FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hello all! Just wanted to post some "baby" pictures of my newer Drosera & Dionaea seedlings. You can view them at (https://sites.google.com/view/jessica-teeters/cps). Right now, they are only about 7 weeks old (there are some pictures just below that section of them from before that as well.) from initial sprout/germination and look at them go! I have them in a Greenhouse now and it seems to be providing some great results. The D. Capensis and D. Jacoby "Spatulata" came from user Trip81 (thanks so much again, friend!) the D. Madagascariensis came from this forum's seed list, and the Dionaea Muscipula came from the FlyTrap store. I cannot say for sure at this point, but one of the mixed Dionaea seedlings may be a saw or fused tooth? However, it may be too soon to tell of course...

My only concern at this point is how close together some of the Drosera are grouping as they grow. I did my best to sprinkle them as evenly as possible, but some are still clustered pretty closely together. Is there any need for me to be worried about trying to split them up a little - or wait until they are bigger - or not at all? If so, how big should I wait for them to get before attempting to do so?

Otherwise, they look like happy little plants for the time being, and their colors are very nice!

Jessica/Rhyski, I can only talk about the drosera. I have found that I generally have better luck transplanting them when they size up a bit. I generally wont transplant until they are at least 1/2". That tends to be about the time they start to dew up. Important thing is to not damage them or disturb the roots when doing it, so that is going to depend on your skill. With some of the clumps I saw in the pics, I would try to divide them, knowing you will lose a few of the plants doing it at the size they are at, but it might be worth it for better growth.

You could pick some of the plants to feed on the outside of the clumps, then as they size up work your way into the center by removing the larger ones (on the outside) and see how they do.

Also, a technique that can help if you have live sphagnum, is to move plants onto the live sphagnum. I have a small container of live sphagnum that I use for a nursery. Seedlings not doing so well get moved there with better results than onto other media. I get near 100% survival rates. I also do that with Pinguicula pulls. If you do that, be sure to label properly so you can tell what is what.

twitcher wrote:Jessica/Rhyski, I can only talk about the drosera. I have found that I generally have better luck transplanting them when they size up a bit. I generally wont transplant until they are at least 1/2". That tends to be about the time they start to dew up. Important thing is to not damage them or disturb the roots when doing it, so that is going to depend on your skill. With some of the clumps I saw in the pics, I would try to divide them, knowing you will lose a few of the plants doing it at the size they are at, but it might be worth it for better growth.

You could pick some of the plants to feed on the outside of the clumps, then as they size up work your way into the center by removing the larger ones (on the outside) and see how they do.

Also, a technique that can help if you have live sphagnum, is to move plants onto the live sphagnum. I have a small container of live sphagnum that I use for a nursery. Seedlings not doing so well get moved there with better results than onto other media. I get near 100% survival rates. I also do that with Pinguicula pulls. If you do that, be sure to label properly so you can tell what is what.

Thanks for the feedback, this is my main concern. So are you saying I should maybe try splitting some up from the bigger clumps now and wait for the rest to get a bit bigger? Also, I could try feeding some around the outside, but is it too soon to start feeding them at this stage? If I were, though, what could I feed them? I heard for very small vft's one could ball up tiny moistened bloodworm flake/grounds and feed, but I'm not sure if that would be appropriate for this case or not...

Anyone have any conflicting or affirming second opinions regarding this? I would like to try to split some up if doing so earlier than later would be better, but again my skill isn't very high on separating young plants at this stage...

Did you have any luck separating them? I am going to be running into the same issue. I have a bunch spread out but one huge clump in the middle where I dumped too many seeds. I am afraid to move them, especially at this stage. Hoping you found a successful way to do this!

tracieh wrote:Did you have any luck separating them? I am going to be running into the same issue. I have a bunch spread out but one huge clump in the middle where I dumped too many seeds. I am afraid to move them, especially at this stage. Hoping you found a successful way to do this!

Thanks, Tracieh. I haven't attempted to do so just yet as I'm unsure still of exactly how to approach it at their size... I thought I would post one more time to hopefully push this up a bit in the topics, so if anyone has any suggestions or techniques, we'd very much appreciate it!

I haven't tried separating Drosera seedlings before, but I can speak to the Dionaea. I've had luck with this species separtaing them at about the same size, 1/2" diameter. Gently loosen and wash the soil around the plants, making sure to not damage the roots. Once they are accessible, a toothpick works well to remove them and guide the roots into a pre-poked hole in their new home.

I'll be attempting to divide a bunch of D. capensis in a few weeks, I can let you know how that goes if you are still curious.

Patrick

DesertPat wrote:I haven't tried separating Drosera seedlings before, but I can speak to the Dionaea. I've had luck with this species separtaing them at about the same size, 1/2" diameter. Gently loosen and wash the soil around the plants, making sure to not damage the roots. Once they are accessible, a toothpick works well to remove them and guide the roots into a pre-poked hole in their new home.

I'll be attempting to divide a bunch of D. capensis in a few weeks, I can let you know how that goes if you are still curious.

Patrick

Thanks, that would be very helpful and much appreciated! I guess just being as methodical and careful as possible is key, but if there's a specific way to tackle it well (and gently) that would be ideal.