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Gemmae question

vft guy in SJ

VFT and Drosera lover
My D. scorpioides that I recieved from BCK last fall are now producing gemmae. This is my first experience with pygmie gemmae so I have a couple questions.

1. How many will each individual plant produce?
2. How do I know when to harvest?
3. Will the parent plants survive after they complete the gemmae cycle or are they going to die when its finished?

Thanks
Steve
 
Steve!! Where've you been? Good to see you.

You will have more gemmae than you know what to do with. I harvest them when they're easily dislodged, but I don't know the proper time. And many of my parent plants have survived, but I don't know about D. scorpiodes, or if that's normal.

Capslock
 
Steve, welcome back! I'm in the same boat as you, from the same supplier, with the same questions!
 
Wow Steve! I was just wondering where you got off too the other day.
laugh.gif
. Glad to see you back! Now for your questions:

<span style='color:purple'>1. How many will each individual plant produce?</span>
A whole bunch. Seriously! I have one plant that I have harvested 50+ gemmae from and it's got more on it that I need to harvest.

<span style='color:purple'>2. How do I know when to harvest?</span>
I use a tooth pick to wiggle the gemmae. If it wiggles like a loose tooth, it's more than ready. If it takes a bit of pressure to wiggle it then it's ready. If it won't wiggle with firm pressure, I leave it be for a couple days to a week. You'll get the feel for it after a couple plants.

<span style='color:purple'>3. Will the parent plants survive after they complete the gemmae cycle or are they going to die when its finished?</span>
After harvesting the gemmae you will wish they died so you didn't have to do it again
smile_n_32.gif
! I had plants that produce gemmae again in I think it was March. That's after producing them Nov. thru Dec. the previous year. So yes, the plants will keep on growing after they produce gemmae. They are supposed to live for several years. I scatter some gemmae into the pot as I harvest them, just to be sure I have a few new plants coming up just in case.

I would also suggest you harvest the gemmae as far from your other CPs as possible. They have an amazing ability to zero in on nearby pots. I have several scorpioides volunteers in pots that I swear were no where near the original pots of scorpioides at any time.
 
Hehe well just like a bad check I eventually come back. Thanks for the warm welcome Max, Jim and Steve.

Thanks for the help as well. I will check on them tomorrow and see if the gemmae are starting to loosen up any. I just noticed the onset of gemmae production about 2 weeks ago, it looks like I have probably 15-20 little gemmae on each of my plants so I hope to be able to harvest soon. I'll let ya know how it goes.

Cheers
Steve
 
STEVE! It is about time! Sorry, I am having a lack of time lately as well. Welcome home.
 
Niv=ce seeing you back Steve.  A good harvest method is to press a wet q-tip against the gemmae "wheel".  This keeps them from popping off (they can fly 3 feet because of a spring like mechanism evolved to propel the gemmae away from the plants).

Gemmae harvest is a task to be sure, but it is a labor of love.

My plants often go ratty after the gemmae process, and some do die.  I try to keep them a bit less wet for the month or so rest, and in good air circulation.  A fan really makes a big difference in my cultivation at this time.
 
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