FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I planted a few from last year's crop of Regia and Droso seeds to test germination and viability.
I have 5 Droso seedlings between 3/4 inch and almost 2 inches tall.
I have 8 Regia seedlings that are about a quarter inch tall, maybe a little more.
I gave them their first feeding today.
I used MaxSea mixed at 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of distilled water.
I used a tiny hypodermic syringe with an even tinier needle.
I filled up the syringe then I depressed the plunger until the most minute bead of liquid appeared on the tip.
I try to get the bead of liquid to be about the same size as the glue droplet on my Sundews.
Then I touch the MaxSea droplet to the tentacled drop of dew/glue.
Each plant got one microdrop.
I'll probably feed them again in about two weeks.

Such an attentive plant poppa!

Just something interesting to note, although you might already know this, on the ICPS page Growing Drosera regia there's these bits

Unlike every other Drosera species I know about, Drosera regia appreciates soil fertilization.

[...]

For me it is too much bother to foliar feed Drosera regia as much as it needs in nutrient-free soil. It does not take much fertilizer in the soil to make the plants happy. I use 4 to 6 high nitrogen Osmocote™ pellets per plant or pot each spring. The amount of fertilizer needed is more than most Drosera can tolerate. Even the fertilizer leakage from the pots into a shared tray can be detrimental to other Drosera and Dionaea.

[...]

There are reports of people having trouble with the seedlings dying after the plants have a number of true leaves. Some growers believe this is the result of damping off fungus. Usually damping off fungus kills seedlings earlier and I would think most bog/fen plants should not be susceptible to a wet fungus. In my experience, the seedlings decline because they are starving to death. I tried leaf feeding with hydrated dried blood worms (fish food). It helped but was not easy for the smaller plants. Putting 5 Osmocote® Outdoor & Indoor Smart-Release® Plant Food (19-6-12) pellets into the soil of the 8 cm wide pots saved the plants. I would wait to put the pellets into the soil until after the plants have 4 true leaves to minimize the growth of moss and cyanobacteria. With 4 true leaves the plants will be large enough and grow fast enough not to be bothered even by moss. With that much fertilizer it is best not to grow Drosera regia in the same water trays with other Drosera. I grow them with my Sarracenia seedlings which get the same amount of fertilizer.

Found here: https://www.carnivorousplants.org/grow/guides/Dregia

Shadowtski wrote: ↑Thu Apr 27, 2023 6:24 pm I planted a few from last year's crop of Regia and Droso seeds to test germination and viability.
I have 5 Droso seedlings between 3/4 inch and almost 2 inches tall.

I've been wanting to try Drosophyllum for a looooong time but don't really have that kind of room. So let me ask you, what do you do with yours? Grow them under lights in your basement all year? Sun room? Keep them outside in the summer and then in the basement for the winter? Something else that's far more clever? 5 seems like a lot, I don't even have room for one.

Huntsmanshorn wrote: ↑Fri Apr 28, 2023 10:23 pm I've been wanting to try Drosophyllum for a looooong time but don't really have that kind of room. So let me ask you, what do you do with yours? Grow them under lights in your basement all year? Sun room? Keep them outside in the summer and then in the basement for the winter? Something else that's far more clever? 5 seems like a lot, I don't even have room for one.

My motherplant is in a 10 inch pot and takes up a lot of room but each seedling is only in a 2-1/2 peat pot (for now).
Mother lives outside from May/June until the first frost.
She goes into the basement under good lights until the next Spring.
I'll probably put all 5 peat pots into a large 10 inch or so pot this Summer and let them fight it out.

Shadowtski wrote: ↑Sat Apr 29, 2023 2:48 am My motherplant is in a 10 inch pot and takes up a lot of room but each seedling is only in a 2-1/2 peat pot (for now).
Mother lives outside from May/June until the first frost.
She goes into the basement under good lights until the next Spring.
I'll probably put all 5 peat pots into a large 10 inch or so pot this Summer and let them fight it out.

Okay, thanks, that's interesting, but how do you keep it from getting too much rain? As I understand it they must be kept sort of semi arid during the summer, or they die.

My media is very open.
It's about 90% open coarse stuff like perlite, and granite chicken gravel, and only about 10% peatmoss. I top water it and the pot does not sit in a tray. Rain runs right through it. The big plant is about three years old or so.

I recall there being a member on this or another forum who reported a Droso seedling popping up in his bog garden. He had enough plants so just left it to see what would happen. From what he reported, surprisingly it did fine until winter came.

Thanks for sharing, this would be very useful for me in the next few months!