The Drosera capensis Breeding Project

Sundew · Aug 13, 2024

Hello all,
I wanted to show a picture from my Drosera capensis breeding project.
I have been crossing various forms of D. capensis for a couple years now, and it has been very rewarding.

Some crosses that I am working on (either the crosses have set seeds or I have plants from them).
D. capensis 'Wide Leaf' x 'Red'
D. capensis ('Wide Leaf' x "Big Red") x "Big Pink"
D. capensis "Bainskloof Compact" x "Big Red"

I have also been breeding for larger flowers, my largest flower so far has been around 3.6 cm. I hope to get flowers around 5 cm across some day.

Here are some seed pods developing from my most recent pollination with D. capensis 'Albino'. The white tag is a flower pollinated with "Bainskloof Compact", and the yellow tags are flowers pollinated with 'Wide Leaf'. I have heard that the gene for "albinism"/lack of anthocyanin is recessive, so I will probably have to wait for the F2 generation in order to see "albino" plants.

Sundew · Aug 23, 2024

Hello all,
Here is an update from today.
I have collected seeds from a cross of D. capensis "Big Pink" x "Mini Red"; two very popular colourful varieties.

Here are some seedlings of D. capensis ('Wide Leaf' x "Big Red") x "Big Pink". (Note to self: I need to get them closer to the lights). These seem quite vigorous. They are already twice the size of the other D. capensis that I started from seed on the same day. Hopefully they will produce some large red plants.

Sundew · Sep 28, 2024

Here's an update from one month later:
capensis (Matroosberg Pass)

D.capensis ('Wide Leaf' x 'Red') x "Big Pink"

capensis "Bainskloof Compact" x "Big Red"

Sundew · Apr 30, 2025

Update 8 months later:
Almost all of the seedlings shown above have grown to flowering size (pictures to come). I have already started my crosses for 2025.

The flower stalk below is from D. capensis (Matroosberg). The Matroosberg plants are medium sized with wide-ish leaves. The two pods on the left of the picture are crossed with "Bainskloof Compact". The pod on the right is crossed with a select plant from my "Bainskloof" x "Big Red" cross.