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By Intheswamp
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#420829
I've got some d. brevifolia plants that came in a dense, dark small-grained sand medium. I'm thinking I need a similar medium to pot them in. Something like a peat moss and sand mix...possibly a 40/60 peat/sand ratio. Would this seem about right or should I go with even more sand? Also, I've read that brevifolia grows in drier conditions than most other sundews.

Anybody growing this that want to share some tips?
Thanks!
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By Panman
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#420830
I've grown mine in 50/50 peat/perlite with now issues (other than forgetting to water them). It is important to know that brevifolia is typically an annual or biennial. You will ant to be sure to collect and sow seeds.
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By Sundews69
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#420831
Ooo, brevifolia, nice! Where'd you get them? I think your typical Drosera mix would be fine but that peat/sand mix would work just as well. It does grow in drier conditions and I would assume it is a pretty tough plant - it's been found growing in sidewalk cracks in Texas! Also, like Panman said, make sure to keep an eye out for seeds because they typically grow as annuals.
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By NightRaider
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#420833
Yeah I haven't kept mine any different than any of my other similar species. 50/50 peat+perlite/sand, water 1/4 up the pot. Have had another one isolated with water nearly to the top when I refill and it's done fine too. My first one died after flowering, but the rider that came with it flowered and I kept it alive by feeding it during and after it flowered. It's probably been around a year and a half now and still looks perfectly fine, though I wouldn't really expect it to last through another. As for seeds, they seem to have a lot longer germination time than others for some reason. I had a tube I gave up on after a 2-3 months, tossed it aside and rediscovered it several months later with ~50% germination of extremely etiolated seedlings. Just dumped them unceremoniously in a pot and covered with plastic wrap and managed to get several to take. They're like a smaller, much more finicky capillaris ime, but still manageable at least.
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By Intheswamp
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#420834
Panman wrote: Mon Sep 26, 2022 5:12 pm I've grown mine in 50/50 peat/perlite with now issues (other than forgetting to water them). It is important to know that brevifolia is typically an annual or biennial. You will ant to be sure to collect and sow seeds.
Thanks for the feedback, John. I may reconsider the perlite. Just had the bad experience of the perlite splashing all over the place. These are tiny plants so I'm not sure how top dressing with LFSM will work. How do you deal with the perlite splashing onto them.

I had read where they will most likely die off and come back from seedlings. Even that they produce seed in the spring, die out in the heat of the summer, and sprout in the moist, cooler autumn.

As for forgetting to water... Last week was a rough week and I was away from the house a great deal. I had three 6" pots with some 3-4 month old flytraps growing in them. Probably between 30 and 35 seedlings. I think I might have ten now. :( But, that's ok...I can grow more. :)
Sundews69 wrote:Ooo, brevifolia, nice! Where'd you get them? I think your typical Drosera mix would be fine but that peat/sand mix would work just as well. It does grow in drier conditions and I would assume it is a pretty tough plant - it's been found growing in sidewalk cracks in Texas! Also, like Panman said, make sure to keep an eye out for seeds because they typically grow as annuals.
We sold some property probably 15 years ago to an old family friend. I was gathering firewood at the time and he told me to help myself to firewood or anything else from the property and gave me a key to the gates. I got to thinking about the sandy land, old pines, and the moist areas on it. :D

What is kind of crazy is that years ago me and my gardening buddy used to go arrowhead hunting in different fields and on fresh clear-cut/logged lands. I can remember seeing threadleaf sundews and red rosetted sundews, usually around some hot, muggy, wet areas in clear-cuts that we usually detoured around. I can picture them well but for the life of me have no idea in what direction they were in, much less the specific spots. Back then they were just a "sticky-looking plant". :roll: I've got a place over on a small creek (where the "Intheswamp" comes from) that I'm going to scout out. There's a couple of spots that *might* be good ground for some sundews but I'm afraid they may have too much overgrowth. I've got some friends around the county I'm going to ask if I can look for snotgrass on their properties...you'd think it'd make them think I was crazy but it's too late...they already think that! :mrgreen:

I may go with a peat/perlite/and sand mix. Maybe the top inch just sand and peat moss. I'm just shy of the perlite up top. :?
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By Panman
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#420835
Intheswamp wrote:How do you deal with the perlite splashing onto them.
That's a good point. I always top dress my pots with sphagnum, either long or chopped. that seems to tame the perlite. Using sand instead of perlite should also be fine.
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By Intheswamp
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#420836
NightRaider wrote: Mon Sep 26, 2022 5:54 pm Yeah I haven't kept mine any different than any of my other similar species. 50/50 peat+perlite/sand, water 1/4 up the pot. Have had another one isolated with water nearly to the top when I refill and it's done fine too. My first one died after flowering, but the rider that came with it flowered and I kept it alive by feeding it during and after it flowered. It's probably been around a year and a half now and still looks perfectly fine, though I wouldn't really expect it to last through another. As for seeds, they seem to have a lot longer germination time than others for some reason. I had a tube I gave up on after a 2-3 months, tossed it aside and rediscovered it several months later with ~50% germination of extremely etiolated seedlings. Just dumped them unceremoniously in a pot and covered with plastic wrap and managed to get several to take. They're like a smaller, much more finicky capillaris ime, but still manageable at least.
From what I've been reading it does sound like a bit more complicated care is required for these lilliputian sundews. I'm warming to the idea that I can keep them pretty much as I do my other sundews. I'll keep that in mind regarding the germination time required. Hopefully I can keep these going for years to come...at least a succession of them! :D Thanks for the info!
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By Intheswamp
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#420837
Panman wrote: Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:02 pm
Intheswamp wrote:How do you deal with the perlite splashing onto them.
That's a good point. I always top dress my pots with sphagnum, either long or chopped. that seems to tame the perlite. Using sand instead of perlite should also be fine.
I will say that I had a styrofoam minnow bucket that I transplanted a bunch of Walmart (separated) rescues in. I had a terrible time with the perlite in that and in some smaller pots with some small traps and some d. capillaris. I finally set down one day and took the time to carefully poke, prod, twist, and shove pieces of BetterGro moss among the flytraps. Since then we've had some good rains and I haven't had a problem with the perlite (of course I had picked and blown lots of the perlite off the top surface beforehand, too).

The d. capillaris plants are fending for themselves but I've about gotten rid of all the surface perlite...there's probably over a dozen plants spaced out in a 5" pot and they've been blooming and setting seed like crazy for a couple of months now. I noticed yesterday I've got several tiny new seedlings growing...they're growing better than seeds I've handplanted. :roll:

I planted some small traps a while back and decided to top dress with sand. I'm finding that it can splash similar to the way perlite does, though not as much. I'm still weighing whether I'll continue to use sand for a top dressing. It looks good, but does splash a bit. I think, as you mentioned, that LFSM (chopped or otherwise) is the best answer. The moss also seems to help retain moisture around the plants...like a mulch should. Since putting the moss around a pot of small purple flytraps (thanks MikeB!!!) they seem to be growing much better. :D

One thing that I'm very interesting in is finding out how this bale of Majestic Earth peat moss compares to the ultra-trashy Tractor Supply Greensmix that I've been using. It will be very interesting to see whether plants grow better in the ME moss. :?:

Thanks for all the great advice!
Ed
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By Intheswamp
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#420838
One more (for now :mrgreen: ) question.

How big do these sundews get? An inch? Three-quarters of an inch?
By Sundews69
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#420839
Intheswamp wrote: Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:23 pm One more (for now :mrgreen: ) question.

How big do these sundews get? An inch? Three-quarters of an inch?
Mature plants are usually about 1/2 inch across, but can be up to an inch
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By NightRaider
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#420840
Intheswamp wrote:How big do these sundews get? An inch? Three-quarters of an inch?
Just measured, my oldest plant is a whopping 3/8" in diameter. I'm pretty sure I don't even have a pygmy smaller than that, maybe micrantha but it's close. Find a pretty average-sized capillaris. Now look at one of its leaves. That's brevifolia. Or about average for mine at least.
Last edited by NightRaider on Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By NightRaider
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#420841
Sundews69 wrote:Mature plants are usually about 1/2 inch across, but can be up to an inch
I know that's what google says so I'm not going to doubt it for some locations at least, but if I ever saw a brevifolia 1" around you'd probably find me out in the yard digging holes looking for Uranium deposits.
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By Sundews69
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#420842
Intheswamp wrote:
Sundews69 wrote:Ooo, brevifolia, nice! Where'd you get them? I think your typical Drosera mix would be fine but that peat/sand mix would work just as well. It does grow in drier conditions and I would assume it is a pretty tough plant - it's been found growing in sidewalk cracks in Texas! Also, like Panman said, make sure to keep an eye out for seeds because they typically grow as annuals.
We sold some property probably 15 years ago to an old family friend. I was gathering firewood at the time and he told me to help myself to firewood or anything else from the property and gave me a key to the gates. I got to thinking about the sandy land, old pines, and the moist areas on it. :D

What is kind of crazy is that years ago me and my gardening buddy used to go arrowhead hunting in different fields and on fresh clear-cut/logged lands. I can remember seeing threadleaf sundews and red rosetted sundews, usually around some hot, muggy, wet areas in clear-cuts that we usually detoured around. I can picture them well but for the life of me have no idea in what direction they were in, much less the specific spots. Back then they were just a "sticky-looking plant". :roll: I've got a place over on a small creek (where the "Intheswamp" comes from) that I'm going to scout out. There's a couple of spots that *might* be good ground for some sundews but I'm afraid they may have too much overgrowth. I've got some friends around the county I'm going to ask if I can look for snotgrass on their properties...you'd think it'd make them think I was crazy but it's too late...they already think that! :mrgreen:

I may go with a peat/perlite/and sand mix. Maybe the top inch just sand and peat moss. I'm just shy of the perlite up top. :?
'Sticky-looking plant' lol. Let us know your findings!

(just curious, did you ever make it to Weeks Bay Pitcher Plant Bog? I went waaaay to late - in November and everything looked miserable so I want to know how they look in their prime :) )
By Sundews69
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#420843
NightRaider wrote: Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:38 pm
Sundews69 wrote:Mature plants are usually about 1/2 inch across, but can be up to an inch
I know that's what google says so I'm not going to doubt it for some locations at least, but if I ever saw a brevifolia 1" around you'd probably find me out in the yard digging holes looking for Uranium deposits.
I just wrote what the Savage Garden says (insert shrugging emoji). I found some brevifolia in Alabama that were just under an inch across at Weeks Bay Pitcher Plant Bog. I can confirm that it also wasn't capillaris
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By NightRaider
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#420844
Sundews69 wrote:I just wrote what the Savage Garden says (insert shrugging emoji). I found some brevifolia in Alabama that were just under an inch across at Weeks Bay Pitcher Plant Bog. I can confirm that it also wasn't capillaris
Maybe Meadowview just has an exceptionally small strain of them, idk. But I've had 3 plants so far top out at the same size (~3/8"), 2 of which have flowered so I assume that's as big as they'll ever get.
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