water tray with a 'humidity dome' over them (aka: trimmed clear dixie cup). I think this is commonly called a ghetto setup. I love it! You can't argue with success. Your plants look super healthy to me . I really am going to post some photos of my two remaining soon. After I stated I would earlier two promptly croaked and I had to make some serious changes. - Mark
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sundewman
Full Member
Happy Growing!
Posts: 235
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Post by sundewman on Apr 4, 2011 23:49:42 GMT
Congrats Ron, they look wonderful!
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Post by bluemax on Apr 5, 2011 6:51:50 GMT
O.K., here are the promised photos - such as they are. The remaining two. I am using an American dime, about 1.8 cm. in diameter, for scale. Due to the lousy angle of the camera the plants are a little larger than they appear. The largest one is about 1.5 cm. across. The pot is 4" across. My biggest problem in terrarium culture of the seedlings was with fungus, which wiped out maybe eight others before I took the last two and transplanted them from the peat/perlite mix I was using into New Zealand lfs with a layer of grated lfs on the top. This has pretty much cured all my fungus problems. Now I have planted my remaining precious D. regia seeds in the same medium. I'm watching and hoping that the time they spent in the refrigerator hasn't done them in. The leaves on the seedlings are becoming more elongate and upright with each new one and there is now plenty of dew on the tentacles. This wasn't so before I transplanted them as they had very poor root development. Fortunately the little plants didn't seem to mind being transplanted. - Mark
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sundewman
Full Member
Happy Growing!
Posts: 235
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Post by sundewman on Apr 12, 2011 21:54:41 GMT
Your seedlings are looking very nice and robust, Mark. Keep up the good work. Have you been able to feed them yet? Looks like you have, from their size.
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Post by bluemax on Apr 16, 2011 19:38:07 GMT
Thanks for your comments, sundewman. I have been feeding them, though mostly the springtails in the terrarium have been doing that for me. The little devils make life easier regarding many of the other inhabitants as well. It's that seedling time of the year, I guess. - Mark
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Post by bluemax on Jun 1, 2011 4:29:48 GMT
An update: One of the two plants has passed, fungus again. But the other one is prospering. In addition I have one seedling from the last remaining seeds I planted. Germination numbers were much poorer than in my first batch. Maybe my simple refrigerator storage wasn't good enough. I suspect that others have had. possibly much greater, success. How's about it guys? - Mark
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