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icenine_gw

Pygmy Sundew Help

icenine
16 years ago

hey,

A few months ago, my Drosera nitidula x pulchella made lots and lots of gammae. After a pause, the two mother plants started growing again, and after finally getting established, they seem to be going down hill; one, the smaller of the two, has already died. I'm not too worried, because i now have tons of these little guys. But if i did something wrong, i'd like to avoid this mistake in the future, and maybe even save the remaining mother plant. I read somewhere that these are quasi-biannual, so maybe its just "their time."

The plants are in my terrarium in a tray of distilled water getting 16 hours of artificial light from two compact fluorescents, which have been enough for all my other CPs.

Comments (6)

  • la_countessa
    16 years ago

    We keep them on hand for insect control. I never looked into Pygmy dormancy. Do they have a dormancy period?
    CV

  • petiolaris
    16 years ago

    They do have a cyclical growing pattern, based upon the harsh hot & dry summers of Australia, with cooling rains in the fall. They also see changing photoperiod. Pygmy sundew dormancy, as it were, is more the dieback they can have in the dead of summer.

    My first thought is that something is wrong with the media, though I wouldn't bet the bank on it. If you have any gemmae I would pot them up in fresh media.

  • icenine
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    The soil is the medium i got in it last summer, from Sarracenia Northwest, which seems to have a lot of vermiculite in it. Perhaps then i should re-pot it. I remember reading somewhere, however, that pygmy's shouldnt be repotted frequently, something about forming a symbiotic relationship with bacterium in the soil around their roots.

  • hunterkiller03
    16 years ago

    Leave your pygmies be. Don't repot them! They really hate having their roots disturbed, even if you repot them with its original media, the will die. That's why they are shipped potted or by gemmae. I still grow mines in their original pots and soil when I bought them from CA Carnivores 2 years ago. The best time to repot them is when they are just coming out from dormancy.

    Of all the sundews, pygmies like a well draining soil. That's why the usual mix is 2 parts sand and one part peat, sometimes vermiculite or perlite is added to aerate even more the media. In my experience, when I grow my pygmies in the 'open', I do keep their media moist by dish method. But if I grow them in a terrarium, I just keep the soil slightly damp because the high humidity in their media will cause root rot and kill your pygmies, they cannot tolerate high humidity like most sundews.

    Always make sure you water them with distilled water or purified water, never water with tap as minerals and the chlorine will kill them.

    They do have a dormancy period but they can be grown year around without any ill effect on them. As long as you maintain the same photoperiod all year long, they will growing continuously.

    Good luck and happy growing!

  • la_countessa
    16 years ago

    Thanks for the info.

    I am concerned about the absolute of "never watering with tap water or they will die". Maybe more accurate to say some public water supplies can affect the plant adversely. I water with tap water. If I have time to run to the local pet shop to get a de-chlorinator, I do. If not, they get tap water. I haven't lost one yet.
    CV

  • petiolaris
    16 years ago

    Granted, tap water varies... but it's like teaching a child the absolutes before the relativities, so they at least know what does work. I know distilled, deionized, and RO work. But I also use rain and snow and have used stream and creek water as well. And if one is desparate, tap water is water and can be used in an emergency.

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