Rotundifolia question...

[mphampel86]

Hey, guys. I'm currently rearing some carnivorous plants in a bedroom. These plants will all be moved to outdoor bog planters in early April. All are temperate and will be introduced to outdoor seasonal changes and dormancy patterns.

I ordered a few Sundews a few weeks ago. They've since arrived and under artificial lighting are recovering nicely from shipping. My Drosera rotundifolia is the only Sundew that is planted in live sphagnum moss that is planted in the medium. Now, my question - when transplanted to the outdoor planter, how necessary is it for the rotundifolia to be planted in live sphagnum? Does anyone have any experience growing this Sundew right in the peat/perlite medium?

[marcel]

Never grow it any differently when I planted it, though it IS a weed in sphagnum too.
You might want to go light on perlite and put some coarse sand in the mix though.

[mphampel86]

Jan 25, 2017 19:42:58 GMT marcel said:

Never grow it any differently when I planted it, though it IS a weed in sphagnum too.
You might want to go light on perlite and put some coarse sand in the mix though.

Agreed, I've been giving a lot of thought to reducing the perlite percentage and adding a sand mixture.

[hcarlton]

D. rotundifolia is an easy plant to grow in just about any decent CP soil; however, live sphagnum may outgrow it, and a more standard peat soil might be better in the long run.
Also, they tend to like cooler conditions and will stall or even crash if summers are hot...

[mphampel86]

Jan 26, 2017 1:18:04 GMT hcarlton said:

D. rotundifolia is an easy plant to grow in just about any decent CP soil; however, live sphagnum may outgrow it, and a more standard peat soil might be better in the long run.
Also, they tend to like cooler conditions and will stall or even crash if summers are hot...

Sounds like the rotundifolia might not be the best idea for the outdoor bog planters. The back of the building receives full sun and it gets quite hot. At least I know the Flytraps and Sarracenia will enjoy it.

[hcarlton]

If they're shaded enough by other plants they can probably still do well, or if nights are cool; my days can exceed 100 F in summer and I have some in my pots outside amongst the Sarracenia, but nights nearly always get below 65.