FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hey everyone,

Just received my D. regia seeds. So stoked, I had to check tracking like every hour (yes I’m a little obsessive). I got my seeds from someone who is highly recommended throughout this forum (Bulgaria - hint hint).

Anyway... I just rinsed all the media I’m working with (peat moss, silica sand, perlite, and small top dressing of chopped up NZLFS) which took me wayyyyyy too long. I also baked the peat in the oven 150 degrees for about 15 mins so every mold/algae spore should have been dissinegrated in theory

I will keep you all updated on this post if all goes well.... or doesn’t lol.

Btw I use only distilled water and filtered/ boiled Rain water when I get a chance to collect some. I will be growing outdoors this trial run. I do live in Southern California so not much has been collected lately. However, we have been getting more and more rain each year, yaaayy Cali!

I always germinate my regia seeds (same source) in test tubes of distilled water.

It usually takes 14 - 21 days to sprout.

Checking them once a day with a 10X magnifying loupe, I plant them into regular medium filled pots as soon as the seed breaks open and the radicle appears.

If you only planted 5, try germinating a few this way.
A condiment cup 1 - 2 oz works well if you don't have test tubes or Petri dishes laying around.

And by the way... Good Luck!

Good growing,
Mike

Shadowtski wrote:I always germinate my regia seeds (same source) in test tubes of distilled water.

It usually takes 14 - 21 days to sprout.

Checking them once a day with a 10X magnifying loupe, I plant them into regular medium filled pots as soon as the seed breaks open and the radicle appears.

If you only planted 5, try germinating a few this way.
A condiment cup 1 - 2 oz works well if you don't have test tubes or Petri dishes laying around.

And by the way... Good Luck!

Good growing,
Mike

Sounds like a great idea! I will attempt to germinate another 5 in a test tube (I can get some from work at the vets office) do you typically use the test tubes for CBC or the smaller ones for istats? And do you germinate them inside at 75-80 f?

Thanks so much! I really appreciate the feedback!

Sounds like a great idea! I will attempt to germinate another 5 in a test tube (I can get some from work at the vets office) do you typically use the test tubes for CBC or the smaller ones for istats? And do you germinate them inside at 75-80 f?

I use 16mm X 100-150mm tubes with rubber corks.
I fill halfway with distilled water.
Room temp is good, that's what I use.
Light level doesn't matter too much until they germinate.
Seeds that sink are good.
Floaters are usually not viable.
I shake tubes at least once daily.

Good growing,
Mike

(I have some D regia and serpens seeds in tubes right now in the basement.)

I use 16mm X 100-150mm tubes with rubber corks.
I fill halfway with distilled water.
Room temp is good, that's what I use.
Light level doesn't matter too much until they germinate.
Seeds that sink are good.
Floaters are usually not viable.
I shake tubes at least once daily.

Good growing,
Mike

(I have some D regia and serpens seeds in tubes right now in the basement.)

Nice! I will give it a go and hopefully one of 2 ways will work. The seeds should be viable, these were harvested July 2018.

Thanks for letting me know about how to check viability and all the info helps.

I have done so much research into this species but not too much out there on them.

Thanks! Good growing!

The seeds floating not being viable is that with all drosera or just the regia?
Hope they work out for you tk!

Nightbreed wrote:The seeds floating not being viable is that with all drosera or just the regia?
Hope they work out for you tk!

Only noticed it on regia.

Nightbreed wrote:The seeds floating not being viable is that with all drosera or just the regia?
Hope they work out for you tk!

Thanks!

UPDATE: 9-23-18
10 days - 5 seeds - Test tube with water method

3 out of 5 seeds have started to germinate. This is 10 days after using distilled water in a test tube filled half way.

No sign yet of germination on the peat, silica sand, and perlite yet.

Another update on the water germination in test tube (D. regia 5 seeds):

Today I noticed one more has germinated. The total amount of seeds in the test tube was 5. 4 out of the 5 have germinated! This is great results considering this is my first time germinating these amazing plants.

I have already placed 3 of the 4 germinated seedlings into a 1:1:1 peat moss, silica sand, and perlite mix. I will post pics down below.

I forgot to mention: I have them in a 10 gallon tank with foil lining the sides and bottom with an LED light about 5” away from the seedlings for 13 hours daily.

Also, nothing from the first 5 sowed using standard techniques and are outside.

Update: 10/8/18

First carnivorous leaf is starting to appear on 2 out of 4 seedlings. Any suggestions on what to feed them when they develop more?

I’m thinking of crushed Beta pellets or crush some blood worms up into a fine powder.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thanks

Trapper Kay wrote:I have them in a 10 gallon tank with foil lining the sides and bottom...

Keep the air circulating in that tank, so algae doesn't develop on the surface of the potting medium. (Or move them out of the tank.)

I don't think you will need much luck. I have three regia all growing well, which I grew from seeds obtained from another member here sometime this spring. I pretty much had them in moist sphag for the first 3 months before I fed them anything. Just sitting in a water tray no extra humidity. Two of them have 5 inch leaves by now. They get a fish pellet soaked in maxsea every 3 weeks.

I tried buying adult regia plants 3 times before this and they all acted weird and died no matter what I tried. These current ones just sit inside under lights and sometimes I forget to water them. I think with seeds the benefit is you can pick the most vigorous ones to keep and then those are less prone to dying. I have a half-sized seedling that is the same age but I will probably throw it out. If I was mean I could sell the "runts" on eBay which would fail eventually...I wonder if that's what other people did. Maybe I am just paranoid....

schmeg wrote:

Trapper Kay wrote:I have them in a 10 gallon tank with foil lining the sides and bottom...

Keep the air circulating in that tank, so algae doesn't develop on the surface of the potting medium. (Or move them out of the tank.)

I’ve been taking them out of the tank and letting them air out for a few hours of each day. The media has also been baked and pre rinsed before use.

So far a little algae has grown but it’s not out of control (for now)

Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll keep making sure they have plenty of air circulation. I can probably get a small fan and mount it somehow.