ISSN 1033-6966 VICTORIAN CARNIVOROUS PLANT SOC IETY Inc. June 2007 No. 84 Drosophyllum lusitanicum Drosophyllum lusitanicum Drosophyllum lusitanicum Drosera browniana Pinguicula laueana Drosera microphylla Drosera praefolia Drosera prostratoscaposa Drosophyllum lusitanicum VICTORIAN CARNIVOROUS VICTORIAN CARNIVOROUS PLANT SOC IETY Inc. PLANT SOC IETY Inc. Annual Subscriptions Issue No. 84 June 2007 Office Bearers: July 2007 – June 2008 Australian membership $25.00 Overseas membership $25.00 Payment from overseas must be in Australian dollars. President Stephen Fretwell All cheques or money orders should be made payable to the Victorian Carnivorous Plant Society Inc (VCPS). Vice President Sean Spence Payment by credit card is NOT available at the time of this journal issue. General Secretary Peter Bloem Correspondence Minutes Secretary Sean Spence Please forward all correspondence regarding subscription, change of address, Other Publications Gordon Ohlenrott articles for the journal and back issues to: The Secretary VCPS Journal Editor Stephen Fretwell P.O. Box 201 SOUTH YARRA 3141. Assistant Journal Editor Sean Spence AUSTRALIA Internet Co-ordinator Peter Wolf Journal articles, in MS-Word, ready for publication, may be Emailed to the Editor or Secretary. Treasurer Ken Neal Librarian Andrew Gibbons Meetings Seedbank Administrator Ron Abernethy Most VCPS meetings are held in the hall at the rear of the Pilgrim Uniting Church on the corner of Bayview Road and Montague Street, Yarraville – Melway map reference Hardware Co-ordinator Andre Cleghorn 41K7. These meetings are on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 8 PM. However, some meetings may be at the home of members during a weekend. Show Co-ordinator Peter Anderson Details of meeting dates and topics are listed in each journal. Field Trips Organiser Julian Weston If unsure of the location or date of any meeting, please ring a committee person for details. Public Officer Alexander Whitehouse The VCPS Annual General Meeting, usually held at Yarraville in June, provides substantial benefits for each and every member able to attend. Sales Administrator Ron Abernethy 2 – VCPS VCPS – 3 Contents MEETING TOPICS & DATES for 2007 VICTORIAN CARNIVOROUS P LANT SOC IETY FRONT COVER: Drosophyllum lusitanicum This year we have scheduled the following discussion topics, and events: in Cerca Ubrique . January (14th) New Year BBQ, Darlingtonia , Dionaea . Photo: Stewart McPherson Cephalotus follicularis in the wild. Photo: Richard Nunn February (28th) Sarracenia species and hybrids, beginners night. BACK COVER: Clockwise from top left: March (28th) Nepenthes and Heliamphora . Growing Drosophyllum lusitanicum from seed 6 I D. lusitanicum habitat in Cerca Ubrique. April (25th) Drosera , video and information night. Photo: Stewart McPherson Leaf arrangement in rosetted carnivorous plants 10 May (23rd) Growing conditions, pygmy Drosera gemmae I D. lusitanicum flower close up. collection, 'best' and 'worst' plants. Greenhouse Inspiration: 12 Photo: Stewart McPherson How to build a greenhouse – Part 1 I D. lusitanicum in flower. June (27th) AGM, plant give-away, any CPs. Photo: Stewart McPherson July (25th) Seed growing and tissue culture, potting Gardening Australia Expo 21 I Drosera microphylla demonstration, any CPs. “Orange flower” . Grown and photo graphed by Stephen Fretwell August (25th) Meeting at President Stephen Fretwell’s House 12pm. Seed Bank I Drosera prostratoscaposa . Tuberous/Winter growing Drosera , show We now have a huge collection of N EW fresh CP seed available, and Photo: Stephen Fretwell preparation, displays, and companion planting. our seed list has become quite extensive. I Drosera praefolia . Grown and September (26th) Cephalotus, Brocchinia, Catopsis and swap night. With over 250 varieties of CP’s, we are now providing the list in photo graphed by Stephen Fretwell PDF format on our website, www.vcps.au.com. I Drosera browniana .Grown and October (28th) Field trip to Triffid Park, any CP’s. The new seed consists of over 200 types of Sarracenia species and photo graphed by Stephen Fretwell hybrids, Darlingtonia seed obtained from the US and Drosophyllum . November (28th) Byblis, pygmy Drosera, Drosophyllum, Genlisea, Seed was collected from plants late 2006, so be quick, while I Pinguicula laueana (Centre) . Pinguicula, Roridula, Utricularia . stocks last. For inquiries or to order seeds, please contact our Grown and p hoto graphed Seedbank Officer. by Sean Spence December (TBA) Annual show at Collectors Corner. Journal Design: The articles that are found within are copyright but can be copied Stephen Fretwell Please note: All meetings, other than those where a specific venue is given, freely if the author and source are acknowledged. The views are of the Printed by: will be on the FOURTH WEDNESDAY of the month in the hall of the Pilgrim authors and are open to review and debate. Please send all material to Snap Printing (Box Hill) Uniting Church in Yarraville – corner Bayview Road and Montague Street, Melway the editor for consideration to be included in our quarterly journal. Map Reference 41K7. 4 – VCPS VCPS – 5 providing moisture for the plants. Its filiform leaves are covered in sweet honey-scented droplets of mucilage that seem to attract more insects than any other CP in my collection. Flying insects alight on the leaves and in their struggle to get free, roll down the leaf and become completely engulfed in mucous and suffocate. Smaller digestive glands along the leaf blade take over and the nutrients of the prey are D. lusitanicum growing in its natural absorbed into the leaves. habitat in Cerca Ubrique. Photo: Stewart McPherson To add this plant to your collection, you will need to start from seed. Propagation by root and leaf cuttings is not possible as they will not strike. The roots do not like to be disturbed, so the plant should be pot - ted up once only. For a while it was believed the planted pot could not be moved. I have taken my Drosophyllum plant to the VCPS show and survived the 2.5 hour round trip during which it was well Drosophyllum seedlings germinating 6 secured in an upright position! It was also weeks after being sown in late December. believed that plants could not grow side- by-side in a single pot but this is also incor - rect. The stronger plant does not kill off the weaker ones around it. The only prob - A mature 2 year old plant of Drosophyllum lusitanicum. Photos: Peter Bloem lem that I have experienced is a high mor - tality rate of seedlings in the first few months. Growing Drosophyllum To germinate the seed, I hold the seed between my finger and finger nail and run it A young seedling 5 months after being sown. over some fine grit sand paper. You should notice that some black remains on the sand lusitanicum from seed paper. I then drop the seed into a jar of hot PETER BLOEM. ments, it is an easy plant to grow tap water, which helps soften the waxy and maintain in your CP collection. coating. Allow the seed to soak in the water ’ve been growing Drosophyllum Its native habitat is along the dry for a few days and then sow them in a small coastal hills of Portugal, Spain and punnet on a mix of wet peat and sand and lusitanicum , commonly known as the Morocco. It grows on free draining, cover to maintain humidity. Keep the com - IPortuguese Sundew, on and off now sandstone rocky outcrops. Little rain post moist. for a number of years. Once you are falls in the area, but it has been observed Some growers have had success by soak - Seedlings; shortly after being repotting aware of it’s basic growing require - that morning fogs roll in from the sea ing the seed in a weak solution of giberellic into their individual and permanent pots. 6 – VCPS VCPS – 7 acid a couple of days before sowing. This will plant matures and more leaves are pro - give you reasonably quick germination in duced, you can easily see when the plant around 2-3 weeks. I have also had good needs water. When the mucilaginous dew - results without treating the seeds at all, drops start to dry up, it is time to water. I but germination can take from 2 weeks to usually water by tray method and not from several months. above. While the seed is being soaked, prepare When mature, the plants like full sun and a 150 mm (6 inch), or larger terracotta pot. I water once a week in a deep saucer, some - Place some sphagnum moss in the drain times twice a week in hot weather and Adult plant grown from seed. hole, as a wick, and fill the pot with a mix of when the plants are flowering. The potting D. lusitanicum with multiple flowers open 1 part potting mix (without hydrating crys - medium can completely dry out and occa - in early November, a rare occurance. tals), 1 part coarse sand and gravel, and 1 sional overhead watering will not harm the part orchid bark. Slightly mound the centre mature plants at this stage. Drosophyllum can of the pot to prevent water pooling around be grown outside as long as they are pro - the stem. Sit the pot in water and allow the tected from frost and don’t get water pot and mix to become wet. logged from heavy rain. Monitor the seeds and when germinated, Large yellow flowers are produced from carefully scoop out the seedling and place early to mid summer that open for one day into the prepared pot. This method allows and self-pollinate. Branches will start to you to position the plant in the pot where form after flowering, and more flower you would like it to grow. One or more scapes may develop. Last summer my plant plants can be potted up in the same pot. Just produced four flower scapes and flowered remember that the leaves of a mature plant over a 3 month period.