FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi everyone,

Thought i'd give leaf cuttings a go!

Although I've propagated many plants in the past, I've never increased my collection of Dionaea through leaf cuttings.

Having read Matts "how to" and several books and web sites, i'm going to give it a try!

This afternoon, i purchased a ok ish Dm from the local garden centre for £3.99 (bargain ) It is this plant that i'll butcher (propargate ) it's about 6cm across, and looks like a standard green form.




It was a little dry and in need of care, so it's in a saucer of rain water in the sunny side of the greenhouse. i'll give it a week to perk up before the leaf pull.

just a few questions......

Would you guys recommend hormone rooting powder?

Would a heated propargator be beneficial? ( it's currently in a green house in the grey, cold English midlands)

Why cut the trap off??? surley the more leaf, the more photosynthesis, ( if it's to reduce transpiration, then if i cover the pot with cling film, could i get over it, and this would also prevent the trap catching insects, moving, and possibly uprooting its self)

And any more hints and tips.

I'll keep a record here.

Fingers crossed!

Many thanks................................ Dan

Hi Dan,

Also living in the Midlands (UK) we have the same climate and I’ve been taking leaf cuttings for 5 years now and I use no rooting powder or heating, just a greenhouse. Put the leaf on top of some peat and cover the white part of the leaf and that’s it.

I also leave the trap on and depending on which VFT cutting I have taken you should see some think in about 10-12 weeks.

Dan,

Best of luck with your leaf cuttings. When I did some early this spring, I used rooting hormone on some and not on others. It seemed to have no effect on whether or not the pullings took. I had about 100% take on my pullings.

I didn't use any kind of heating either. I just put the pullings in peat moss or long fibered sphagnum with distilled water and put them in a sunny windowsill or in my terrarium, but I would guess that we get much more sun here in Boulder, CO than you do in the English midlands.

I am not entirely certain why to cut the trap off the pullings. That's just how I read to do it. I think the trap turns black quicker than the leaf and it will help prevent fungus if you take off the trap, but that's just a guess. In any case, I know for sure taking the trap off will still result in near 100% strike rate for the pullings.

Matt

Nice looking plant. I do agree with Matt about removal of the trap segment. It does have a tendency to decay faster than the rest of the leaf. But I may suggest a little experimenting and leave the trap intact. If humidity, soil condition and soil moisture of your propagation container is such that it does not promote decay then you may have plantlets appear from any part of the leaf, (including trap). But if the trap starts to decay then simply cut off the rot before it migrates.

I find also that a small amount of decay occurs in the region of where the pulling detached from the plant. This seems normal and I would not try to remove this small decay area.

In addition, I have never used any “Root Tone” type products to promote high yields and reduce damp-off. Now I am curious if others have had improved results.

I wish you productive a propagation effort. Conservation through propagation Baby!

Curtis

i'm a new grower so i can't really answer your questions but i notice that you have it inside a clay pot. Matt says that it could cause problems because... uhh... I DON'T KNOW JUST ASK HIM!!!!