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Carnivorous Plants/dionaea x drosera hybrid

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Expert: - 3/12/2009


Question
I have heard about this quite a bit lately, however have never seen a picture. However my question is Could you cross say a ceph with a heli or nep?? or even a CP with a Non CP?? like for instance a VFT with a Cactus.. It is just something that has been on my mind for a while and would be very interested in any answers given and would love to see some photos! :)

Answer
Hello Jeremy,

Sorry, I dont have any photos of such a plant. It is possible to cross Dionaea with Drosera of some species, mostly with Drosera regia as those species are closest in ancestry.

It is also possibl;e to cross some species of butterwort with some species of bladderwort as those plants are relatively close in ancestry as well.

Sarracenias, Nepenthes, and Cephalotus are farther along in ancestry than the others, being basically unrelated (or very distantly related) plant species that developed very similar methods of trapping prey.

I do not know of any relations that are close enough among the carnivorous and non-carnivorous plants that would allow for hybridization among them.

Christopher


Christopher

Carnivorous Plants

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Christopher Littrell

Expertise

I am capable of answering questions about the most common carnivorous plants found in cultivation. I have no personal experience with Byblis, Drosophyllum, Aldrovanda, and Heliamphora. I have not cultivated gemmae forming pygmy sundews nor tuberous sundews. For information regarding those aforementioned species, I would suggest contacting other experts. I can answer questions regarding most species of Nepenthes, tropical and temperate Drosera, Mexican Pinguicula, Sarracenias, and Dionaea. I have some limited experience with growing Utricularia, Cephalotus, and Darlingtonia.

Experience

I have grown carnivorous plants off and on for about 27 years. I have made the same mistakes and suffered the same mishaps that many growers make as they attempt to separate the myths from the realities of growing these plants. Currently, I am successfully growing a variety of tropical sundews, a Nepenthes, several Venus Flytraps of varying ages, and Sarracenias. I have been successful in stratifying Sarracenia seeds and providing artificial dormancy requirements for my temperate plants when needed.

Education/Credentials
I hold a Master's degree in Educational Psychology. Over my lifetime, I have constantly read books involving the growing conditions of carnivorous plants. I hope to incorporate the educational aspects involved in psychology with teaching other people how to cultivate carnivorous plants.

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