FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

This sundew grew very quickly once summer hit. It is about eight inches (20 cm) tall and has light purple flowers. It has no red coloring except the "branches" that are stressed or dead. I am interested in identification and need advice on how to store the seeds. Thank you in advance.

What name was on the seed package?

That is Drosera finlaysoniana. It is a member of the Drosera indica complex. What distinguishes D. finlaysoniana is that the tentacles grow up to the stalk. There is no petiole. On D. indica there is a gap of 1 inch or so between the stalk and the first tentacles on the leaf.

The plant is an Annual. It will die off after it produces its seeds. Some attempts have been made to keep it alive longer and propagate it from cuttings with various levels of success.

After you harvest your seeds, let them dry for a week or so. Then put them in a paper envelope and store them in your refrigerator.

That's my two cents worth.

Good growing,
Mike

The seed packet was a "Sundew Mix" from eBay, so I really had no idea. I had not seen one like this anywhere else. Thank you very much for the reply!

Welcome to the forum.

You'll find a lot of nice people here with a lot of knowledge.

One other note on the seeds: Wait until the seed pod turns brown and shows signs of cracking open. That's the time to cut off that particular seed pod and put it in your paper envelope.

Good growing,
Mike

D. finlaysoniana is not surprising to find in a sundew seed mix. Like Shadowski said, it's an annual, so it'll die back at some point and you can replant from the seeds it produces. These annual species do grow rather quickly!

Thank you both for your replies. I appreciate it very much.

aneff wrote:Thank you both for your replies. I appreciate it very much.

That's such a cool plant! How long did it take to get to that size

I planted this indoors around the first of the year, and it was very, very tiny until I started putting it out in the sun around May. From May to mid-July it started growing like mad. One day it caught over a dozen large flies and it really shot up after that. Then a strong wind storm about killed it, so I propped it up with bamboo skewers and it started sending out seed pods. So to answer your question, it's almost 8 months old, but it was a two-month growth spurt that took it to its present size.

That looks like a really nice plant... always wanted one.

mo_carnivore wrote:That looks like a really nice plant... always wanted one.

PM'ed you.


Good growing,
Mike