The Ultimate Guide to Pygmy Sundew Gemmae

Pygmy sundews form gemmae every winter, a rare and remarkable feat amongst plants. These modified leaves can be harvested to make new plants. We get so many questions about the gemmae; what they are, how they work, how to harvest them, and why they’re so cool. Daniela will answer all your questions in this ultimate guide to Drosera gemmae! For more information or to order plants, check out www.californiacarnivores.com
#carnivorousplant #plant #botany #horticulture #sundew #drosera #houseplant #plantcare

[@Tommyr]

I use a moistened wooden toothpick to move them around on the new pot. I also use a safety pin to gently pry them off the plant. Been growing scorpioides for many years now! FUN little plants. I need to get some other varieties next.

[@California_Carnivores]

That’s a great method, thanks for sharing!

[@daniellesweet2437]

Ive been searching for a good explanation of gemmae for SO LONG, and here you come, to the rescue!!! Thank you!!

[@California_Carnivores]

I’m so glad I could help!

[@greenfingers9437]

Wow! I have to save this video of yours to watch again, thanks for telling us about Gemmae? I have watched so many videos on carnivores plants and they keep mentioning it but nobody actually tells you what it is! I also love your bubbly attitude towards the plants you make it so interesting, thank you from the UK 🇬🇧

[@California_Carnivores]

Thank you so much!

[@onlinecroc4873]

Glad I've found this video, the content contains a lot of information.

[@traangel]

Thank you so much for such informative videos! I am brand new to carnivorous plants and I always look for you so I can get helpful advice about what to do for my new plant babies. I love your plants, information, demonstrations, your bubbly attitude and your beautiful hair. Thank you again for all your help 🪴

[@pinecone.jeff.carnivores]

Rewatching this again to remind myself what to expect during this winter. I totally went nuts and bought a bunch of Pygmy sundews this year and had a ton of fun watching them grow over the summer and the tons of flowers they had. Now I’ll get to try my hand at my first Gemmae in a little over a month or so. I can’t wait!!!!

[@ofeliatestrada101]

Am so excited I recently ordered drosaia and this morning she has bloomed a white flower ❣️😁

[@Chrisfeb68]

Very educational. Thank you.

[@deandavis8165]

Thank you, Daniella, great explanation!

[@California_Carnivores]

Thank you!

[@wendybarrett9806]

Thanks so much for all the information about gemmae. I have pygmy Drosera growing in the wild on my property in Australia and I wasn’t aware that they could reproduce that way. I’ll be very excited to harvest them when they appear. They are just beginning to flower at this time of year so I’ll have to wait a bit. Thanks again, I love your videos. 😊

[@jacobrivera-grady7621]

Great information and it's a pleasure listening to you share it! Thanks for opening up peoples planty eyes🙈🍃 lol

[@pattibarcus7171]

Great video! Ty.

[@robhrouda]

Super helpful. Thank you! My 'Emerald's Envy" have several gemmae blooming, and I've never harvested them before.

[@California_Carnivores]

We’ll add some videos of gemmae harvesting too!

[@stephaniefalzone5703]

Thank you! This was great! I propagated my gemmae a couple days ago so we'll see how they do 🤞

[@California_Carnivores]

Thank you! It’s so fun to watch them grow!

[@pinecone.jeff.carnivores]

Thanks for the detailed information!!! I think Pygmy sundews are next on my list as soon as you start selling them! What a cool bog planter arrangement… Sarracenia with a carpet of Pygmy sundews!!!

[@California_Carnivores]

They are really fascinating little plants. We’ll have some for sale soon, in early spring!

[@pinecone.jeff.carnivores]

@@California_Carnivores I think it might be cool to plant them with a couple of my new Sarracenia purpureas in a mini-bog setup. I can't wait to give that a try! :)

[@California_Carnivores]

@@pinecone.jeff.carnivores they’ll look really nice together!

[@sd4dfg2]

@@California_Carnivores there's no entry for them on your website, so we can't select 'email me when available'

[@California_Carnivores]

@@sd4dfg2 I can add them soon for notifications; I have to wait and see what we can actually prop out based on the gemmae harvest. It’s looking like a good year, and I think I’ll be able to add them for notification this week 😊

[@All_pitcherplants]

you have the coolest job lol

[@seizedcarcass8440]

I’ve had great success with the drosera palacea gemmae I’ve got. They are about 1/2 an inch tall and they some have caught some fungus gnats. Can’t wait until mine sees.

[@California_Carnivores]

They’re really fun to grow! I’m so glad you’re enjoying them!

[@skittlesrainbowprincess]

You just made me want to add ANOTHER type of carnivorous plant to my collection.... 🤔 This may possibly be becoming an addiction 🙀

[@California_Carnivores]

The deeper you go, the more plants you need! The Australian plants are amazing!

[@All_pitcherplants]

Just go my first one from a plant sale of my carnivorous plants society

[@divingaquarist]

Hearing that they don't like being transplanted explains why most of my scorpioides seemingly died (are completely brown). Only 1 has some green in it and is producing gemmae. The pot they are in now is wáy too big, so if the gemmae get to the point of harvesting, I'll put them in a smaller one. Since I live in an apartment, pygmy sundews are a great option, since the regular drosera end up taking up a lot of space, when I take them inside from the balcony in late autumn.

[@sedumzz3289]

I’ve heard that Pygmy sundew will go dormant under certain weather changes , at 4:23 , are the brown plants dead or dormant? If it is dead, would it be ok to remove it and how?

[@California_Carnivores]

They can go dormant in summer and often look very rough in winter during the gemmae phase. Some of these little plants are dead but I wait to pull them out of the pot until we’ve made it all the way to April because you’d be surprised how many start to grow fresh, happy new leaves!

[@California_Carnivores]

It’s really easy to just gently pull the individual plant out of the pot. But I never trim the old leaves off any of the pygmies, I leave those on.

[@sedumzz3289]

@@California_Carnivores would trimming them off harm the plant??

[@California_Carnivores]

@@sedumzz3289 they’re so tiny; it’s very delicate work and I wouldn’t want to risk cutting the plants stalk. Plus they’ve adapted to lose those lower leaves as they grow as protection from heat in the wild. It’s part of their natural life cycle and there’s a beauty in that for me

[@sedumzz3289]

@@California_Carnivores wow! I never knew the dead leaves would protect the plant ! Pygmy sundews so cool

[@teetstreats5682]

Is Gemmae only a term used for Pygmy sundews? Like some strawberries shoot out runners that make a clone on the end. Is that clone also considered a gemmae? Great video, great information!

[@California_Carnivores]

Some other plants do make gemmae but only a very very few. Gemmae are common in fungi and mosses! For strawberries, we’d call that a stolon 😊

[@thedarksideofnature1221]

What happens to the original plant after producing gemmae? Does it die or continue to grow?

[@California_Carnivores]

It continues to live for several more years!

[@pinecone.jeff.carnivores]

I’ve been doing a little research online and I’m wondering if you’ll have Drosera scorpioides for sale? I love the extra long tentacles. :)

[@California_Carnivores]

We will! I’ve propped out a lot of them and the gemmae are already growing. We’ll release them in spring, maybe 4-6 weeks depending on how quickly they grow!

[@user-b3u28wjsjs]

what is the type of moss that is growing on top of your pots?

[@California_Carnivores]

It’s a little star moss that grows naturally in our pots!

[@HelgrafFireHammer]

Unfortunately peat moss isn't available here, it can't even be found online :( Is long fiber spaghnum moss a possible alternative to peat for the gemmae? I still have some of that Thank you!

[@HelgrafFireHammer]

Oh also, I'm.growing Drosera Scorpioides :)

[@California_Carnivores]

That could be tough because the gemmae are small and they will end up tangled into the long fibered sphagnum. I would blend it up in a cuisinart to make it finer texture, like we would do for seeds. That will help remove weird little books and crannies.

[@infinitetsukuyomi2763]

So these are not the best for growing indoors since they wait for cooler temperatures to start growing?

[@California_Carnivores]

They’ll do well indoors actually! They can adapt well to a very sunny environment indoors

[@hoopscorner6458]

When do you think will have for sale?

[@California_Carnivores]

Really soon, in the next few weeks I may be able to add Dorks Pink and then we’ll have a lot over the course of spring.

[@Wulfenite295]

Can pigmy drosera be grown outdoors in warm direct sunlight?

[@California_Carnivores]

They can be! If your night time lows will drop below 30F, they should be brought indoors though.

[@pinecone.jeff.carnivores]

Another question, are gemmae shippable? Or are they too delicate? Just wondering if I wanted to send some to a friend, would that be possible? (Here I am, not ever had any Pygmy sundews… yet)!!!

[@California_Carnivores]

They are! But because they are vegetative tissue, it’s best to ship them immediately after harvesting. Place them on a damp (not wet) piece of paper towel, wrap them in this towel and then insert that into a small plastic bag. Then you can easily ship the gemmae.

[@pinecone.jeff.carnivores]

@@California_Carnivores You guys work much too late!!! :) Thanks for the great info!!!

[@naytexavier7362]

Do they produce gemmae their first year?

[@California_Carnivores]

They can but they usually wait for the second year

[@naytexavier7362]

thank you!!! i just started my pygmy sundew collection at the end of winter with some gemmae. i was scared that i was going to have 100000 gemmae this year lol @@California_Carnivores

[@gabumonboys]

So, they're like succulent leaves. We all know how easy succulent sprout from dropped leaves, and I guess pygmy drosera form a similar leaf to succulents.

[@stephend7]

This is the second winter in a row my pygmies have failed to set gemmae. This year I was extra careful to shorten the photo period. They are in my garage so they do get cold enough. Not sure what’s causing this.

[@California_Carnivores]

Have you been fertilizing them?

[@stephend7]

@@California_Carnivores nope. Should I?

[@California_Carnivores]

@@stephend7 it really helps ours - we mist with Maxsea and it seems to be a big factor in the gemmae production!

[@stephend7]

@@California_Carnivores I’ll start doing it. Odd I’ve never had a problem before and I’ve been growing them for 20 years.

[@California_Carnivores]

@@stephend7 sometimes they’re just complete jerks for no reason too 😂

[@censusgary]

Sexual reproduction in plants is super interesting, and surprisingly complex. So is asexual reproduction. You don’t have time to cover everything in one video, but wow, it’s interesting!