When I first got this plant a year ago it shot up then promptly fell over under its own weight and grew along the ground for awhile to about 10" before dying. I was distraught and puzzled as to why a plant would evolve in such a seemingly foolish way.
To my guarded delight, before it died out completely, I saw the beginnings of a sundew sprouting from the base of the stalk. Could it be that I lucked out and my little dew of Madagascar, sensing that its only stalk was nearing its end, was regrowing from the root? It was too early to tell, but I was hopeful.
Turns out, that was precisely the case. The single stalk I have today is the result of that little sprout. And sometime last month, it fell over again. Sensing a pattern, I kept an eye out for a repeat performance. Sure enough, I saw a suspiciously madagascariensis-looking youngling coming up just as it happened the first time around. This time, however, I wanted to try and trick the plant into not dying. I used 3 bamboo skewers and staked that main stalk back up.
Today, both main stalk and pup are still alive and growing well. I would like to pose a question: does D. madagascariensis sense the danger when its main stalk falls over, sending up a new one? I ask this because the plant has not previously sent up any new stalks, unless the main one has fallen over. I know you can propagate by root and leaf cuttings fairly easily, considering madagascariensis' capensis-like hardiness.
I like to say once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence, and three times makes a pattern. This is twice now it's happened. I will be looking for a third incident to confirm. Now a couple of pictures for your enjoyment:
View attachment 1735
Notice the kink in the stalk from when I got around to propping it back up, once I was relatively sure the offshoot wouldn't die off as a result.
View attachment 1736
It's so cute!
Also please disregard the dead-looking D. slackii in the background. I fear it is not only dead-looking, but actually dead
Puzzling because my venusta is growing full and happy right next to it, almost mocking it in it's vibrant ruby leaves, sparkling with dew and life. I didn't even get a leaf cutting before the slackii died on me *mutter mutter*
edit: I didn't realize the pictures directly uploaded to the forum are resized. If there's interest, I could repost the pictures using a different host, but I think the idea is communicated well enough.
edit 2: This...this is not the Drosera Forum. Sorry! Can I have a mod grace my thread and move it to its proper place?
To my guarded delight, before it died out completely, I saw the beginnings of a sundew sprouting from the base of the stalk. Could it be that I lucked out and my little dew of Madagascar, sensing that its only stalk was nearing its end, was regrowing from the root? It was too early to tell, but I was hopeful.
Turns out, that was precisely the case. The single stalk I have today is the result of that little sprout. And sometime last month, it fell over again. Sensing a pattern, I kept an eye out for a repeat performance. Sure enough, I saw a suspiciously madagascariensis-looking youngling coming up just as it happened the first time around. This time, however, I wanted to try and trick the plant into not dying. I used 3 bamboo skewers and staked that main stalk back up.
Today, both main stalk and pup are still alive and growing well. I would like to pose a question: does D. madagascariensis sense the danger when its main stalk falls over, sending up a new one? I ask this because the plant has not previously sent up any new stalks, unless the main one has fallen over. I know you can propagate by root and leaf cuttings fairly easily, considering madagascariensis' capensis-like hardiness.
I like to say once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence, and three times makes a pattern. This is twice now it's happened. I will be looking for a third incident to confirm. Now a couple of pictures for your enjoyment:
View attachment 1735
Notice the kink in the stalk from when I got around to propping it back up, once I was relatively sure the offshoot wouldn't die off as a result.
View attachment 1736
It's so cute!
Also please disregard the dead-looking D. slackii in the background. I fear it is not only dead-looking, but actually dead
Puzzling because my venusta is growing full and happy right next to it, almost mocking it in it's vibrant ruby leaves, sparkling with dew and life. I didn't even get a leaf cutting before the slackii died on me *mutter mutter*edit: I didn't realize the pictures directly uploaded to the forum are resized. If there's interest, I could repost the pictures using a different host, but I think the idea is communicated well enough.
edit 2: This...this is not the Drosera Forum. Sorry! Can I have a mod grace my thread and move it to its proper place?
