Drosera finlaysoniana Flowering

[Shadowtski]

Here are some mediocre photos of my Drosera finlaysoniana. They're annuals grown from seed from the ICPS Seedbank. Seed was planted on March 9th in a water filled test tube. It germinated in 11 days and was potted up on March 22nd. In 3 months, they've grown to a height of almost 6 inches, still growing, and are flowering. The flower is a pale subtle Pink color. The color is more visible in the closed flower after it blooms. The plant is giving off a noticeable scent that smells like honey to me. The entire leaf is capable of movement and I have seen leaves with two full wraps around prey. They're devastating fly killers with extremely strong adhesive. Look for a seed giveaway from me in a few weeks time. Thanks are due to Ian, SDCPS, who donated the seed to the ICPS Seedbank. It was called Drosera indica "Pink Flower" before they renamed it as a separate species. This is a neat plant that should be in every Drosera lovers collection.

Good Growing,
Mike

 

[nimbulan]

I too have witnessed this plant doing full wraps around prey. It smells just like Drosophyllum, though the smell of either plant has never reminded me of honey. They grow very quickly compared to most sundews which is nice!

 

[SerMuncherIV]

I too have witnessed this plant doing full wraps around prey. It smells just like Drosophyllum, though the smell of either plant has never reminded me of honey. They grow very quickly compared to most sundews which is nice!

If Drosophyllum smells like this plant then it must smell NASTY! Certainly nothing like honey. Meanwhile, I've observed that D. hartmeyerorum, a close relative which actually has a pleasant scent not unlike citrus, is at least twice as slow and nowhere near as easy...

 

[nimbulan]

The best word I can think of to describe the smell of these plants is...musky? I've never found it to smell particularly good or bad, it just smells.

 

[SerMuncherIV]

I strongly agree with the adjective "musky". It's a smell that I'm firmly opposed to personally and I've banished my pot of D. finlaysoniana outdoors for the season so they can stop stinking up my window.

 

[nimbulan]

I suppose it's similar to how people feel about neem oil. Some people swear it smells like rancid rotting oranges but it just has unobtrusive citrus-ey odor to me. It could depend on the brand though.