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Drosera glanduligera in
bloom. The plants are about a cm wide. |
Drosera glanduligera is found in south western and south
eastern Australia and Tasmania. It can be quite abundant in certain
locations. It is a winter growing annual with a very short life
span.
In spite of the fact that the plant is widespread in Australia
and grows in diverse soil conditions, it can be very challenging
to grow in captivity. The first challenge is getting the seeds
to germinate. The
second is keeping the plants alive.
The seeds of Drosera glanduligera have similar germination
requirement as tuberous Drosera.
Kamil Pásek of Best
Carnivorous Plants reports that keeping the seed pots at 8-12°C
is sufficient to get reasonable germination rates. This may be
difficult to do. Another method is to plant the seeds outside in
the middle of the summer.
That means damp soil and air temperatures peaking above 30°C
(85°F). Soil
temperatures may be higher. Use a soil similar to what you would
use for tuberous Drosera--usually more sand than peat. This
period of warm stratification should be followed by cool days of
less than 22°C (70°F)
and nights around 10°C
(50°F). This
usually corresponds to typical fall weather in temperate and Mediterranean
climates. If you live in a more temperate climate, try planting the seeds during the winter and germinating the seeds in window in a garage or cold frame. Scarification will
help the seeds to germinate quicker and without warm stratification. But that
can be good or bad depending on when they germinate. If your weather
gets cool then hot again in the fall, any young plants will need
to be protected from warm temperatures. If you are trying to germinate
the seeds during the winter under lights in a basement, scarification
should help.
Keeping the plants alive can be a problem unless you can keep
them below 22°C (70°F). The plants shown above were grown
in the shade. The ones grown in the sun, even if the air temperature
was below 22°C, did not survive very long. In the shade or filtered sun they will survive temperatures in the low 30's°C (90's°F).
For the plants to grow well and bloom you need to feed them regularly if they are not catching enough insects on their own. Small pieces of hydrated dried blood worms work well. Generally unfed plants are not happy plants.
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