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By Wood1988
Posts:  106
Joined:  Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:36 am
#366233
Hello again.

I have an interesting conundrum.

Today I decided to repot some of my Drosera Capensis root cuttings which were taken in early august. My question is do the root cuttings still sprout at lower temperatures as the weather forecast predicts 12 degrees celsius tomorrow onwards with strong winds and rain with sunny spells, typical autumn temperatures for the United Kingdom?

The cutting media turned green with no plantlets.

Many thanks
By Adriana
Posts:  126
Joined:  Thu Oct 24, 2019 8:47 pm
#366245
In general, propagation is best done at warmer/spring/summer temps depending where you are. If it's cool, the cutting is less likely to sprout in my experience. Can you keep them indoors in a warm spot?
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By Wood1988
Posts:  106
Joined:  Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:36 am
#366247
Hi Adriana.

In my house there isn't any heat sources apart from the radiators which use too much energy. I could place the cuttingsinside an empty aquarium with a tropical fish water heater but it uses too much electricity (high energy bills).
By Adriana
Posts:  126
Joined:  Thu Oct 24, 2019 8:47 pm
#366250
Oh it's 12 degrees in the house? Hmm. What about on top of the fridge? They aren't photosynthesizing without leaves, so they don't need light until they sprout.

It doesn't hurt to just leave them planted and see, as long as you don't need the space. If the media grosses you out, you can replant them or try instead to float them in water and see if they strike that way.
By Wood1988
Posts:  106
Joined:  Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:36 am
#366253
The fridge is under worktops so the heat won't reach the cuttings.

My cuttings are outside at the moment as it will remain 14 degrees celsius until wednesday.

Also I am preparing to move house so I dont want the house cluttered.

Is there any alternative way of heating the cuttings inside (which is normal room temperature for september in the uk) without using mains electricity?
By Adriana
Posts:  126
Joined:  Thu Oct 24, 2019 8:47 pm
#366264
I would bring them inside then. There isn't a non-electrical way without using something that is already running and warm.
By Wood1988
Posts:  106
Joined:  Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:36 am
#366325
Would an aquarium light on its own be sufficient to heat the cuttings (I plan on placing them inside the empty fish tank still in their containers) as aquarium lights give off a lot of heat anyway?
By Adriana
Posts:  126
Joined:  Thu Oct 24, 2019 8:47 pm
#366337
I don't know there's a magic temp, but yes that bit of heat might help, sounds like a good idea : - )
By Wood1988
Posts:  106
Joined:  Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:36 am
#366382
Thankyou.

I have placed one of my sundews in the tank (the others I shall bring inside later) and I have put the light on a timer so it switches on for 2 hours at 2 hour intervals as I am trying to minimise energy usage and mimic clouds in nature (although cloud cover is very tricky to mimic.

Would this be okay or should I leave the light on constantly for the whole 14 hours?
By Adriana
Posts:  126
Joined:  Thu Oct 24, 2019 8:47 pm
#366465
I would definitely keep it on for 14 hours. We can't come close to the output of the sun, even in 14 hours at close range. So a nice long time is better. If you use CFLs or (even better) LEDs your electricity would be minimal.
By Wood1988
Posts:  106
Joined:  Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:36 am
#366519
Thanks for that Adriana.

My next issue would be heating the tank because I know that the T110 aquarium light (the one already supplied in the lid) gets warm but not sure if it reaches the magic temperature for propagating Cape Sundew root cuttings.

I dont have a jar big enough to fit an aquarium heater and cannot afford to run heating pads or anything else at the moment.

Any cheaper alternatives?
By Adriana
Posts:  126
Joined:  Thu Oct 24, 2019 8:47 pm
#366550
You can keep it close to the fluorescent light, the light generates some heat :-) You can cover with plastic wrap to trap some heat too.
This is all an experiment, to see what works! Let's see what works.
By Wood1988
Posts:  106
Joined:  Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:36 am
#366578
Hi Adriana.

The plastic covers in question (the domes are empty trifle bowls from the supermarket and the other plastics are tomato punnet packs with clear lids) don't work.

I could move the plants closer to the light but that gets to the same temperature as my room, about 15 celsius (cape sundew root cuttings need a higher temperature I believe.
By Wood1988
Posts:  106
Joined:  Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:36 am
#366663
Hello again.

I have finally mustered up the courage and purchased a reptile heating pad from 'Pets At Home' this afternoon.

It works rather well as I have connected it to the same timer as my light (they switch on at 7am and turn off again at 9pm) the temperature reached an impressive 25 degrees celsius within a couple of hours but dropped to 19 celsius 3 hours after switching off.

Will a temperature drop of 6 degrees celsius impede the striking of my drosera capensis root cuttings?
By Adriana
Posts:  126
Joined:  Thu Oct 24, 2019 8:47 pm
#366664
I don't think anyone knows the answer to that Wood; these types of experiments haven't been done. I think keeping it warmer during the day will help! We'll just have to see what happens.
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