FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

So I had some old Drosophyllum lusitanicum 'Cortes de la Frontera - Andalucia' seed I got in a trade from who knows when that I halfheartedly decided to try growing. The seeds had been stored in my room for more than two years without refrigeration or anything. Since the seed was old I decided to soak it overnight with some gibberellic acid - a chemical which is often used to induce the germination of difficult species (don't know what concentration it was at all).

Fast forward three weeks later, I was very surprised to see that two of the seeds had actually germinated. I didn't expect the seeds really to grow at all since they were old and badly stored, and especially since Drosophyllum is reputed to take months to germinate.



I've never grown this genus before so I'm here to seek some help. I know the plants are extremely sensitive to root disturbance, so on advice of the ICPS I plan on translocating the seedlings to one of those peat jiffy pots, growing it up a bit, then placing the whole jiffy pot into a large terracotta pot when they're a more respectable size (since it seems a bit silly to have a large pot to a tiny seedling.

Does anybody have any experience or advice they can offer me?

I grow my Drosophyllum in a 8:1:1 Perlite:Sand:Peat mix in a 6 inch pot. The pot should be 8-12 inches according to most people. Terra cotta is often recommended but mine is plastic.

When they're newly sprouted seedlings, they can be safely transplanted into their Forever pots. Top watering is best. They should be kept just a little moist during Winter and much drier in Summer. If you keep them wet, they'll grow for a year, flower, and die. The trick is to keep them just wet enough to keep them from dehydrating during the Summer. If you grow them in the internediate Peat-Pots, cut out the bottom when you transplant it into its Forever pot.

Petar Kostov is famous for his Drosos. He has some massive bushy plants that are 5 and 6 years old. He is a Bulgarian grower and sells seeds on eBay and Facebook. Here is an article he wrote about raising Drosophyllum.

Hollyhock had a Drosophyllum that was dug up and de-potted by a squirrel. She replanted it and beat the odds. Hers survived,flowered and gave her seeds. But I think she has a magical Green Thumb.

I plant to start a second batch of seeds and grow them in a 12-16 inch clay pot this coming Spring. My 6 inch pot is too small to keep them happy, long term. Mine are about 5 inches tall now. Their growth slowed down here in our short Winter days.

Full Sun and distilled water are also suggested. I also feed mine at least weekly. I give it ground up Bloodworms. I also have been trying ground up dog food. (Fromm's Gold, a meat-based premium dry food) The plant lives up to its nickname "The Slobbering Pine". Copious amounts of dew come running down the leaves from the spot where the food is.

I am certainly no Drosophyllum expert, but this is my two cents worth.

Good growing,
Mike

Multiple edits and additions to my reply.

Good growing,
Mike

Drosophyllum seeds are known to be very long-lasting and some people even say that letting them sit out for a year will increase germination rates. I would recommend following the jiffy pot method, get that plant more light ASAP, and seedlings can handle more water than adult plants can. This species grows very quickly compared to other CPs so make sure you have a larger pot ready to move it to when the time comes.