agar
Full Member
Posts: 23
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Post by agar on May 30, 2009 18:22:53 GMT
As noted on the CPUK forum, attempts at self/cross pollination of Dionaea 'Wacky Traps' have failed, and it appears that 'Wacky Traps' is sterile, and thus can only be propagated by vegetative means. This cultivar grows rather slowly and, I've only managed to get one pair of divisions off the 2 original specimens I've had since 2005 (1 died). This spring I transplanted the specimens to new soil, but alas, none of the specimens had any "pups" to divide. I've been attempting to propagate Dionaea 'Wacky Traps' for a number of years via tissue culture, so far without any success. This spring, frustrated at yet another failure, I decided to try a couple of leaf pullings using leaves with dying traps. I'm happy to report that one of the leaf pullings actually "took"! One of my 3 'Wacky Traps' specimens:  First successful "Wacky Traps" leaf pulling "strike"!:  |
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Post by unstuckintime on May 31, 2009 0:00:01 GMT
Very nice! Hopefully, with tenacious growers such as yourself, this cultivar will become more available so Mr. Average CP Grower (namely, myself) can get some!
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Post by mmlr38 on Jun 2, 2009 23:09:40 GMT
Nicely done David! Congrats on the successful pulling.
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williamg
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D. roseana
Posts: 129
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Post by williamg on Jun 4, 2009 23:16:53 GMT
Good Job!, the one time I tried a pulling it fail... Anyways, does the shape of the trap affect its insect capturing abilities? It has no teeth and that seems to be a key part of how it captures prey.
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agar
Full Member
Posts: 23
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Post by agar on Jun 8, 2009 17:38:03 GMT
The shape of the trap does affect it's ability to capture prey, however it's not just that the teeth are deformed and practically non-existant, but that the trap lobes themselves are very thick. I've seen the triggered traps move, but they are unable to fully close. Because of this, I've been foliar feeding them with dilute fertilizer. I wonder if the triggered traps might excrete and absorb digestive enymes without the traps fully closing. Perhaps some experiment with small pieces of mashed up insects is worth a try  New growth since the last photo:  End view of trap showing it's thickness  Notice how far out toward the margin the trigger hairs are. |
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Post by peterhewitt on Jun 8, 2009 20:18:12 GMT
It looks as if this cultivar has genetically abandoned the outer portion of the trap entirely. i wander if these mutations are caused in tissue culture because of the abundant nutrients, thus the plant does not need a working trap. eh?
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Post by unstuckintime on Jun 8, 2009 20:47:31 GMT
It looks as if this cultivar has genetically abandoned the outer portion of the trap entirely. i wander if these mutations are caused in tissue culture because of the abundant nutrients, thus the plant does not need a working trap. eh? If anything like that were to happen, wouldnt the plant just produce smaller traps? I'm not a botanist yet, but i'm sure it would either do that, or produce larger traps, "using up" that nutrient in a way, but not produce traps that simply don't work |
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neo
Full Member
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Post by neo on Sept 11, 2009 16:16:21 GMT
Can I ask where you obtained the Wacky Trap as I would like to source one!
Neo
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Post by mmlr38 on Sept 12, 2009 2:31:21 GMT
Unfortunately no one in the US sells them yet. If you live in the EU, I think you can get one from Trev Cox: www.vftshop.comThough he doesn't appear to have any listed on his site right now. |
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agar
Full Member
Posts: 23
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Post by agar on Sept 12, 2009 22:45:20 GMT
The 2 original specimens I purchased from none other than the originator of Dionaea 'B52', Henning Von Schmeling back in 2005. No telling how many specimens of 'Wacky Traps' he had in his collection, but he's been gone from the CP scene since around 2006, and who knows where his CP collection went. I know of only a handful of people in the U.S. that have 'Wacky Traps', but I doubt any of them have attempted to try propagating this odd cultivar, other than by seed, which because of it's apparent sterility has not been successful. Here's a new photo of the progress of the leaf pulling. Still small, but Lots of leaves and traps, and it seems to be growing quite happily. It's difficult to tell, but there may actually be more then one plant in there. Perhaps in another year or two I can successfully get this cultivar into propagation 9/12/09 Dionaea m. 'Wacky Traps' grown from leaf pulling  agar |
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Post by jj1109 on Sept 12, 2009 23:46:57 GMT
nice, I'd agree that you probably have more than one plant in there
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Post by RL7836 on Sept 15, 2009 19:14:39 GMT
I know of only a handful of people in the U.S. that have 'Wacky Traps', but I doubt any of them have attempted to try propagating this odd cultivar, other than by seed, which because of it's apparent sterility has not been successful. A few folks on the left coast of the US have successfully propagated these ugly little plants. One of them shared a plant with me & it took about a season for me to kill it.  Since then, I've had some other opportunities but remain doubtful of my ability to grow it successfully. They are on the opposite end of the 'robustness' scale from B52 ...  |
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Since then, I've had some other opportunities but remain doubtful of my ability to grow it successfully. They are on the opposite end of the 'robustness' scale from B52 ... 
