Drosera Paradoxa

  First it was the drosera brumanii, then the spatulata.  … the binata, capillaris, filiformis, intermedia, tokendensis, indica, pygmy and capensis followed hot on their heels. But something was missing. The paradoxa. The more I saw the plant, the more I wanted it. Was that the paradox, I wondered. The red rosettes of long thin tentacles and [...]

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Drosera and byblis in bloom

Sundews and byblis are mesmerizing to look at. Each time I lift a pot of drosera or byblis up against the sunlight, I still marvel at the miracle it is. The sundew and byblis are even more beautiful when they are in bloom. Each miniature flower is a tiny gem in the softest pastel colour. Right now, most of my byblis [...]

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Droseras – a fatal attraction

What’s for lunch … a housefly, a fruit fly, a mosquito or a spider? It seems a little sadistic to be fascinated by what my droseras have trapped for their meal, but they seem to do this so well. If I were an insect, I too would be drawn to the titillating drops of dew [...]

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Drosera Pygmy Lake Badgerup

My friends were getting some drosera pygmy gemmae and asked me if I wanted a share. “Gemmae? What’s that?” I wondered aloud. This word wasn’t in my vocabulary then. “A gemma isn’t a seed, but acts like one,” they explained to this new kid on the block. “It pops off from the crown of the pygmy and [...]

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Breathtaking byblis

There is nothing quite like a byblis liniflora against the sunlight. Imagine fragile miniature Christmas trees covered with glistening dew drops … and top that with gorgeous amethyst blooms. I could hardly wait for my byblis to grow and set seed so that I could see that beauty multiplied many times over. And so when it [...]

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Baby brumanii

The five brumanii I carried back from Singapore quickly dwindled to three. At one point even the three appeared to give up on this CP newbie. I couldn’t believe they were shrinking in size after all my pampering! I shared my despair with a forumer who laughed at my folly. “What?!! You watered them with water from [...]

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