Expert: Christopher Littrell - 8/11/2009

Question
My Drosera Spathulata is flowering.It is outside with 10 hr of sunlight a day. I got it 3 months ago . Should I let it flower or should I cut it off? I live in Pa. If i leave it on when will it make the seeds and how do I plant them and what dirt do I use?


Answer
Hello Clara,

D. spatulata is a tropical to semi-tropical plant that will continuously produce flowers in the summer. Some of the flowers will self-pollinate and some will not produce seeds at all.

I know there is a lot of hype about cutting off flowers on carnivorous plants. That hype is just a myth. The reality is that these plants grow just fine in the wild and flower normally year after year. The difference is that many people do not know to give these plant enough sunlight to survive on, so when they flower, they die from lack of energy. Since you have the plant outside in sunlight it should be just fine for years to come. It will produce many flower scapes over the summer months and probably generate root runs around the adult from which tiny plantlets will sprout in a clump.

D. spatulata can be taken inside during winter and provided artificial light or the strongest window sun possible until spring.

The seeds can be sprouted in fertilizer free sphagnum peat moss and perlite in a 50/50 mix. Just sprinkle the seeds on the surface of moist soil and mist them daily to keep them hydrated. They should sprout within a couple of weeks.

Christopher