FlyTrapCare Forums

Hey I recently broke my budget again to get a couple of amazing dews. I received a Drosera Spiralis and a Drosera Magnifica . I so excited and have done a lot of research in the matter of growing these plants but nothing really beats first hand experience. I was hoping for some tips on growing these or even mistakes that you made the first time around. Any and all info is welcome even some pics of yours might help. I've poked several small holes through the growing medium on both to aid in soil aeration and reduce compactification on the roots. I've currently got them both in an acclimation chamber to help reduce shipping stress. conditions of chamber are roughly 100 % humidity and temps from 65-70 in day to 60-55 at night with 6500k lights on for 14 hours daily. I am currently building peltier highland units for both to be able to control temps better and plan on moving them to their units when they recover from shipping stress. I plan on regulating Magnifica's unit based on weather and temperature cycles of the mountain in Minas Gerais where it was discovered. Hopefully they will be thankful for all my hard work.

Years ago I had what was supposed to be a spiralis. It grew well and flowered readily. It grew best for me in the winter when the temps in the room it was in would be 78 +/- in the day and down to about 55 at night. Unfortunately, in the summer, the temps would raise above it's reported comfort level by at least 10 degrees day. Still, the plant lived for 3 or 4 years, struggling through the summer and coming back strong in the late fall through early spring. I really liked that plant, may I ask where you got yours?

Thanks for the info! I got mine from Native Exotics. They usually stock up and sell out right when they update inventory so you'll have to look. I'm not 100 % sure this is Spiralis and not Drosera gramnifolia because I haven't really got to see it leaf vernination yet but they are both awesome.

D. graminifolia is very rare, both in the wild and in cultivation and nobody has succeeded with any sort of significant propagation. You can be certain that what you have there is D. spiralis.

As for conditions, D. spiralis does quite well in typical household conditions, just as long as it doesn't get too hot. It seems to be fine up to 80F for me and is not picky about humidity. D. magnifica is certainly more picky in general though I'm not sure that anyone's entirely figured it out yet. Full highland conditions is a good idea, and the species does like being fed a lot as well.

The other big thing about D. magnifica is that it needs well-draining soil. Unfortunately both of these plants strongly dislike root disturbance but I really would not recommend growing D. magnifica in straight LFS, unless your mix is different below the surface.

My soil is about 3:7 peat to perlite similar to Regia or Drosophyllum and I added holes to aid in root aeration and drainage and dust the top with fine cut LFS to help keep down moss grow and aid in humidity.

Well that sounds good to me. Good luck!