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By Fishman
Posts:  867
Joined:  Sat Jun 13, 2015 8:16 pm
#254475
Thanks to Hollyhock I was able to find one finally! I just received her in the mail an hour or so ago, and immediately took her out of her cell and into the soil. Right now she appears to look droopy, and probably from during the shipping process and all that moving around in the darkness... Overall it looks pretty good I would say, and the shipper took a lot of care in packing it! Now I need to keep my fingers crossed, and hope for the best, as I hope to bring it out of its shocked state, into producing muscillage again, and begin growing upright! I also need to figure out exactly what mixture of soil this is that it came with, like % of sand to peat or perlite ratio, (and most importantly what kind of sand), as someday I will want to move it to a much bigger pot. I'm kind of limited as to what kind of sand is available around here, but I can always order it. I have some 14-14-14 Osmocote Smart Release pellets as well. Wondering if I should wait a few days to attempt to give it one small pellet for now, or maybe let it settle down in its new home a little first before feeding it?
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By hollyhock
Posts:  5656
Joined:  Thu Mar 05, 2015 8:56 am
#254502
I should be charging a plant finders fee.. :lol:
Beautiful plant...Congratulations :D
I would also give it a few days to acclimate to your conditions. Here is a little tidbit that I found online.Along with the feeding...

"For optimal growth, D. regia appears to require good soil drainage and sufficient light levels, and prefers cooler temperatures. Cool nights and warm days have been reported to induce vigorous growth."
Good growing and give us updates.
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By Fishman
Posts:  867
Joined:  Sat Jun 13, 2015 8:16 pm
#254508
hollyhock wrote:I should be charging a plant finders fee.. :lol:
Haha no doubt! That was a great find, thanks again!!. Im still searching for seeds and other ways to acquire these to add more to the collection. I have a really nice lighting system here for all of my plants, so this one fit right in there with them. It usually gets down in the 60's at night and then around 70ish during the day in my grow room. I keep the humidity controlled at around 70-80% day and night. Pretty similar conditions to their native land. If i go wrong anywhere, it may be because of the soil. Im seeing some varying opinions on sand/peat vs lfsm/perlite etc for D. regia. Luckily they shipped enough soil to go with the 4in pot that came with it, and maybe when im able to get root cuttings then ill experiment with different media.
By midwestprospector
Posts:  65
Joined:  Mon Jan 11, 2016 8:43 am
#254518
Hi Fishman,

Your King looks great! I have several that I started from root cuttings last summer, the parent plant died when the soil got above 90 degrees in my greenhouse. You definitely want to keep the roots cool. They can handle low humidity as long as the roots stay cool. The soil I use is 2/3 fine grain horticultural perlite and 1/3 peat from a bail (not long fiber). You do not want to overwater them, I let mine dry a little between waterings and they are doing great. You want the soil to drain very well and not retain a lot of moisture, otherwise the roots can rot. Also, use the osmicote with the lower middle number, they don't like a lot of phosphorous. I think it is the 'Outdoor & Indoor" formula 15-9-12. I use three osmocote grains in a 4x4x5 inch pot about once every 6 to 8 weeks. Let me know if you need some soil and I can send you enough to re-pot it when you are ready.
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By midwestprospector
Posts:  65
Joined:  Mon Jan 11, 2016 8:43 am
#254519
I forgot to mention that they need to be fed often, even with the osmicote. I feed mine rehydrated freeze dried bloodworms about once a week. So once it settles in and forms some dew, it will be ready for a meal.
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By Fishman
Posts:  867
Joined:  Sat Jun 13, 2015 8:16 pm
#254526
Thank you! I just may be in touch with you on the soil for sure. Theres so many horror stories ive read where people have lost these due to whatever conditions and right now im trying to get past the paranoia stage hehe... im usually pretty good with this kind of thing, but anything can happen too and since ive never dealt with this particular plant before, i do not know just how sensitive they are yet. Nevertheless, i will heed the warning on the overwatering, and the such! I will pm when i get ready for some more soil. I wanted it in an 8in pot that i picked out for it before i bought it but i only received enough from them to fill the little 4 in pot that came with it. Now ill just let it acclimate where it is at and let the root system develop better :)
By midwestprospector
Posts:  65
Joined:  Mon Jan 11, 2016 8:43 am
#254545
Fishman - Just let me know when you need the soil and I can mail you enough for whatever size pot you use. I bought a huge bag of the fine grain perlite last year, so I have more than enough.

The King's can be very tricky to keep alive, especially when they are very young. The two that I have now actually started out as 7 that initially grew from the root cuttings. I had them all in two pots and one by one they started to die off when they got to around 1 to 2 inches tall. Even though they were in the same pots, with the exact same conditions, most of them died off. Once they cross a certain threshold in size, they seem to be a lot more stable and easier to keep alive. I have read that it is when they transition from "baby" roots to the thicker "adult" roots that many of them don't make it. But, my two survivors are doing great, they are about 6 to 7 inches tall now and making lots of dew!
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By midwestprospector
Posts:  65
Joined:  Mon Jan 11, 2016 8:43 am
#254589
My two surviving Regia's grown from root cuttings. You can see from the pics that I feed them quite often.
drosera regia4.JPG
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By Fishman
Posts:  867
Joined:  Sat Jun 13, 2015 8:16 pm
#254830
Update:
Three days later and there is big differences. New growth coming out now and dew is forming! It already caught 2 mosquitos hehe... there's actually another growth point beside the new one in the pic but my crappy phone wont zoom in close enough to get a good shot of it. Ill have to go get my Canon with the good lens to get those shots i guess.
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By Fishman
Posts:  867
Joined:  Sat Jun 13, 2015 8:16 pm
#255282
Update as of today:
It has been a few days since the last pic. As of this week im noticing new growth, so that is a good thing i suppose I have one shooting up today, and another below it that my camera didnt reach. I am concerned about the one in the pic, as it just barely developed this week and has caught a bug shortly after I already fed it a blood worm. Now on the backside of it, it has a strange red spot, and the tip of it is turning yellow. Im curious as to what is causing this. New growth to me, is indicative that something is going good with the plant, but im not too sure it should already be turning colors or not. Some of the older leaves are just turning brown and decaying, so im hoping this is normal, as it seems to be losing more than it is actually gaining. Temp in its room averages 65f(nights) and 78f(days), and humidity is around 65-80% everyday, as i try to keep it as high as possible for other plants that i have that require it. Outside it only gets around 25-40% humidity. I do not leave it standing in water, as ive read not to. I water over the top (on the outside edges of the plant until i see it drip out of the bottom of the pot, and I wait about 3 or 4 days and do it again...
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By Tarzanus
Posts:  380
Joined:  Sat Feb 28, 2015 6:52 pm
#255288
I have had similar issues with D. capensis when it got attacked by aphids. Do you think it's possible they caught aphids or mites?
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