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VFT seedling progress

Joseph Clemens

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<span style='font-size:12pt;line-height:100%'>Here are some up-to-date photos of my efforts to create additional interesting VFT clones by intentionally cross-pollinating a variety of current clones.

This pot contains several hundred seedlings germinated in February 2004. Those that were entirely red as they germinated were separated into an additional 2 inch (10cm) pot, shown in next photo:

VFT_clones_mixed.jpg


And, of course, with the ubiquitous Drosera spatulata seedling weed:
VFT_clones_red_croped.jpg
</span>
 
NICE Ping! What are you going to do with all those VFT's? Is Arizona too hot to put them outside? Is that why you use flourescent lighting? What kind of mix is that in the bottom picture? It looks chunky...

Scott
 
Wow! that's totally awesome!
Some day I'll have something that looks that cool too!

Love the all-red ones, what forms did you cross?

/Quensel
 
<span style='font-size:11pt;line-height:100%'>==========================
Edited to correct hybrid definition:
Intraspecific - involving plants of only one species, i.e. different clones or cultivars
Interspecific - involving plants of different species or genera (Intergeneric)
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To save space, which is at a premium for me right now I have combined all the seed into the one very cramped pot --- exception on the all red seedlings.

Yep, one looks just like a Drosera spatulata weedling.

Focus was to produce as many seed as possible from the existing flowering plants. Second focus was to make as many cross-pollinations (intraspecific hybrids) between different clones. Seed mothers and pollen donors were strictly chosen at random as flowers matured. Some being seed mothers and others being pollen donors whenever I noticed an unpollinated receptive flower and if a pollen donor of a different clone was not available, that flower would be self-pollinated, then all the seed was collected together, cleaned and then sown, en mass.

Both pots were prepared the same way. A small amount of fiberized redwood bark in the bottom of the pot to restrict the media from being washed out the drain holes, then a mix of 3::1 silica sand/granulated peat moss, topped with a 1/4 inch of black obsidian sand (makes it easier to notice when the seed germinates). Strictly grown under artificial light for now. I plan to move them to my greenhouse as soon as it is complete.
Yes, outdoors here in Tucson, Arizona would be very hazardous to their continued existence. Daytime temps are nearly always in the 100's F and the humidity is rarely above 10%.

I will float them in a shallow tray of water and pluck them out with forceps, one at a time and replant them into larger containers with more space for each plant.

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Hybrids vs Cultivars
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VFT plants are all of the same species (Dionaea muscipula) hence there can be no interspecific hybrids only intraspecific hybrids. Interspecific hybrids are crosses between different species or genera.

So, no matter which other VFT plant is crossed with it, it is still just a Dionaea muscipula. For some, it may matter if a plant is an interspecific cross between specific clones, which clones or cultivars are the parents, especially when those seed or seedlings are being distributed. So in that case there is a possibility of speculation as to the seedlings future characteristics. Most that I used were unnamed clones, but the named ones included VFT 'Red Dragon' and 'Green Dragon'.

But, most, if not all clones of VFT are strictly propagated vegetatively once they are identified. So, for me I shall observe these seedlings as they grow to determine if I think any of them are special enough to warrant registration as "cultivars". And if they do, I shall.

At the least I have a large group of fascinating VFT plants to take care of and observe.</span>
 
<span style='font-size:11pt;line-height:100%'>I simply encouraged my own plants to flower and carefully ensured that each flower was pollinated as its stigma became receptive. Then I watched the seed pods develop and harvested them as soon as they ripened, and planted them immediately thereafter.</span>
 
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