FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

linton wrote:Just curious - what tools do you use to hand pollinate (small, fine paintbrush?) and how many times do you pollinate your blooms while they are receptive??

Yes, to pollinate I personally prefer a good-quality, soft artist's paintbrush, either round or flat, with bristles about 1 centimeter long. Those work great.

I pollinate at least several times, usually 3-5 times during the 1 - 1.5 days the stigma is receptive. I simply go into the greenhouse several times per day to pollinate. But simply morning and evening would be sufficient I think.

Here are a couple photos from the greenhouse this morning.

A Royal Red flowerstalk:



First bloom opening from a mature flower stalk (lots of fresh pollen visible). I try to get and use the pollen from the flowers shortly after they open, before the insects in the greenhouse disturb it and make most of it fall from the blossom where it cannot be retrieved.

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An update on how the flowering season is ramping up.

• April 17 -- First bloom opened.
• April 18 -- Another bloom opened. Used pollen to fertilize first bloom.
• April 19 -- 2 more flowers open for total of 3 open, 1 (the first one, well pollinated) closing.
• April 20 -- 13 open blooms
• April 22 (today) -- 43 open blooms

Steve

wow. that Royal Red flower stem is huge, Steve!

I really want to try cross pollinating a few of my plants. thanks for all the great info and pictures

That's a lot of flower stalks for one plant. How does the plant do the rest of the year after flowering and producing seed?

Adam wrote:That's a lot of flower stalks for one plant. How does the plant do the rest of the year after flowering and producing seed?

Hi Adam-- I usually only allow the largest, most mature plants to flower and set seed, although this year I let some of the mature but younger plants also produce flower stalks because of a large seed order from Japan.

Generally, the flowering and seed production seems to slow a plant's leaf growth by about 1/3 to 1/2 the normal rate. This lasts for about 2.5 months I guess. Then after the seed is set they go back to growing vigorously. Right now, the B52s that are producing seed were first transplanted this year about the time they broke dormancy, and they soon produced flower stalks, but they still have each produced 3-4 new leaves and traps to one side of the flower stalk already, so the strain on the plant is minimal. In addition, almost all my plants still have 6-8 leaves each from last year helping them to photosynthesize, because I don't allow them to freeze during dormancy. These old leaves from last year's growing season will probably die in several months when the current growing season is about half to 2/3 over, but in the meantime add a lot of food for the plant via photosynthesis.

Steve

Nice! Thanks for that explanation. This just reinforces that I need to keep my plants inside for December through till April. This way I will hopefully have dormancy breaking in February and if I let them flower, they will do so around this time as yours do.

43 open?! Wow. Can't wait to see the load of seeds you get from this!

How many square feet is your green house? Is it mostly VFT & other carnivorous plants?

I bet that Matt is drooling over the size of that flowerstalk and dreaming of tissue culture!

If you put that thing in TC, you would get 1000 plants lol!

Nickrober wrote:43 open?! Wow. Can't wait to see the load of seeds you get from this! How many square feet is your green house? Is it mostly VFT & other carnivorous plants?

Hi Nick-- My growing space is not really that big, about 12 feet by 14 feet. 2-3 times larger would be a lot more practical, but I have to make do with what I have for the time being.