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flowers already

fre8train

BANNED
Does anybody have a flower stalk pushing up, The bud is about to open.  THis is from one of my plants that I did not put through dormancy It stayed under the skylight all year never going outside to recieve a cold dose of dormancy.
 
It is not unusual for VFT to begin to produce flower stalks this time of year when the plant is grown in locations where it is not in deep dormancy. My plants that I grow in an unheated greenhouse tend to initiate flower buds all winter, even though night-time temperatures get near freezing -- whereas my VFTs growing outside are still showing no signs of new growth.
 
one of my VFTs is sending up two flower stalks, so if one of my butterwarts, so you are not alone
 
I have three flytraps blooming right now. I am going to try for seed, but it is not recommened to do so if you are a beginner. My plants have been well fed over the last couple of months and have a nice energy reserve, which they will need.

To keep your flytrap healthy, it is recommended that the flower stalks be cut off when they are about 3 inches tall.
 
Nick,

To add a question to your post. I read in Don Schnell's book not to trim a flower stalk until the first flower has bloomed. He states that if the flower stalk is trimmed earlier, the plant will attempt to send up another stalk therefore using up even more energy reserves!!!

Now the question is -- Nick or Bobz or anyone -- is this the experience you've also had with flower stalks? Or is that fact simply focused towards a certain type of flower stalk.
 
My dente and red dragon are sending up stalks. As an answer to you question Odysseus, My common sent one up some time ago, and I cut it the moment I saw it; it sent three more up, one right after I cut the other. I later let it almost flower, and finally snipped; it didn't send up another.
 
<span style='font-size:12pt;line-height:100%'>My practice has been to let them do what they do. If a plant flowers, I try to inspire viable seed by making sure each flower gets plenty of pollen on its receptive stigma. Mine have been blooming and setting seed all winter. For me, seed means a chance for more beautiful VFT plants.

I have often read and heard about how VFTs are weakened by flowering
rock.gif
, this remains a mystery to me. The only thing I have that seems to bother my VFTs are attacks of spider mites, so when I grow them as semi-aquatics (submerged each time I water them), which I often do, they usually aren't bothered by the mites.

Heck, when I was a "beginner" with CP. I had one VFT plant. When it bloomed, I kept my eye on the flowers and noticed when the stigma opened up like a mop, I put pollen on the stigma from the stamens of the same flower. I did this with all the flowers on that one plant. A few weeks later I had more than 30 seeds. I planted them and had excellent germination. The only observation of note was that the plant, while blooming and producing seed, did not make more new leaves, this was true until I had removed the ripe seed. After that the plant continued to grow new leaves with a renewed vigor.
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</span>
 
I hope at least 1 of my 2 vfts bloom this year,as I would love to try growing them from seed.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (PinguiculaMan @ Feb. 07 2004,13:18)]<span style='font-size:12pt;line-height:100%'>My practice has been to let them do what they do. If a plant flowers, I try to inspire viable seed by making sure each flower gets plenty of pollen on its receptive stigma. Mine have been blooming and setting seed all winter. For me, seed means a chance for more beautiful VFT plants.

I have often read and heard about how VFTs are weakened by flowering  
rock.gif
, this remains a mystery to me. The only thing I have that seems to bother my VFTs are attacks of spider mites, so when I grow them as semi-aquatics (submerged each time I water them), which I often do, they usually aren't bothered by the mites.

Heck, when I was a "beginner" with CP. I had one VFT plant. When it bloomed, I kept my eye on the flowers and noticed when the stigma opened up like a mop, I put pollen on the stigma from the stamens of the same flower. I did this with all the flowers on that one plant. A few weeks later I had more than 30 seeds. I planted them and had excellent germination. The only observation of note was that the plant, while blooming and producing seed, did not make more new leaves, this was true until I had removed the ripe seed. After that the plant continued to grow new leaves with a renewed vigor.  
biggrin.gif
</span>
To be more technically accurate. A VFT will flower as a last ditch effort at survival when in bad conditions. The flowering is more of a sign of the end then the cause in those situations, but the plant will use up everything it's got if it intends that flower to be it's last at which point you will not want that flower to grow if you want to revive your ill plant with any amount of ease. Thats why I always say that if your let the plant flower it MAY crash out, not that it will. And if you're new to growing, your plant is not only more likely to crash from stresses, but it will be harder for you to revieve it if it does. As a general rule of thumb. I don't let them flower withing 3 months of perchase in case they were in cruddy conditions or treated with growth hormones and weakend. After that, I trust my conditions enough to let them do their thing
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  • #10
Thanks Wesley,

I'll stick with Schnells advice. It must be what D'amato meant. Once you've seen the FLOWER cut it off, not just the stalk. Great. I'll let my Akai Ryu keep it coming.
biggrin.gif
 
  • #11
Darcie wrote:
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]To be more technically accurate. A VFT will flower as a last ditch effort at survival when in bad conditions. The flowering is more of a sign of the end then the cause in those situations ...
That may be one example, but not the general case. In the wild and under cultivation conditions that mimic those found in the wild, VFTs usually initiate flower growth in the spring immediately after coming out of winter dormancy. Seed production is certainly a survival strategy of plants, but not necessarily the "last ditch effort at survival"
 
  • #12
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Odysseus @ Feb. 09 2004,11:05)]Thanks Wesley,  

I'll stick with Schnells advice.  It must be what D'amato meant.  Once you've seen the FLOWER cut it off, not just the stalk.  Great.  I'll let my Akai Ryu keep it coming.  
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Odysseus,
If you let the flower bloom you might as well polinate it and try to get seed, the damage is done. Clip the stalk immediately when you see it. If it sends up another, cut that one too. Check out the FAQ page on VFT flowers here: http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2470.html Now I will grant you that Barry tends to lean towards the doom side of things in these pages, and I have heard many many success stories with VFT flowers. If you wish to obtain seed, and you feel comfortable with your ability to do so without killing the parent plant, then by all means go right ahead. If however you are NOT after seed, or don't think you have the skill to do so successfully, then clip clip clip.

Cheers
Steve
 
  • #13
" each flower gets plenty of pollen on its receptive stigma. "

How do I apply the pollen. is a fan enough stimulation, do spiders work. How did you do it.
 
  • #14
A small soft dry paintbrush works well. Ive used q-tips and toothpicks on Drosera flowers. In some cases VFT flowers will pollinate themselves as the flowers shrivel up. For more details on the process, check out the FAQ: http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2480.html


Good luck
Steve
 
  • #15
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]How do I apply the pollen. ... How did you do it.
The best way is to simply bend one flower over and rub the anthers (pollen sacs) to the stigma of another flower that has opened several days earlier. The anthers ripen several days before the stigma of the same flower is receptive -- so although it is possible to pollinate a flower with itself, it works better to use one flower to pollinate another flower when both are at the optimal state.
 
  • #17
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]My common sent one up some time ago, and I cut it the moment I saw it; it sent three more up, one right after I cut the other.  I later let it almost flower, and finally snipped; it didn't send up another.
 so does this mean that if I cut the first flower soon than it will send up three more and then I will have a Potential three flowers instead of one and then I will have 60 to 90 seeds instead of 20 to 30
 
  • #18
[b said:
Quote[/b] (fre8train @ Feb. 10 2004,17:52)]why does this flower have no leaf http://www.sarracenia.com/photos2/dmusc27.jpg
<span style='font-size:12pt;line-height:100%'>Most likely because the flowers are usually born on the flower stalk that is 12 inches or more above the leaves. This makes it hard to get both into the same frame and in focus when taking the photograph.</span>
 
  • #19
fre8train,
No, it depends on the plant, and when you cut them off, and how much stength it has. Also, they didn't come up at the same time, they came as I cut the others off. I would cut on off, and a few days later another would come up. I also noticed, that as the others came up the were progressively smaller.
 
  • #20
[b said:
Quote[/b] (BobZ @ Feb. 09 2004,15:07)]Darcie wrote:
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]To be more technically accurate.  A VFT will flower as a last ditch effort at survival when in bad conditions. The flowering is more of a sign of the end then the cause in those situations ...
That may be one example, but not the general case. In the wild and under cultivation conditions that mimic those found in the wild, VFTs usually initiate flower growth in the spring immediately after coming out of winter dormancy. Seed production is certainly a survival strategy of plants, but not necessarily the "last ditch effort at survival"
hun? No, lol, I didn't mean that is why they always flower, LOL. I just ment that is one thing that can trigger the event aside from changing light conditions, lol. Of course healthy plants flower regularly. I just ment that it may be hard to know if it's healthy or last ditch effort flowering if you haven't had your plant that long.
 
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