Are root cuttings better? Best growing conditions?

[Richard Hole]

Hello

On the Atherton Tableland near Cairns in the tropics at 757 meters altitude I have had a lot of success with Drosera Binata root cuttings that grow quickly and I also read that Drosera root cuttings grow a lot faster than leaf cuttings. If that is the case we probably would be better off focusing on root cuttings instead of leaf cuttings so long as there are no disadvantages of taking root cuttings over leaf cuttings for the below Drosera. For Drosera like the species below, do you think root cuttings would be faster and is there any disadvantages of root cuttings over leaf cuttings apart from the fact that you have to uproot the plant and plant it again?

In addition to Binata I am planning to grow Capensis, Aliciae, Venusta, Spatulata and Adelae

For Drosera root cuttings generally would a 20mm or 4/5 inch long section be a good length to use?

I plan to bury the root cuttings in 3mm or 1/8 inch depth of sphagnum or peat which I assume would be a good depth. Would that be good for all the above plants? This works well for Drosera Binata root cuttings which I have grown in almost full sun as the greenhouse only gave them about 20% shared during the warmer times of the day. I plan to grow the above Drosera that way apart from Drosera Adelae which I plan to put in the shaded greenhouse which has occasional automatic fogging. It has white solarweave plastic over it that cuts out 50% of the sun when new and slightly more when it gets dirty.

Do you think growing the root cuttings (apart from Drosera Adelae) in full sun or in the greenhouse with about 20% shade would be good for root cuttings if I bury them to a 3mm depth and keep the peat or sphagnum moss wet by soaking capillary wicks in the pot in water?

Your help is appreciated
Regards Richard.

[MICKEYK]

IF you plant the root vertically you will grow only 1 new plant but it will grow much faster

[Tarence]

Richard, I`ve only done root cuttings for d.binata as the adult plant I had suddenly took a turn for the worse & started going into semi-dormancy. It worked well for me when placed in a bright area in a tray of water. I watered it daily. Plantlets appeared in about 10-14 days.

The other sundews I propagate via seeds or leaf. I wouldn`t want to sacrifice a healthy adult just for the sake of propagation via roots. Esp if it`s a single plant. *smile*

[strath76]

Richard they should all work well from root cuttings. You only need to barely cover the roots with soil. When I do root cuttings I just put them beside the parent plant and let them go. I have found that the plants are quite tough and you shouldn't have too many problems from any of the plants you want to try.