In a recent post, we introduced some of the carnivorous plants that help cut down the number of pests on the farm. Of those plants, the Cape Sundew has grown dramatically since it joined the farm!
One of our Sundews has produced a flower stalk with several flowers connected in a chain (aka, a scape). Some believe that the number of flowers on the scape of a Sundew is influenced by how well the plant is fed. Our Sundews have meals quite often on the farm, and it shows: this flower stalk has well over 10 flower buds! (Check out the pictures below)
Sundew flowers are often self-pollinating, so they do not need to receive pollen from a second flowering plant in order to produce seeds. After the flowers have been pollinated, it can be a long wait before the seeds are mature enough to be harvested.
However, this is only one method of acquiring new sundew plants. Stay tuned in the months to come where we will be conducting a small experiment on sundew propagation!
