Home  Plants for Beginners |
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If you're just starting outgrowing CPs in Singapore, the last thing you want is to buy an extremely difficult-to-grow plant, have it die on you and subsequently lose heart. These plants listed here are considered easy plants, as long as you give them the care that they need.
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Drosera intermedia (Love Nest Sundew)
This is one of the easiest of all sundews, and will thrive in our local climate. In fact, once this species gets a foothold in your collection, they will start sprouting everywhere. There are many different forms of D.intermedia, but the tropical varieties or "Cuba" are the ones that do the best here. No dormancy is required, although they sometimes form hibernaculae on their own. Treat as an annual in Singapore, collecting seeds and re-planting every now and then. D.intermedia will thrive in any standard peat-based substrate, and will also be happy in pure live Sphagnum moss.
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Drosera filiformis (Thread Sundew)
There are 2 subspecies of D.filiformis - D.filiformis ssp. filiformis, and D. filiformis ssp. tracyi. The one that's rampant in my garden is D.filiformis ssp. filiformis red form from Florida, but years ago I used to have D.filiformis ssp. tracyi from Dean Cook and Fred Howell, which also did just as well. Like D.intermedia, there are many different localities in cultivation, so try to obtain the more southerly distributed plants which can withstand more heat. They will also form hibernaculae occasionally, and I restart them every now and then using leaf cuttings. D.filiformis can do well in the standard peat:perlite substrate, and also in live Sphagnum moss.
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D.burmanii is a small annual plant with a wide distribution range across the Indo-Pacific. Treat as an annual using a well-draining peat based substrate. D.burmanii should be restarted annually from seeds. The closely-related D.sessilifolia from South America can also be grown easily in Singapore, the only difficulty being in obtaining true D.sessilifolia seeds.
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Of all the Nepenthes, this hybrid truly grows like a weed in our climate.This is odd, as both parents are intermediate plants but I suppose hybrid vigour's got something to do with it. N. x ventrata can take a lot of abuse.I grow them in a 40:60 peat/perlite substrate, and they are easy to propagate from stem cuttings.
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Weedy little pest that does't seem to want to die! This petite species belongs in the same league as N. x ventrata - plants that do extremely well with little care in Singapore.
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Of all the easy lowland Nepenthes, one of my favourites is N.rafflesiana due to the large variation in pitcher morphology. The traps can also be impressive. As with all Nepenthes, N.rafflesiana does well in partial shade and can also tolerate bright direct sun if slowly acclimatised.
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Pinguicula primuliflora
Although Mexican Pinguicula can grow well here, especially the hybrids,P.primuliflora thrives and propagates very quickly if left to its own
devices.
It appreciates a somewhat more peaty mix, kept wet all the time, and
will form little plantlets at the ends of the leaves which can be
replanted.
P.primuliflora can take full sunlight. |
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I put the famous venus flytrap last, for the reason that although these plants are superbly easy to grow, they require a dormant period. Use a 50:50 peat:perlite or sand substrate, and provide as much full intense sunlight as you can. Healthy traps will turn slightly pink on the inside (except var. heterophylla) or even red, and will respond quickly to prey items. Once a year, when growth slows down, prepare the plants for dormancy.
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