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Drosera madagascariensis is a Drosera found in Madagascar and South Africa which forms a tall stem that can reach impressive lengths. I’ve seen some reaching over 50cm. After a while, the meristem divides and the weight of the upper part becomes too heavy for the plant to stay upright. At this point I like to divide it and reset the plant’s height, which is a great opportunity to propagate this awesome Drosera.

Dividing and cutting the stem

This is probably the hardest part of the process, because you have to cut into your plant! First, ensure that each branch is at least a few centimeters long, then use some sterilized scissors to cut each growing points from the main stem, either at a branching point or at the transition between living and dead leaves.

Remove the lower leaves of the cuttings over one centimeter and set them aside. You can now plant each of the cuttings into either peat or long fiber sphagnum, making sure to bury the exposed part of the stem. Keep an eye on the plants for a few days after the procedure and if at some point they look droopy, put a plastic bag over them in order to augment the relative air humidity. Don’t forget to open it regularly to avoid rot!

Using the leftover plant material

We just transformed our single plant into 4 individual adult plants, but why stop there? We are left with a lot of plant material that can be used to clone your plant! Everything can work: leaves, stems, roots and flower stems can all potentially form new plants.

Cut the stems and roots into trunks of a few centimeters long, then put everything over some wet media. Make sure the leaves are in good contact with the soil by pressing them slightly onto it, or put a cover over them to keep a high relative air humidity. After a few weeks plantlets will start growing from everything and they will reach maturity much faster than seedlings would!