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Drosera Hybridization, My First Attempt

Shadowtski

Supporter
I attempted to hybridize Drosera capensis "Typical" and Drosera aliciae this morning. This is my first effort at creating a hybrid.

I waited until flowers from both plants were wide open. Then I took some tiny cuticle scissors and cut off one of the anthers from the D. aliciae flower. The pollen looked fully developed and fluffy.

After cleaning the scissors, I removed all 5 anthers from the D. capensis flower so it couldn't pollinate itself.

I took a toothpick and scraped off the stigmas of the capensis flower to remove any residual pollen even though I couldn't see any present.

I scraped all the pollen off the D. aliciae anther, put it on the tip of a dental pick and applied it to the stigmas of the D. capensis flower. I repeated this for all 5 stigmas of the capensis.

I tied a piece of sewing thread around the D. capensis flower. This way, I know which seed pod to watch for swelling and possible seed development. In 3 or 4 weeks, I hope to harvest my first hybrid Drosera seeds.

Tomorrow or Tuesday, I will try to cross pollinate my Drosera capensis "Broad Leaf" and Drosera aliciae. The Broad Leaf flower was not cooperating today.

Wish me luck everybody.

Good growing,
Mike
 
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Ooooooooohhhh, Drosera hybridization :oops:

Keep us updated.
 
Sweet, good luck! I had D. capensis x spatulata for a few years... I really enjoyed that plant actually :)
 
It should work - D. capensis and D. aliciae are known to be genetically compatible (in fact I have one myself.) Good luck!
 
Being an ignorant layman, I'm not sure what the result will look like. I'm guessing and hoping there will be some variation in the offspring. I'm rolling the genetic dice and crossing my fingers. It could be a stem forming plant with wedge shaped leave. It could be a rosette with strap shaped leaves. Anyway, it is fun to try something different. Who knows, maybe one of the offspring will be different enough and good enough to justify cultivar status.

Good growing,
Mike
 
Thank you Fred. I did look at that. I thought that was just one possibility. Isn't it possible there is a whole range of appearance for the offspring? I would think there should be a large difference or is that the only offspring that has been produced?

Good growing,
Mike
 
The plant I grow is actually D. capensis 'albino' x aliciae, and the person I got it from told me he intends to register it. I believe it has a pretty unusual appearance for the cross, having very small, strap-shaped leaves arranged in a very dense, small bush. I've had other growers question the accuracy of the parentage since the appearance is so unusual.

Drosera capensis 'Albino' x aliciae by Nimbulan, on Flickr
 
  • #10
D. capensis and D. aliciae are genetically compatible, but only just; you will probably find the seedlings are very difficult to get up to any size, and they die back really easily. D. aliciae is closely related to D. natalensis, which is not compatible with capensis.
 
  • #11
Today, I crossed, (Hopefully) or at least tried to, my Drosera capensis "Wide Leaf" with my Drosera aliciae. The flowers were both wide open at the same time. Now the waiting begins.

Good growing,
Mike
 
  • #12
Good luck Mike. I had great success with my first: D. x snyderi, on your growlist.
 
  • #13
Today, I crossed, (Hopefully) or at least tried to, my Drosera capensis "Wide Leaf" with my Drosera aliciae. The flowers were both wide open at the same time. Now the waiting begins.

Good growing,
Mike

I'd love to see the traights of the widleaf carry into the cross. Keep in mind that some unconfirmed crosses of capensis x aliciae are not like the plants seen above, they look like wideleafed capensis. Also a cross with capensis 'Albino' can result in interestingly pale progeny.
 
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