Propagating Cyperus alternifolius

Propagating Cyperus alternifolius

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I had been growing Cyperus alternifolius some time ago. It’s a rewarding plant that can easily withstand drought, neglect and constant wet and boggy conditions. It’s not hardy enough to survive most of our winters outside, so I need to take it inside during the cold months. Last winter, I tried placing my Cyperus plants into deeper water to protect it from freezing. I doubt they froze, but none of them survived.

It only took 6 days for the cutting to start growing new shoots.
It only took 6 days for the cutting to start growing new shoots.
The other day, a couple of weeks ago, I found large Cyperus alternifolius plants and asked the owner if I can take one that was broken. Received friendly chit-chat and at least ten large Cyperus heads! I was told that these plants return every year even when temperatures in the winter fall slighly below freezing. Hopefully they will be easier to maintain during the winter around here as well. I placed all of them into large jar filled with water and waited. After only 6 days, first shoots already started emerging. I remember when I tried propagating my old Cyperus plants, that started to rot first and then if I was lucky enough, small shoots also poked out.

Sadly I also lost my Cyperus papyrus last winter. It refused to overwinter inside and froze to death outside. If I get my hands on it, I’ll keep it in a bit less humid soil during the winter, I’ve kept mine in water and it sadly turned to mush before the spring arrived.

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Trinidad Moruga Scorpion grown from last year’s seeds

Trinidad Moruga Scorpion grown from last year’s seeds

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I collected seeds from my Moruga Scorpions last year. Seedlings were planted a bit later because of late spring, but summer soon brought much warmer weather than last season, with less rain and abundance of sun.
This year seedlings had serious issues with aphids and curling leaves. When the plants finally got established enough in the late July, first fruits emerged and I noticed they were not all the same as they were last year. I haven’t been growing any other chilli plants around it, so it came as a surprise to notice completely different fruits on one of the plants. 6 of the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion chilli plants seemed to grow chillies that were shaped the same as last year, only one of them had elongated fruits.

Elongated chilli looks completely differrent.
Elongated chilli looks completely differrent.

Potted Moruga Scorpion plant
Potted Moruga Scorpion plant
Normal looking chilli
Normal looking chilli

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Closest paprika plants were growing around 20m away. There were no chillies around, except if one of the neighbours planted them, but again, they had to be quite far away. It will be interesting to see the size, color and shape of ripe fruits.

When I saw how different the plants were growing and especially the huge difference in size, shape and number of peppers, I thought that perhaps I received first generation of cross pollinated chillies. If their mother plant was indeed Trinidad Moruga Scorpion chilli, there might have been something else growing nearby and my only surviving seedling might have been a first generation hybrid. In second generation, many features of original plants that were cross-pollinated appear, which could be the cause of different growth pattern of my chilli seedlings.

If it’s in fact some kind of hybrid, strength and taste might also be different. I’ll update when it comes to that and later try to post about my findings and a little bit about genetics and hybridization in a new post. 🙂

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Feeding Sundew Seedlings

Feeding Sundew Seedlings

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Aphids can be easily fed to young Drosera seedlings.
Aphids can be easily fed to young Drosera seedlings.

3 months old Drosera capensis seedling eating aphids.
3 months old Cape sundew seedling eating aphids.
Some people feed their young Drosera seedlings dry fish food, since it’s time of the year with abundance of insects outside, I intend to use living food.

I introduced springtails into the soil mix that I used for sundew seedlings by sheer accident. They were happily living in sphagnum moss I gathered and mixed into the soil. I soon discovered that small creatures often ended up being caught in tiny little carnivorous traps. Springtails primarily eat fungus and algae on moist soil and don’t attack even the smallest and most fragile seedlings, so they are safe to use as janitors and easy prey for growing carnivore seedlings.
I isolated several springtails and started growing whole colony in separated glass container. I used Agar as moisture and food source and gave them a tiny chunk of potato, which eventually started to decay. Springails enjoyed their new home and started multiplying.

Springtails and aphids are ideal food for small carnivorous seedlings.
Springtails and aphids are ideal food for small carnivorous seedlings.
In a couple of weeks there were thousands and I was able to blow them from their container into the pot full of Drosera capensis Alba seedlings. When traps get larger, it’s easier to feed small insects, so I started looking for appropriate food for my carnivores. I started with live aphids, but soon realized that they can multiply and some extremely small aphids managed to somehow escape the traps. I caught all the escapees and helped them get caught. Since then, I always put them into the freezer for a couple of days, together with aphid infected leaf. That way I can be sure they are all dead and harmless. When larger leaves appear, they can easily digest a mosquito.

During the summer and fall, there can be a lot of fruit flies around decaying fruit. I found a way to easily feed my sundews during the night by putting a small LED light so it lights up the sundew I’d like to feed. When you force flies or fruit flies into the air, they instinctively follow the light. In only a couple of minutes, you can end up with well fed sundew, completely covered with small flies.

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Flowering Drosera capensis Alba
Drosera capensis ‘Alba’

Drosera capensis ‘Alba’

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One month old Drosera capensis alba seedlings.
One month old Drosera capensis alba seedlings.
Drosera capensis Alba is very similar to regular D. capensis, but it lacks red pigment which forms in bright light. When it’s exposed to intense light and if it’s not regularly fed, it’s tentacles turn pink. When fed or in low light conditions, they loose their pink coloration and turn green with white tentacles.
It likes as much light as it can get. Seedlings grew slightly faster for me, when compared to regular Drosera capensis. At first I left them without food, but as soon as I noticed mold formation on top of the peat, I started adding springtails to fight the mold infection. I learned with regular D. capensis seedlings, that springtails can be extremely beneficial for small seedlings, because they not only feed on mold and algae, which can hurt young sundew seedlings, they are also easy prey for small carnivore plants. Because of their small size, feeding young seedlings can be real problem without some help from tiny springtails.

Drosera capensis Alba seedlings after feeding
Drosera capensis Alba seedlings after feeding

When seedlings became large enough and started growing first carnivorous leaves, it was time to add springtails into the pot. I managed to multiply a lot of springtails and when I threw them into the container with drosera seedlings, traps became filled with them. Most of them remained alive and started fighting fungus that also stared growing on top of the soil. Larger traps were already able to consume larger insects, so I added a couple of black aphids.

Just like regular Drosera capensis seedlings, ‘alba’ also starts growing rapidly when it gets bigger and starts catching more insects. It could have been a coincidence, but the pale variety of Drosera capensis managed to outperform it’s regular sibling when it comes to hunting. I found butterflies, bees and large insects that mostly managed to escape, but many of them most likely died with completely destroyed wings, covered with Drosera mucus.

Way too crowded with not as much soil as they would like to... They thrive anyway
Way too crowded with not as much soil as they would like to… They thrive anyway
Fascinating hunting skills of Drosera capensis 'Alba'.
Fascinating hunting skills of Drosera capensis ‘Alba’.

When growing outside, all Cape sundews managed to cover their leaves with insects on a daily basis. In late summer and during early fall, they could get completely covered with small insects. At that point, they started flowering and growing vigorously.

Sadly, our climate doesn’t allow them to stay outside, which means they need to go inside in late September. They all need to get transplanted into separate pots too.

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