- Sun Mar 03, 2013 6:41 am
#167898
This is a basic guide to producing hybrid drosera plants. It can also be applied to plants from different genera.
A hybrid is the offspring resulting from the sexual reproduction of two different species. In plants, hybridization can occur when pollen (containing the male gamete) is transferred to the stigma (the female organ) of a flower.
Not all plants can be hybridized with each other. In general, the more related the species are, the higher the chance of it working. Identical chromosome counts can also determine whether hybridization will be successful. Exceptions exist.
Visit http://www.carnivorousplants.org/cp/DroseraHybrids.phpfor a list of reported hybrids and more much detailed information.
Visit http://www.growsundews.com/sundews/dros ... sting.html for more detail about the flowering, pollination and seeding process.
Method:
I will be transferring the pollen of D. spatulata (referred to as father flower) to the stigmas of D. capensis. The D. capensis (referred to as mother flower) will be fertilized and will produce seed.
1. As soon as the flower opens, remove the anthers of the mother flower. This is can be done by pinching them with a pair of fine tweezers.
The removal of anthers (which produce pollen) is important as many species self-pollinate. A self fertilizing plant usually prefers its own pollen to the pollen of another species. Not all seed, if any, produced will be a hybrid.
2. Remove the anthers of the father flowers. This can be done with tweezers. The anthers should not be discarded.
Note that many species open in the morning, and for less than an hour. The pollen should be mature by the time it opens up. I find it easier to remove the petals first as they get in the way.
3. Touch the anthers you just removed from the father flower to the stigma of the mother flower. You should be able to see (with a magnifying glass) yellow powder stuck on the stigma.
The mother flower is now pollinated
4. It’s a good idea to mark which flowers have gone through the process.
5. Now it’s time to wait for the seeds to form and mature. This can take about a month. Seeds are mature when the pod is dry.
It’s a good idea to leave the pods above and below the hybridized pod as reference. If they both have mature seed in them, then the hybridized pod should be safe to remove. There’s nothing more devastating than removing a seed pod only to find that the seed isn’t mature.
Results and discussion
Please note that this hybridisation attempt failed for me, and the plant pictured is a pure D. capensis plant. This is due to a few reasons:
1. The spatulata plant was a actually a misidentified D. tokaiensis (woops)
2. the mother D. capensis got contaminated with its own pollen
This of course resulted in 0 hybrid plants (since D. capensis and D. tokaiensis does not form hybrids, at least to my knowledge) and resulted in a few D. capensis seedlings (as the plant was contaminated with its own pollen).
That being said, this guide should still be applicable, but obviously, it can be improved.
So how do you prevent contamination?
I haven't attempted hybridisation after this attempt, due to a lack of suitable plants. However, these are some techniques that I'm guessing will work (please note that I haven't tried this myself. They are hypotheses.) If anybody could test them out for me and post the results, that would be great.
- It seems that by the time the flower is close to opening, the pollen is already mature and any movement of the flower causes some pollen to land of the stigmas. To solve it, i would think that mutilating that removing the petals very early in the morning (or even the night before), to remove the stamens before the pollen is ripe would prevent this. However, the flower, without its petals, may or may not be able to produce seed. Someone would need to test this method to see if it is possible.
Lastly, if anybody would share any tips on how they avoid contamination, please share in the comments or message me!
A hybrid is the offspring resulting from the sexual reproduction of two different species. In plants, hybridization can occur when pollen (containing the male gamete) is transferred to the stigma (the female organ) of a flower.
Not all plants can be hybridized with each other. In general, the more related the species are, the higher the chance of it working. Identical chromosome counts can also determine whether hybridization will be successful. Exceptions exist.
Visit http://www.carnivorousplants.org/cp/DroseraHybrids.phpfor a list of reported hybrids and more much detailed information.
Visit http://www.growsundews.com/sundews/dros ... sting.html for more detail about the flowering, pollination and seeding process.
Method:
I will be transferring the pollen of D. spatulata (referred to as father flower) to the stigmas of D. capensis. The D. capensis (referred to as mother flower) will be fertilized and will produce seed.
1. As soon as the flower opens, remove the anthers of the mother flower. This is can be done by pinching them with a pair of fine tweezers.
The removal of anthers (which produce pollen) is important as many species self-pollinate. A self fertilizing plant usually prefers its own pollen to the pollen of another species. Not all seed, if any, produced will be a hybrid.
2. Remove the anthers of the father flowers. This can be done with tweezers. The anthers should not be discarded.
Note that many species open in the morning, and for less than an hour. The pollen should be mature by the time it opens up. I find it easier to remove the petals first as they get in the way.
3. Touch the anthers you just removed from the father flower to the stigma of the mother flower. You should be able to see (with a magnifying glass) yellow powder stuck on the stigma.
The mother flower is now pollinated
4. It’s a good idea to mark which flowers have gone through the process.
5. Now it’s time to wait for the seeds to form and mature. This can take about a month. Seeds are mature when the pod is dry.
It’s a good idea to leave the pods above and below the hybridized pod as reference. If they both have mature seed in them, then the hybridized pod should be safe to remove. There’s nothing more devastating than removing a seed pod only to find that the seed isn’t mature.
Results and discussion
Please note that this hybridisation attempt failed for me, and the plant pictured is a pure D. capensis plant. This is due to a few reasons:
1. The spatulata plant was a actually a misidentified D. tokaiensis (woops)
2. the mother D. capensis got contaminated with its own pollen
This of course resulted in 0 hybrid plants (since D. capensis and D. tokaiensis does not form hybrids, at least to my knowledge) and resulted in a few D. capensis seedlings (as the plant was contaminated with its own pollen).
That being said, this guide should still be applicable, but obviously, it can be improved.
So how do you prevent contamination?
I haven't attempted hybridisation after this attempt, due to a lack of suitable plants. However, these are some techniques that I'm guessing will work (please note that I haven't tried this myself. They are hypotheses.) If anybody could test them out for me and post the results, that would be great.
- It seems that by the time the flower is close to opening, the pollen is already mature and any movement of the flower causes some pollen to land of the stigmas. To solve it, i would think that mutilating that removing the petals very early in the morning (or even the night before), to remove the stamens before the pollen is ripe would prevent this. However, the flower, without its petals, may or may not be able to produce seed. Someone would need to test this method to see if it is possible.
Lastly, if anybody would share any tips on how they avoid contamination, please share in the comments or message me!
Last edited by fattytuna on Sun Sep 08, 2013 3:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
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