FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Is there any plant that can be grown from seed outdoors in a Mediterranean climate in full sun, part sun, or bright light in the shade? I have hot dry days here and humid cool nights. Thanks


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Where do you live?

How cold do your Winters get?

What USDA Climate Zone do you live in?

I'd say any of the South African Sundews should do OK if you don't get a hard freeze.

Consider the Southern USA Drosera also, filiformis, tracyii, capillaris, brevifolia.

When I hear Mediterranean Climate, I think of warm Summers and mild, non-freezing Winters.

One plant, although not a Sundew, that grows around the periphery of the Mediterranean Sea is Drosophyllum lusitanicum. Seeds for this are available from Petar Kostov, from Bulgaria. He sells on e-Bay and Facebook, but he is 100% legitimate and reputable. That's where I bought my Drosophyllum seeds.

Good growing,
Mike

Shadowtski wrote:Where do you live?

How cold do your Winters get?

What USDA Climate Zone do you live in?

I'd say any of the South African Sundews should do OK if you don't get a hard freeze.

Consider the Southern USA Drosera also, filiformis, tracyii, capillaris, brevifolia.

When I hear Mediterranean Climate, I think of warm Summers and mild, non-freezing Winters.

One plant, although not a Sundew, that grows around the periphery of the Mediterranean Sea is Drosophyllum lusitanicum. Seeds for this are available from Petar Kostov, from Bulgaria. He sells on e-Bay and Facebook, but he is 100% legitimate and reputable. That's where I bought my Drosophyllum seeds.

Good growing,
Mike

My winters get to about low 60's to high 60's or low 70's during the day, and can be up to mid to high 40s at night. but today in orange county (southern california), it was about 84. I am pretty sure I am in the zones of 9b-10a. Also, don't you have to do some sort of special treatment for drosophyllum seeds to get them to germinate? I hear that they aren't good plants for newer growers. Thanks!

Souther California should be a good climate for any Sub-Tropical and a lot of Tropical Sundews.

You might want to try Drosera finlaysoniana in your climate. Drosera filiformis Florida Red would also be a good choice.

Drosophyllum seeds need scarification for reliable germination. Scratch or slice the outer seed coating at the blunt end until you can see the inner white/clear core. Bury them 1/8 to 1/4 inch deep in a well drained medium. I use 8 parts perlite, 1 part peatmoss, 1 part sand in my mix. I never use a water tray for these, always top-watering them.

In Nature, seeds are produced late Spring, into Summer. They sit on the ground until the rain comes again in Autumn. The best time for you to plant them would be in late Summer, early Fall.
Keep it moist and you should see germination in about a month. Top-water the pot, never let it sit in water. Keep it moist until the plants are 3 - 4 inches tall. Then cut back on watering it when Summer comes.

Young plants can handle overwatering better than mature plants. After flowering, they are very sensitive to overwatering. This is how they got the reputation of being a difficult plant to grow.

In their natural habitat, they get hot dry Summers. The only moisture they get is early morning fog, being close to the sea-shore.

If I lived in your area, I'd have my back yard full of Drosos. I'd suggest giving them a try, even if you are a newer grower.

Mine is exploding into Spring growth right now. I'm cautiously optimistically hopefull that mine will flower and produce seeds this Spring.

If so, look for Drosophyllum seeds to appear in our Seed Bank inventory before Summer.

Good growing,
Mike

I’ll definitely give Drosophyllum a shot sometime soon


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You can grow everything that Shadowtski said plus most other North American carnivorous plants, plus a whole lot more. You should check out a copy of Peter D'Amato's book "The Savage Garden". He Grows in a Mediterranean climate and has a lot of good suggestions for growers like you.

Huntsmanshorn wrote:You can grow everything that Shadowtski said plus most other North American carnivorous plants, plus a whole lot more. You should check out a copy of Peter D'Amato's book "The Savage Garden". He Grows in a Mediterranean climate and has a lot of good suggestions for growers like you.

I own the savage garden and it tells what species to grow but not where you can grow the seeds. At least I don’t think...


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I'd imagine if it says you can grow the plant....you can also grow the seeds.

riveraXVX wrote:I'd imagine if it says you can grow the plant....you can also grow the seeds.

It does but not as much detail to where it tells you what type of light seeds can handle and if they can be grown in sun outdoors or not


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Frothy_Milk wrote:

riveraXVX wrote:I'd imagine if it says you can grow the plant....you can also grow the seeds.

It does but not as much detail to where it tells you what type of light seeds can handle and if they can be grown in sun outdoors or not


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I'd try to treat them similarly to others recommendations for growing them like anywhere else - you may need to make adjustments for your climate or where you germinate the seeds depending on weather, just do your best to mimic the same conditions as you would anywhere else.

definitely a d. lus

You would have much success with Venus flytraps where you live. They could be outside year round

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sorry I also had read your question wrong initially... I did not realize you meant you were looking for advice for what can be grown physically outdoors to germinate and start them/grow them. I wrongly assumed germination would be in a more controlled fashion then plants put outside.

as for what you can start from seed there outdoors -- I'm not much help sorry!

riveraXVX wrote:sorry I also had read your question wrong initially... I did not realize you meant you were looking for advice for what can be grown physically outdoors to germinate and start them/grow them. I wrongly assumed germination would be in a more controlled fashion then plants put outside.

as for what you can start from seed there outdoors -- I'm not much help sorry!

Hey, no problem man! You know, it is better to initiate on a question and try and figure it out whether you know the answer or not. It’s better than ignoring it! I found out one species so far that I just successfully germinated... Drosera Capensis. I sowed seeds a few weeks ago and I noticed a little tiny seedling on Monday.


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Frothy_Milk wrote:

riveraXVX wrote:sorry I also had read your question wrong initially... I did not realize you meant you were looking for advice for what can be grown physically outdoors to germinate and start them/grow them. I wrongly assumed germination would be in a more controlled fashion then plants put outside.

as for what you can start from seed there outdoors -- I'm not much help sorry!

Hey, no problem man! You know, it is better to initiate on a question and try and figure it out whether you know the answer or not. It’s better than ignoring it! I found out one species so far that I just successfully germinated... Drosera Capensis. I sowed seeds a few weeks ago and I noticed a little tiny seedling on Monday.


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for sure! congrats on the germination also! perhaps testing some stuff out you might be the one to answer that question down the road for someone else and share your trials/tribulations!