FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

So I planted a batch of d. nitidula gemmae one week ago tomorrow. I used sand/peat as mix (with more sand. I currently have the container in a tray (or larger plastic container) with water/pebbles, and loosely covered with saran wrap (air can still circulate. They have a LED bulb hanging about 6-7 inches over the container, that gets turned off at night (I was told they needed the dark photoperiod. There's also a heat pad under them, but I've noticed zero growth in the past week. Am I doing something wrong, or just being impatient? Due to the course sand, the redder ones are hard to see, but I do still see green ones... they just aren't doing anything. This is my first time dealing with gemmae and pygmy sundews, so any feedback is appreciated!

I didn't see growth on mine until two weeks and it was just a little green ball on the green ball.


Happy Growing,

Dillon

Give them as much light as you would an adult plant. High humidity increases survival rate so the saran wrap is good. 'Germination' rate depends on how long they were on the adult plant and how mature they were when harvested

You mention the use of a heating pad. How warm are they getting? Mine do just fine in normal house temps, and grow rather fast. Mine stays around 65-70f. Do you have a pic to throw up so we can see? If they get too hot, they could very well slow down, and even try to go dormant. It may take a couple of weeks too, like the above poster said. Elevate the humidity and wait awhile, just dont get them real warm.

Thanks, everyone. It's been getting cool at night, lately (40s-50s) which is why I did the heating pad. I'll take pics and check temp today to get the status. I knew pygmies prefer cooler weather, but wasn't sure how that applied to gemmae.

KC Simmons wrote:Thanks, everyone. It's been getting cool at night, lately (40s-50s) which is why I did the heating pad. I'll take pics and check temp today to get the status. I knew pygmies prefer cooler weather, but wasn't sure how that applied to gemmae.

Yeah, its been getting pretty cool at night here too. I'm just right up the road from you by about 2 hrs. Heres a little reading material, maybe you will find it beneficial. I still keep it saved to my folder in case I ever forget lol. Good luck!

http://droseragemmae.com/CareGuide.html

Never posted pics before, so hope they work.
This was when I completed set up. I used a 5 inch deep plastic container will drilled holes in bottom, filled with about 40/60 peat and course sand, with a larger amount of sand on top. I placed the whole container in a larger plastic container and filled 2/3 up the side with rain water, along with daily (or every other day) light misting.

This is how I originally covered it, with the container's plastic lid, full of holes. I switched to the saran wrap a couple of days later (but this one was already saved on my comp, lol). I haven't checked temp today, but I would imagine mid 60s is probably the water temp (its not a strong heat mat, it's one originally used for my reptiles). I can get an accurate reading a little later. BTW what temp should I be aiming for?

Interesting! I believe that will work just fine.. I'd say give it a little time. Like fattytuna said, keep giving them some humidity and you should see them come out pretty soon. As far as the temp goes, you should be fine where you are now if you're hovering around the 65-80f mark. Anything outside of that i wouldnt know, as i keep my temps within those perimeters, and my pygmys do fantastic in them. Personally I wouldnt go near the 85-100F mark, but thats just me. Mine went dormant a couple of times when i let that happen a couple of years ago. Keep us posted on them, and good luck!

My concern is sometimes at night they may get below 55-60 range. Hopefully, since they're pygmies, it won't kill them, but I could see it slowing them down.

Also, do I need to keep the light on for a limited number of hours, or would it be okay to leave it on all night. At first I was leaving it on, but then I was told they may need a period of darkness, but that wasn't 100% confirmed.
Checking out the link you posted now, which may give me answers, but I'm also interested in others' personal experiences.

KC Simmons wrote:My concern is sometimes at night they may get below 55-60 range. Hopefully, since they're pygmies, it won't kill them, but I could see it slowing them down.

Also, do I need to keep the light on for a limited number of hours, or would it be okay to leave it on all night. At first I was leaving it on, but then I was told they may need a period of darkness, but that wasn't 100% confirmed.
Checking out the link you posted now, which may give me answers, but I'm also interested in others' personal experiences.

50-80F is acceptable. On lighting, i personally keep mine on a 12 hour period and they do fine. They get a good peaceful rest daily.

I didn't have any luck with pygmy genmae until i started water germinating them in little tubes. When I see growth, I pour them into a pot and carefully position them with tweezers.

coffeenflowers wrote:I didn't have any luck with pygmy genmae until i started water germinating them in little tubes. When I see growth, I pour them into a pot and carefully position them with tweezers.

Hmmmmm never even thought of that I throw mine on top of wet sand and put plastic wrap over it for about 2-3 weeks using a pipette to re-hydrate the sand without disturbing the gemmae about once a week works every time .

I love the color of that sand. I used to have some similar to that. Now all Im able to get locally is brown .

Fishman wrote:I love the color of that sand. I used to have some similar to that. Now all Im able to get locally is brown .

I wish I could find it in bulk I have to buy these small 3 pound bags that are EXPENSIVE!

KC Simmons wrote:My concern is sometimes at night they may get below 55-60 range. Hopefully, since they're pygmies, it won't kill them, but I could see it slowing them down.

Also, do I need to keep the light on for a limited number of hours, or would it be okay to leave it on all night. At first I was leaving it on, but then I was told they may need a period of darkness, but that wasn't 100% confirmed.
Checking out the link you posted now, which may give me answers, but I'm also interested in others' personal experiences.

That range should be fine. Pygmy Drosera naturally grow during the cooler months anyway and Australia does get cool nights during winter. Research the climate of Perth, Western Australia for natural conditions.

I'm a strong believer that photoperiod is the main trigger for plants to come in or out of dormancy. Around 11 hours of light should be healthy. That said some species of Pygmy Drosera will happily grow year round regardless of temperature or day length provided you give them enough water.