FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I've got some questions about a pot of D. intermedia...with a healthy stand of utricularia subulata included.

The intermedia plants appear to have gone dormant, having formed what I'm interpreting to be hibernaculum. This was rather sudden and I think was triggered by photoperiod rather than a notable change in temperature. In roughly one and a half weeks they went from "dewy" to "dead"...and it was still somewhat warm weather. But, I'm not a plant!

The plants are in roughly a 5-3/4" square pot. There's probably fourteen or fifteen mature plants in the pot and no telling how many small seedlings will emerge/re-emerge in the spring . I figure I need to move some to different pots, giving them all a little breathing room. When should I do this? Would now be a good time or should I let them ride it out until spring, and repot them just as they're starting to come out of dormancy?

Also, this pot has a *very healthy* population of hibernaculum subulata in it. They're interesting, they give an extra dimension(?) to the pot, and from what I've read they do no harm. But...there's a LOT of them and it appears they seed very prolifically. When I transplant the intermedia I'd like to leave as much of the utricularia behind as possible. Would removing most of the growmix from the roots...shaking the mix loose and then rinsing with rainwater from a hand-sprayer hurt them bad enough not to want to do that? I'm sure I won't get all the utricularia but it should put a dent in the population that I might control for another growing season. (Man! That stuff grows and spreads quick!) I really don't want to get rid of the utricularia completely, so I figure I'll just isolate the old grow mix and let the utricularia and what volunteer intermedia comes up have a go at it.

Big questions are: Is now or later better for transplanting? and... Is rinsing the roots of the intermedia with water ok to remove grow mix and utricularia seed/root/whatever?

Thanks. (One day I might learn to not to be so wordy. ....mmm, probably not, though. )
Ed

Good news/bad news is, you will never irradicate the utricularia. As far as the intermedia, I would wait until spring. You can then dig them up enmass and rinse them in a pot of water to untangle the roots. Then you can repot them. Intermedia will grow in a thick blanket of plants but each plant will be smaller. If you give them elbow room, they will grow into bigger specimens.

Yeah, just trying to keep the utricularia under control…to a degree.

I’ve got some pots that are almost 6” square and about 5-1/2” deep. I’m thinking of planting five plants in a small square to towards the center of a couple of these. Would that size pot be too big for a single plant? I’ve also got some 2-3/4”x3”d square pots that I could use.

3 inch square should work.

Are you sure they are Subulata? Subulata tend to have yellow flowers, theirs appear to be lilac, which could indicate Arenaria.

Aquis31 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 22, 2022 9:55 am Are you sure they are Subulata? Subulata tend to have yellow flowers, theirs appear to be lilac, which could indicate Arenaria.

I'm really not sure what day it is. But, several of knowledgeable people here on the forum identified it for me. Then, after getting their lead I checked it out online and I agree with the visual appearance being subulata, I'm pretty sure their ID is correct. I have yet to see an actual bloom on these plants, but rather just these buds or seed pods. All the plants have the purplish tint to them, as did the D. intermedia in the pot with them...they both grew in full sun this summer. The "buds" seem to open up only only a petal/leaf or two and then no more, kind of like the outer layers of an onion, but nothing like a full flower. Here is a post I made when I was trying to ID them, there are several images in it: WEEDS IN THE SUNDEW PATCH?

Btw, while I was nosing around online I found some utricularia subulata seeds on eBay....*only* $9.99 for 5 seeds (plus $8.95 economy shipping)!!! What a deal!!!!!!!!

I rarely seed subulata flowers. I've tried various conditions for my pot of it specifically, and nothing works. The seeds that clearly travelled via the wind into my daughter's container bot flower constantly with no attention whatsoever.

Any difference in grow mix or sun exposure, Panman? Same primary plant in her pots as are in yours...just wondering if a plant could give off something that suppresses flowering of the utricularia. But, we apparently are getting seeds from these buds...but...no flowers.

Here in my cultivation there seem to be two types of Subulata, some don't actually open flowers, while others open big yellow flowers.