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drosera spatulata - flowering, do i need to do anything?

Is it wishful thinking to believe the seeds would just drop into the soil and I'd get new spatulatas?

IMG_1878_zpsbe2c988d.jpg
 
Not at all. Self-compatible, self-pollinating although you might improve seed yield if you go in there with a small watercolor paintbrush and play busy bee.

I'd recommend reseeding the pot as (at least for me) D. spatulata grow like annual or biennial plants. Since you have multiple plants and multiple flowers you may want to experiment and clip off the flower stalks on one of the plants and see if there is any difference in longevity between plants.
 
I'll prob take one of my sister small make up brush and play busy bee, can't wait :)

what does reseeding the pot mean? I just got this plant I paid for one and I honestly can't tell how many plants I got. I think it looks like three.

I"ll def take your suggestion and cut off a slower stalk to see if it makes a difference.

thank you so much !!!! ^_^
 
Reseeding the pot simply means sowing the seeds that result from the flowers on the soil of the pot to get new plants growing. D. spatulata tends to be extremely prolific with seed count, and there are certainly a lot of varieties that seem to conk out after flowering. I have at least one, however, that never stops flowering and never stops growing, ever.
 
thanks will start reading more on sowing seeds and expecting lots of spatulatas :)
 
I would feed it a bit more often.
 
Well fed plants flower more often, produce better seed sets, crap out less after flowering.
 
Agreed with Sarah and NaN. The red color may decrease some with heavy feeding, but the plants definitely bounce back a whole lot faster after flowering if they have lots of food.
 
  • #11
Drosera spatulata needs no help in its quest to rule the world of carnivorous plant collections. It will self pollinate, self seed and contaminate just about every carnivorous plant pot within 50 miles. Feed it and don't be surprised if one day it pulls up its roots and walks.
Having said that, it's a cute little thing isn't it
 
  • #12
it's so cute!! i'm so glad i don't have to do anything and it'll self-reproduce. what should i feed it with?

oh fred, you're so funny :banana2:
 
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  • #13
all of the spatulatas I grow, right now, just flower and flower and live and live. Hands down the oldest plants in my collection along with many of their offspring. fredg is right about it being disgustingly prolific and if you plan on keeping similar looking species and varieties labeled and identified correctly, then you will need to watch that seed production like a hawk. I give up cutting flower stalks before seed set and they just blow around and get bumped and spill thousands of seed everywhere. That last fact has caused me trouble in Id-ing young plants of tokaiensis, capillaris, and a few other spatulata varieties. I always thought I just wanted pretty sundews to look at and wouldn't mind the potential ID mix-ups, but turns out that I wish I had kept better records and population control.
 
  • #14
it's so cute!! i'm so glad i don't have to do anything and it'll self-reproduce. what should i feed it with?

oh fred, you're so funny :banana2:

Dried bloodworms work great. You can find it with the fish food in practically any supermarket. Grind some up in a drop of distilled water and parcel it out. Just be warned, while they love it, whichever leaf you feed with that (unless you use crazy tiny amounts) is done for. Fortunately, the energy they just got means they'll cover it up with new growth in a week or so. :p
 
  • #15
Dried bloodworms work great. You can find it with the fish food in practically any supermarket. Grind some up in a drop of distilled water and parcel it out. Just be warned, while they love it, whichever leaf you feed with that (unless you use crazy tiny amounts) is done for. Fortunately, the energy they just got means they'll cover it up with new growth in a week or so. :p

I second that, minus the leaf loss dang, what brand are you using Zath?
 
  • #16
I grow quite a few of these now and they produce TONS of seed! Mine live in a west afternoon sunny window. Evey now and then I crush up some Betta fish pellets and sprinkle some over the plants.
 
  • #17
thanks everyone for sharing their experience with the spatulata. The flower bloomed today but towards the end of the day closed. is that normal?
 
  • #18
thanks everyone for sharing their experience with the spatulata. The flower bloomed today but towards the end of the day closed. is that normal?

Sounds normal to me, for plants in general
 
  • #19
thanks everyone for sharing their experience with the spatulata. The flower bloomed today but towards the end of the day closed. is that normal?

Yup! They don't last long!
 
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