FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I have a D. capensis, some spathulata, a rotundifolia and a binata- so far I only find the leaves on the capensis and rotundifolia to be unsightly, so I started cutting them off and discarding them. But when I see pics online of "unkempt" capensis, I actually like how they look... I am just not patient enough to wait through the ugly stage. The binata I am just now growing, but I expect to remove the old leaves since they are big and easy to remove. Spathulata just grow too quickly to bother removing any leaves, so one of my pots has just a mass of old leaves with new growth on top.

Do you bother trimming your sundews? Any pics are welcome

Here is a shot of the little plantlets I have on my capensis, part of the reason I try to trim the leaves from the big one- it's the stem you can see to the right

Mostly the same case with VFT leaves - it really doesn't matter all that much. Growers who like a very tidy appearance will constantly clip old leaves, while others do a massive haircut at the end of the season or don't even cut leaves at all since they enjoy the in situ look. Plants being grown in good conditions shouldn't get threatening issues with mold/fungus developing in the mat of old leaves.

who can be bothered man

When the leaf starts rotting and drying out I usually leave it alone for a while and when there's enough dark brown matter in the pot, I clean out the leaves that are completely or partially brown. I try not to disturb the plant after I cut down it's old leaves even if it responds with additional leaf death, after a while, where there are enough dead leaves again, I trim them again, water them abundantly and leave them be for a while. My Drosera cleaning cycle.

I trim my D. capensis whenever I get around to it which isn't terribly often. The process is a bit time-consuming for my liking though I find the plant looks much better afterwards. I am especially motivated to do this when a leaf with a large meal like a housefly touches the soil, because that WILL grow mold and looks quite nasty.

I will also trim my D. filiformis and flytraps occasionally and don't really bother with the rest.

LuminousAphid wrote:I have a D. capensis, some spathulata, a rotundifolia and a binata- so far I only find the leaves on the capensis and rotundifolia to be unsightly, so I started cutting them off and discarding them. But when I see pics online of "unkempt" capensis, I actually like how they look... I am just not patient enough to wait through the ugly stage. The binata I am just now growing, but I expect to remove the old leaves since they are big and easy to remove. Spathulata just grow too quickly to bother removing any leaves, so one of my pots has just a mass of old leaves with new growth on top.

Do you bother trimming your sundews? Any pics are welcome

Here is a shot of the little plantlets I have on my capensis, part of the reason I try to trim the leaves from the big one- it's the stem you can see to the right

*spatulata*