FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Now that the weather is getting warmer and night temperatures stopped dropping into the 40s, I would like to try my luck and germinate sundews from seed.

I started preparing a few weeks ago and I rinsed both the peat moss and perlite to avoid mold and algae growth.
I have two questions and I would be grateful for any suggestion.

1. Do you use any perlite in the soil mix when germinating seeds? If yes, how much perlite do you use?

2. I'd like to use a humidity dome. If I understood correctly keeping the soil moist with a humidity dome isn't a big deal, because the water won't evaporate quickly. So, If the water tray will have water and the container with soil will sit in it for weeks, won't be an issue?

Thank you.

I am in the middle of my first germination attempt of D Tokaiensis, and Dielsiana too. Right now I have about 7 that have popped up.

I used about twenty percent perlite, and picked most of it off the top.

I used 3 inch pots uncovered with nothing coming up for about two weeks, then covered the pots with sandwich bags and they are popping up like crazy now. I am germinating in my terrarium that runs seventy percent humidity at its lowest point. So you really need to keep the most humidity in there possible.
I tray water them about once a week for about fifteen minutes, then remove them from the tray.

Hopefully this helps you.

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I like to use finely chopped sphagnum and the little take out containers for sauces/condiments, I poke holes in the lid with a thumb tack for some ventilation. I like them because they can be easily moved around, as well as retain moisture quite well with the lid on. I also use a heat mat which helps. The sphagnum doesn't have much of an issue with algae or mold I've found compared to peat. I've also ran into a fungus gnat infestation once when using peat and the larvae ate up like 90% of the seedlings.

However putting seeds in an uncovered pot with peat (in a water tray) has worked for me as well, in fact they seem to pop up in a many of my pots on their own! You could also consider putting the pot in a ziploc bag with a little standing water in the bottom and closing it 3/4 shut to maintain humidity.

Good luck!

Thank you. The last time I tried germinating seeds indoors, I had those fungus gnats as well. Did you try neem oil?

I don't have a ziploc bag; I use a transparent shoebox to increase humidity. It seems to work so far and the box allows some air to pass.

It has a bit of standing water, so I probably won't have to water very often as long as the box is closed.

I used a similar oil based spray that got rid of them, but by that time unfortunately the damage was done. The key to keeping them away is getting enough air for sure, they love the humid stagnant conditions and with algae present the larvae will feed on it and multiply fast.

Anyhow that setup you have looks like it will work just fine, best of luck again!

UPDATE:

This is the 8th day and still no mold or algae with well rinsed soil.
I put some water in the shoe box first day and haven't watered since then. The water evaporates very slowly and there is constant humidity inside the box with some airflow.

boarderlib wrote:I am in the middle of my first germination attempt of D Tokaiensis, and Dielsiana too. Right now I have about 7 that have popped up.

I used about twenty percent perlite, and picked most of it off the top.

I used 3 inch pots uncovered with nothing coming up for about two weeks, then covered the pots with sandwich bags and they are popping up like crazy now. I am germinating in my terrarium that runs seventy percent humidity at its lowest point. So you really need to keep the most humidity in there possible.
I tray water them about once a week for about fifteen minutes, then remove them from the tray.

Hopefully this helps you.

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

I started having algae on the peat moss. The algae can be noticed only at bright light. I can barely see it in shade.

I decided to spray diluted hydrogen peroxide (1 to 4 part rain water) on the surface of the soil in order to control it. I kept the spray bottle at about 4 inches distance to avoid disturbing the seeds. Have you ever tried hydrogen peroxide?

I don't know if it works or not, it's just the second day since I applied it and probably need more time to take effect. I'll try to re-apply it each day.