Drosera Cuttings - Page 1 How To Guide

This Sundew cuttings guide is done with leaf and flower stalk cuttings. It is meant to be used after you are familiar with the main Drosera Propagation page. For root cuttings, do everything the same except cover them with a thin layer of media (1/4" or less). Otherwise treat exactly the same as leaf cuttings. This is a very simple process, most drosera are very easy to do.

First, collect the cuttings.
To take a cutting just snip off a leaf or two per plant your wanting to use. You don't want to stress the mother plant anymore than you have too. Remove the cuttings with good sharp scissors as close to the mother plant as you comfortably can. If your collecting root cuttings, you can generally take half of a root or two without harming the mother plant. Hair like roots generally don't work so well. If your collecting flower stalks it doesn't mater where you cut them at, but remove the top with the flowers. Treat flower stalks exactly as leaf cuttings.

D. Alicia

D. Intermedia Leaves

Clockwise from top left Nidiformis flower stalk Dichitoma Leaf Madagascariensis Leaves

Long leaves, like the forked sundews, and flower stalks can be cut into smaller pieces. Pieces in the two inch range do fine, longer is OK. Here you can see how I cut up the dichitoma leaf (forked sundew family). All of the leaf can be used, not just the dewy part. You can do the same with flower stalks. DO NOT cut up padded sundew leaves or they won't work.

Second, soak the cuttings in SuperThriveTM. This is optional but the results are better with it. I just put a little RO water in a bowl and add 4 - 8 drops of SuperThriveTM to it, let soak for 10 - 15 minutes. I use a standard soup bowl, about anything will work. Allow to drain well afterword, or rinse. Again, this is optional. If you don't have SuperThrive then simply skip using it.

Finally, place the cuttings in the propagation chamber.

First lay the leaf cutting, dew side up, on the media. Place it in such a way as to provide maximum surface contact. Fluff or shove the media around to help maximize this contact.

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click for bigger pic

Cover any cut ends with media. I cover some of the pad on pad sundews. I also place some here and there along the cuttings. This helps keep it from curling up and increases contact with the media. If you use this method you'll thank me later. :-) Just make sure you leave some of the cutting exposed so it can absorb light.

Two short intermedia leaf cuttings. The cut ends are covered well and the pad end is secured.

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click for bigger pic

Dichitoma leaf cuttings in place, covered and ready to go.

This is the Madagascariensis leaves. Mainly pad, very little petiol. For this type of leaf just cover the cut end and keep the back side in good contact with the media. I like placing a bit on the pad too.

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Apply the same principle to whatever media you are using. This is what it looks like with a peat/sand mix. When I use sand in my propagation chambers I start it out a little on the wet side, and check it daily to ensure it doesn't dry out.

click for bigger pic You can use your forceps to gently push the cuttings into peaty media. The center leaf has a rooting agent on the underside.

click for bigger pic Cover the cut end and a couple places along the leaf and pad with a pinch of media, same as above.

OPTIONAL: You can use a rooting hormone on the back of leaves or pads. I generally place some in a small lid, then simply place the leaf cutting on it. You only want the powder to be in contact with the BACK side of the dew areas. Place on media and treat normally afterwords. This generally helps stubborn or slow cuttings get started. Most rooting powders from local lawn and garden shops will work fine. Also optional, mist the cuttings with a fungicide just before the lid goes on.

All thats left is putting the lid on the propagation chamber and waiting. In three to 12 weeks you should see plantlets starting to form. Make sure the media stays moist at all times, never let it dry out. Moist, not wet is crucial here. Overly wet and you get rot.

Several weeks later your plantlets will develop a few tiny leaves and roots will start to form. After each plantlet has its own roots it can be cut free from the leaf cutting and potted up. Be very careful of the tiny roots. And don't forget they have to be acclimated out of the propagation chambers and into your normal growing area. I do another SuperThrive^TM soak before potting the plantlets up, it helps prevent shock.

As the cuttings pictured above start to grow I'll update this page and continue on with the instructions. It is 5/30/08 so it will probably be the later part of next month.

Here we are 30 days later (6/28):

click for bigger pic Madagascariensis is just getting started. See the small hump in the center of the pad?

click for bigger pic Dichitoma is moving right along.

And this is what it looks like a week later, 7/6/08. Madagascarienses is really takin off. Probably about two weeks away from being able to pot em up. Once the plantlets start to form it generally doesn't take long. The Dichitoma cuttings are starting to form their "forks". Some people like to pot the cuttings up at this point, I don't recommend it.

Intermedia plantlet started 7/12/08

It's now 9/14/08, the pictures were taken today. For the most part the plants have been ignored since our last posting. :-( The only exception is pouring a little water in with them once a week, about a half tablespoon or so. We forgot about them entirely for just over a week at one point. But, for the most part we have good results. The nidiformis took the worse hit, it almost dried out during our week of forgetfulness, tis why you must watch the sand mixes. All of the cuttings could be potted up now, and we'll work on doing that soon.

Heres the results so far, roughly 14 weeks into it.
Most could have been potted up a few weeks ago though.

The dichitoma are doing well even after over watering. Algae has started to grow on the lfsm. Dichitoma, as with all the forked sundews, are hardy as heck so this is not a concern to me. This process doesn't have to be perfect, but you do want to be sure to treat the plantlets with a fungicide to protect them. Forked sundews need a LOT of light, dichitoma is no exception. These are showing signs of higher light requirements and they are 4" under 2 - 4' bulbs 16 hrs a day. Soon they must be potted and placed in natural light.	click for bigger pic
The nidiformis finally started. The results are not good though. It almost dried out too at one point. If it had been kept moist the entire time there would be hordes of plantlets instead of three, much like the intermedia did. These should be given a couple more weeks to develop roots and then they can be potted up. Notice it took some time to get results here too, don't give up even when you make mistakes along the way. All three emerged where the stalk was covered with media.	click for bigger pic
Intermedia has been working on catching up for lost time. By luck alone they stayed fairly perfect during our neglectfull times. This is a prime example of what you should get more often than not with sundews. Any result is better than nothing, learn from it. But this type of result should always be the goal with sundew cuttings of any type.	click for bigger pic
Alicia finally came around too. Letting the 4" propagation chamber dry almost completely didn't help. You have to remember to check sand based medias regularly. Only one of the three leaves produced results, but it did produce three plants. hehehe	click for bigger pic
Madagascariensis is still growing. Luckily its a hardy one too. They are with the dichitoma that was kept too wet, so algae growth is on the rise. Even after treatment with a fungicide this can not be brought under control, but it will protect the plantlet itself. Like I said, don't give up. These should have been transplanted weeks ago.	click for bigger pic

All thats left is getting them acclimated to grow in the open and to pot them up. We hope the pictures display two basic concepts here: First, it takes time to make plants from cuttings. No where near the time it takes from seeds but it will take several weeks. If you pay attention, mainly don't forget about them, you can go from cuttings to pottable plantlets in about six - eight weeks with most sundews. Most sundews will produce mature plants from cuttings in about six months.
Second, don't give up. This is really important. Just keep the media moist at all times, treat with a fungicide to start and again if needed, cover leaf/stalk cuttings with pinches of media and you will succeed most of the time.