When is the best stage to pot Drosera seedlings?

[Richard Hole]

Hello

I recently planted some Drosera seeds and now have seedlings. How big do you recommend my Drosera to be before I pot them? I thought that if I leave them go too long, the ones that are very close together will smother each other and some will die. However, I thought that if I planted them out too soon, they would not have a good enough root system to survive. However, I would not try to disturb the roots and dig around them. However, the ones that grow very close together would have to have their roots disturbed to be separated. Currently the seedlings are about 4 millimeters wide and 3mm high. Some of them are only about 2 mm apart.

The Drosera that I am growing are listed below.
admirabilis
auriculata
Binata
capensis ‘Giant’
capillaris
chrysolepis (=pusilla)
dielsiana
indica ‘Purple flower’
natalensis
oblanceolata ‘Hong Kong’
spatulata ‘Fraser Is., QLD’ (Lovellae)
ventusa
Whittacki
Slackii
Peltata
Aliciae
Filiformis
Burmannii
Intermedia
Nidiformis
Dielsiana
Capensis Broad Leaf
Capensis Red form

Your help will be appreciated,
Regards Richard.

[edwardyeeks]

Perhaps you could wait until they are about a centimetre or two in diameter. Use a tweezer to slowly take out the seedling with the soil while trying your best to keep the roots intact. Most of the droseras are hardy and can survive a little jostling, but you might want to remove the bigger ones first. Small ones get shocked very easily.

Btw, when you repot the young seedlings, be sure to keep them away from winds. I had a situation where my 1cm diameter droseras were blown away by the wind after I repotted them! They are quite light after all

[Richard Hole]

Hello Thanks for your letter. Do you think the plants that are currently very close together and only about 2mm apart could all survive when they grow to about 1cm wide?
Your help is appreciated
Regards Richard.

[edwardyeeks]

Well, I used to do this. I take the whole clump of drosera that are very near each other and then repot them. They won't really die because of suffocation, only that they will have more competition to get nutrients and food. Once they are roughly adult size, I separate them.

Of course, there might be other ways to remove the clump of droseras. This was what I did and it worked. Hopefully it helps.

[Richard Hole]

Hello

Do you think the plants that are clumped together would have more chance of dying if they are separated when they are about 1 cm wide?

Your help is appreciated
Regards Richard.

[caseyhoo]

Normally, I sowed a lots of drosera at a pot. What I did is, when I encounter a bigger size of drosera at a pot (2~3mm). I just dig the biggest plant out from the pot and put it at a place that have some space for them. And will repeat do so for others plants...

I know that it is not a good way to grow drosera since germinated plantlet will be vert pack at the pot. In order to get more success rate to grow it to adult. We dont sow seeds too close. Else, im 100% you will loose some plants when you repot them.

This is my way.

I think Lim is the correct person to answer you since he got so many D. burmanii at a pot initially and he successfully grow a lots of them to adult. Must learn from him...