You are here:

Carnivorous Plants/flowers and pollen

Advertisement


Question
Hi! I just had a quick question about sarracenia flowers. I know the flowers are specifically designed to enhance cross-pollination. But will a flower take pollen from itself or does a flower need pollen from a different plant? I just want to know what I'll do when it comes to spring and flowering time.

Answer
Yes, you can pollinate a Sarracenia with itself.  However, you may not get as many seeds than if you were to use a different flower from the same plant.  So if your plant produces two or more flowers, then use the pollen from one flower to pollinate the other flowers.  This will increase your yield.  Of course, the best yield comes from using pollen from a different Sarracenia altogether.  For more information on pollinating Sarracenia, watch our video podcast on the subject.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug3_JJlJmI0

Good growing!
Jacob Farin

Carnivorous Plants

All Answers


Answers by Expert:


Ask Experts

Volunteer


Sarracenia Northwest

Expertise

If your plant is showing poor growth, discoloration, abnormal leaves or possible infestation, the growers at Sarracenia Northwest can help! Carnivorous plant experts Jeff Dallas and Jacob Farin will help you diagnose the problem and get your plants on the right track. Their no nonsense approach has helped thousands of growers all over the world. They can help you too!

Experience

With over 40 years of combined experience, Jeff and Jacob has definitely taken a straight forward approach to growing carnivorous plants. They have encountered many types of diseases, abnormal growth and infestations related to carnivorous plants, and they know what it takes to get plants looking beautiful and healthy again.

Education/Credentials
Authors of Secrets to Growing Beautiful Carnivorous Plants for Your Home and Garden and producers of the Grow Carnivorous Plants! DVD Series. They also produce a monthly video podcast to illustrate how plants cycle through the seasons.

No terrariums. No myths. No nonsense.
Just the straight facts from guys who grow and propagate
thousands of carnivorous plants each year.


PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR QUESTION:
We no longer answer how-to questions (i.e. How do I propagate...?; How do I grow...?).

Instead, we help growers by diagnosing a specific plant problem and offering solutions (i.e. Why is my sundew not producing dew?; Is now a good time to divide my Sarracenia?; Why are the traps turning black?; What's a good substitute for perlite?; Why didn't my seeds germinate?; Can you identify this carnivorous plant for me?)

For general plant care, please read our care sheets on our main website:
http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets

For business questions:
http://www.cobraplant.com/contact


Carnivorous Plant Videos Facebook
Follow us on Youtube and Facebook!


©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.