FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

So I have been trying to get some D. burmannii germinate in a mixture of peat moss and horticultural sand. So far, it hasn't worked, I've only ever managed to get the burmannii to sprout in the mother plant's pot. I am wondering if it is possible that the horticultural sand is river sand (which I hear its use is advised against), and if silica sand would be a better option.

On the other hand, after reading a bit about Silicosis, I am reconsidering the advantage of silica sand.

Also, FYI I made sure to rinse the horticultural sand out REALLY well, and then flushing the pot out after I put my mixed media in. To test if it is the media or just my inability to grow D. burmannii from seeds, I am putting some gemmae in a pot of the peat/sand mix to see how they fair (+ I threw in a few seeds of D. burmannii, doesn't hurt to keep trying).

On a side note, is it possible for D. burmannii to produce unviable seeds, even though it is self pollinating?

Eco or organic food is just a psycological scam to buy. It should be called "No chemicals added". For sand this apply too. Sand is sand. But not "beach sand", which has made up by fragmented shells, not only sand.

Huh, I heard that river sand has bacteria in it which can make it smell bad and is possibly harmful to plants. While I noticed that the sand can start to smell, I don't know if the bacteria is really the problem that it is said to be. I got this info from the sundew grow guides, but he doesn't go into detail about the bacteria.

If you're worried about contaminants from the sand, wetting and microwaving it should get rid of the issue pretty well. Some forms of D. burmannii take longer to germinate than others - what does your parent plant look like?

The color is a little off in this photo. Oh, and when this guy was out in the summer sun he got pretty yellow/red. In the cooler temps they don't seem to color up as well (especially when it was under the short-photoperiod lights with my tuburous sundew and pygmy sundews)

Yeah, I've found that red forms will usually take a bit longer...

Ah good to know.