Pygmy Drosera gemmae sprouting

Years ago I grew pymgy sundews, I really liked them.  I had a lot of species back then.  Strangely enough, even though they come from Australia very few people sell pygmy drosera here.  It appears that most of the species I grew are no longer offered for sale anywhere.  Maybe they are no longer in cultivation?  Who knows.

I had been looking for pygmy sundews for sale, but I am not willing to pay the prices that people sell them for (postage usually puts them well out of my price range).  Then I found someone who had pygmy sundew gemmae for sale.  He had a few different species and graciously agreed to give me a mix of two species for one price instead of making me pay for two lots.  These species look different from one another from an early age so I was happy to get a mix of gemmae.

Gemmae are like tiny cuttings that the plant made of itself.  They aren't much to look at, but gemmae tend to grow a lot faster than seed, and are exact genetic replicas of the parent plant.  Very few people sell pygmy drosera gemmae, which I find odd as pygmy sundew plants dislike being transplanted and the gemmae are so simple to grow and simple to post. 

This photo shows a mix of Drosera pulchella and Drosera pygmaea the day they arrived in the post.  There were a lot of black gemmae, but there were also a lot of healthy green gemmae.  Can you tell which gemmae are which species?  I can't tell these gemmae apart, so will have to wait until they grow to know which is which. 

Pygmy Drosera Gemmae

After they arrived I planted half of the gemmae in a pot that I kept inside on the kitchen windowsill, the other half in a pot that was kept outside with more sunlight.  I don't plant them, I scatter them on top of damp sphagnum peatmoss mixed with sand.  If you bury the gemmae they tend not to do very well.  It has been a little cold, so they took a little while to sprout.  At this stage I am not sure if only the green ones sprouted or if the black ones were also viable.  I will find out once they grow a little more and I can count them.

The ones inside my house had less sunlight, but more stable temperatures.  The ones outside had much more sunlight, warmer day time temperatures, and cooler night time temperatures.  I grew both in pots sitting in a tray of water, the water level is very high for now to maintain high humidity.  I will lower the water level once they grow a little bit.

The gemmae in the house sprouted first while the ones outside sprouted slightly later.  I am not sure if both species are sprouting or if one has sprouted first, but it doesn't matter.  

The ones in the house are noticeably larger than the ones outside.  I'm not sure if the house are healthy or if they stretching because they are lacking sunlight.  The ones outside are less advanced, but appear healthy.  Time will tell which is the best method of growing them.  

On second thoughts, I may move them all into my greenhouse and hope for the best.

Gemmae arrived 17/08/2021
Gemmae sprouting indoors 02/09/2021 
Gemmae sprouting outdoors 04/09/2021 
D pygmaea sending up flower stalks 19/11/2021 - two and a half months after gemmae sprouting

I should take a photo of the pygmy drosera when they are a little larger as they are super cutie carnivorous plants.  For now the sprouting gemmae are too tiny for me to photograph. 

Pygmy drosera gemmae sprouting outside

Pygmy Drosera gemmae sprouting in the house

 

I think that pygmy sundews are great, when actively growing they are like miniature glistening jewels.  Being so small they won't impress your non-carnivorous plant growing friends, and growing a pot full certainly won't rid your yard of flies and wasps, but I think they are very beautiful. 

Pygmy sundress flowering

Being tiny means you can easily grow pygmy sundews on a window sill where they may catch tiny gnats or small ants and the occasional pantry moth, and they quite happily live in small pots.  They tend to have surprisingly long roots, and dislike being transplanted, so it is best to use deeper pots.  A lot of them can fit in one pot, and each plant tends to grow a lot of gemmae so they can quickly cover an area.  Some species of pygmy sundews are very simple to grow, and are great for kids and beginners.