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Roridula gorgonias is generally considered to be the easier of the two species in cultivation. That has certainly been my experience.
It grew well for me from seed during the first year but struggled with low light levels and low temperatures during the winter. PlantZAfrica says: "Roridula gorgonias with its beautiful pink flowers and sticky leaves certainly captures the attention of many. Its peculiar relationship with the assassin bug, Pameridia, is definitely one which will spark an interest in any carnivorous plant grower. Roridula gorgonias is an endemic and is found in the mountainous areas, at an altitude of 155-915 m, growing in the cooler, damp places, from Somerset West to Swellendam. The Roridula plant and the assassin bug, Pameridea roridulae, live in symbiosis. The sticky sap on the leaves of Roridula contains no digestive enzymes. This sap traps insects which are eaten by the assassin bug and in turn; the excretions of the bug are absorbed by the plant through its leaves. The sticky plant serves as a protective home for these assassin bugs, which can move freely over the sticky hairs. The juvenile assassin bugs as well as bees help to pollinate the flowers." Nigel Hewitt-Cooper, who grows the plant better than anybody I know, says: "Roridula gorgonias produces long woody stems which branch only after flowering and gradually become multi-headed, each topped with a fairly tight cluster of bronzy green lanceolate 7.5-10 cm (3-4”) in length. Each is held erect at first and then slowly fan outwards before dying off and pointing downwards, with the dead growth clinging to the stem so they retain a sticky skirt beneath the green leaves. As the stem lengthens this dead material is shed, exposing the bare brown branches." He also says "f***" more often than anybody else I know, I'm not sure if there is a link. If you are failng with Roridula gorgonias perhaps you shoud try it. |
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| 7th June 2007 | ||
