Expert: Christopher Littrell - 5/11/2009

Question
So this morning i was kinda hazy and i went to check on my
drosera capensis..and the flower that was starting to open
up..and there was a dead leaf on the plant so i went to
pinch it off (i didnt have my scissors handy) and somehow
my thumb like flicked the bottom part of the flower stalk
and it broke off from the rest of the plant..basically i
hate myself right now cuz i really wanted to plant
thousands of lil dewers...can u really quickly list the
pros (if any) and the cons of what happened..for
example..now the plant can focus on making more leaves (it
only has like 5)..and if you could..start with the cons
first so you end on a good note :)
(also do you think it will put up another flower)
besides my clumbsyness the plant is in perfect settings
(full sun, good mix, proper water and all that jazz)

Answer
Hello Matt,

Well, I would not worry much about it. Even though you might not get any seeds this time around or see the pretty flowers (they are a bit tiny though), you will see another flower scape appear at literally any time. Tropical sundews with plenty of light and water will tend to flower constantly every few months.

Plants are used to being damaged by high wind, animals eating their leaves and flowers, and large creatures, like humans, stepping on them. They usually spring back rather resiliantly and continue growing new leaves and flowers to cover their losses.


Christopher