Sundews - Drosera

Growing:
Drosera adelae
Drosera aliciae
Drosera ascendens
Drosera binata ssp binata
Drosera capensis 'Albino'
Drosera capensis "red"
Drosera capensis - Typical
Drosera cistiflora
Drosera filiformis var. filiformis - Burlington County, NJ (Leaf Cutting 7/07)
Drosera filiformis var. filiformis FL Red
Drosera hartmeyerorum
Drosera indica
Drosera intermedia - Goshen Pond, NJ - (germinated from seed 3/06)
Drosera madagascariensis
Drosera montana var. tomentosa
Drosera prolifera
Drosera regia "Big Easy"
Drosera rotundifolia - Laurel Lake, PA (Leaf Cutting 8/07)
Drosera schizandra
Drosera sessilifolia
Drosera slackii
Drosera spatulata

Drosera x beleziana (D. intermedia x D. rotundifolia) - Ocean County, NJ
Drosera x hybrida (D. intermedia x D. filiformis) - Burlington County, NJ

Petiolaris complex
Drosera dilatao-petiolaris
Drosera falconeri
Drosera kenneallyi
Drosera ordensis
Drosera ordensis X paradoxa
Drosera paradoxa
Drosera petiolaris

Pygmy
Drosera allantostigma
Drosera enodes
Drosera pulchella
Drosera scorpioides

Tuberous
Drosera erythrorhiza ssp squamosa "Laterite Form"
Drosera peltata
Drosera tubaestylis "Brookton Form"

 

Light: I grow my Pygmy and Petiolaris complex sundews in a 10 gallon terrarium. I updated my lighting and now use 1 - 40 watt 67,000K / 10,000K Sunpaq bulb and 1 - 15 watt Flora Sun bulb. Old lighting was 1 -15 watt Hagen Aqua-Glo bulb and 1 - 15 watt Cool White bulb for over 2 years. The other plants receive natural sunlight from a south facing windowsill.

Soil: I grow mine in a mix of peat moss, long fiber sphagnum, and perlite.

Water: Use rainwater, distilled, or reverse osmosis. Use the tray method. Place your sundews in a plastic water tray with 1/2" of water. I let the water in the tray evaporate and stay dry for a day or two before I water the plant again.

Humidity: Varies between species. The higher the better, but I have experimented with growing different Drosera as windowsill plants and have had great results.

Climate:
Temperate Sundews: These sundews have a winter rest period in which they form a tight cluster of leaves called a hibernaculum.
Subtropical Sundews: These sundews have vegetative growth year-round.
Petiolaris Complex: A group of tropical sundews found in northern Australia. The weather there has 6 months of rain and 6 months of drought. Several of the 14 species that comprise this group have developed special strategies to cope with the alternately drier conditions. Many species, for example, have petioles densely covered in trichomes, which maintain a sufficiently humid environment and serve as an increased condensation surface for morning dew.
Pygmy Sundews: A group of roughly 40 Australian species. They grow during the cool, wet Australian winter. During the dry hot summer the plants form a dense formation of hairs to protect the crown center.
Tuberous Sundews: A group of more than 40 Australian species. They grow during the cool, wet Australian winter. During the dry hot summer the plants die down and form an underground tuber. They can be further divided into two groups, those that form rosettes and those that form erect or climbing stems.

 

Sundews are found on almost every continent of earth.

Sundews leaves are usually flat with hundreds of tentacles which hold a glad that produces the dew. The dew is very thick and sticky. When an insect gets stuck to some dew, more tentacles move to get there dew covered glands against the insect to keep it from escaping. The glands a top the tentacles then secrete acids and enzymes which dissolve the insect. The glands then reabsorb the nutrient rich fluid.

A very cool animated picture I made of a D. capensis eating a bug can be found here:
(Caution large gif 3 meg)

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Temperate Sundews

I grow my Temperate sundews outside spring through fall. When the temperatures hit freezing I move them into my garage for the rest of the winter for there dormancy requirements. The garage temperature typically is in the mid 50's.

Drosera binata 6/05
Drosera binata is native in southern and eastern Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand.
During the dormancy the plant dies down to the ground and re-grows in the spring from it's roots.
Most forms of Drosera binata will only produce fertile seed if you have two unrelated plants of the same type and cross pollinate the flowers.

Drosera filiformis var. filiformis FL Red 6/05
Drosera filiformis var. filiformis is native in the east coast of the USA. Drosera filiformis var. tracyi is native in southern Georgia, northern Florida and Alabama - Mississippi gulf coast areas.
The variety I grow is Drosera filiformis var. filiformis Florida Red.
It is stated on the internet that this plant does not require dormancy. So I experimented with the plant in 2005. I have some growing in my mini bog with VFT's and Drosera rotundifolia, and some growing in a separate pot. The plants in the mini bog I let go dormant in the winter. They formed there hibernaculum for the winter rest period and returned growing in the spring. The other pot I had inside on a south facing windowsill over winter. These plants did not form a hibernaculum and continued to grow. So it seems that the plant can be grown with or without dormancy.

Drosera intermedia - Goshen Pond, NJ - germinated from seed 3/06
Drosera intermedia temperate form is native in eastern Canada, US, and Europe. There is also a tropical form that does not require dormancy that is native in Florida, West Indies, and South America.
I have seen this plant growing native in a few areas. All the areas I have seen it growing, it prefers growing right at the waters edge and many of the plants are partial submerged in the water.

Drosera rotundifolia 6/6/04
Drosera rotundifolia is probably the most widespread carnivorous species in the world. It is native to northern US, Canada, Asia, and Europe.

Drosera x beleziana (D. intermedia x D. rotundifolia) - Ocean County, NJ 6/17/07

Drosera x hybrida (D. intermedia x D. filiformis) - Burlington County, NJ 6/17/07

 

Subtropical Sundews

I typically grow my Subtropical sundews as windowsill plants year round in a south facing window. I have grown some of them outside spring through fall and move them inside to the windowsill for winter.

Drosera adelae 7/03
Drosera adelae is native in northeastern Australia.
Drosera adelae was my first sundew that I tried to grow. After acclimating the plant, I attempted to grow it outside in all but the intense afternoon sun. The plant started to produce less dew on the leaves. Then they started to brown, till everything above the soil was brown and dead. I placed the pot aside and figured that some point I'd clean the pot for reuse. More later.....
I went and got another Drosera adelae. This time I decided to try the plant outside in a shaded location. This plant started to look bad just like the first plant. I decided I had nothing to lose and brought the plant inside to grow on a south facing windowsill in a location that receives about 1 to 2 hours of direct sunlight in the evening. The plant bounced back and has been growing on the windowsill ever since.
The first plant that I purchase and everything was brown and dead, came back to life when the temperatures outside started to cool in the fall.
My learning experience is that Drosera adelae can be a picky plant and play opossum at times when it is unhappy. For me it dislikes direct sunlight for long periods of the day, and hates higher temperatures.

Drosera aliciae 3/27/04
Drosera aliciae is native to the cape region of South Africa.
This is another easy sundew to grow and gets to be a nice size. Mine grow just over a 3" leaf span.

Drosera ascendens 7/9/06
Drosera ascendens is native to South America.

Drosera capensis 'Albino', red, and Typical 8/03
Drosera capensis is native in the south western Cape region of South Africa.
In my experience, Drosera capensis is the easiest sundew to grow. This plant produces so much seed that it can become a weed in your collection.

Drosera hartmeyerorum germinated from seed
Drosera hartmeyerorum is native to Northern Australia.
This plant is a summer annnual. It will grow quickly, flower, set seed and die in one growing season.
This plant also has a strange yellow organ that normally forms where the leaf base meets the stem. The function of this organ is not yet understood.

Drosera indica germinated from seed 8/06
Drosera indica is native in Africa, Australia, India.
This plant is a summer annnual. It will grow quickly, flower, set seed and die in one growing season.

Drosera madagascariensis 1/1/06
Drosera madagascariensis is native in Africa.
It's stem can grow 10" in height. At the end of the growing season the plant usually flops over from its own weight.
I have cut the plant almost down to the soil level and the plant produced a new growth point from the stem. I also cut and replanted the very top growing point and they have rooted as and started growing as well.

Drosera montana var. tomentosa germinated from seed 8/05
Drosera montana var. tomentosa is native to South America.

Drosera prolifera 5/16/06
Drosera prolifera is native in northeastern Australia.
So far this plant has flowered a lot, but typically does not form seed. At the end of the flower stalk typically a plantlet will form. Just place it into a new pot and wait a few weeks till it has grown it's own roots. Then cut it from the flower stalk.

Drosera regia "Big Easy" 12/18/06
Drosera regia "Big Easy" is native to South Africa.
Also known as the King Sundew.
I tried 2 times with this plant, the first time ended in failure after a few months. The leaf tips started to turn black and the leaves got shorter and shorter. The plant died and had no growth above the soil line. Not thinking I threw the pots out. The second plant did the same thing as the first, but I decided to leave the pot sit around and see what would happen. The plant returned from it's roots.

Drosera schizandra 3/19/08
Drosera schizandra is native in northeastern Australia.
This is my second try with this plant. I understand they like it cool and no direct sunlight. I think this is how I lost the first one. It got evening sun.

Drosera sessilifolia germinated from seed 3/05
Drosera sessilifolia is native to South America.
The plant grows as an annual, so keep seed so you can grow new plants the following year.

Drosera slackii 6/1/07
Drosera slackii is native to South Africa.

Drosera spatulata 8/1/03
Drosera spatulata is native to Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

 

Petiolaris Complex

I grow my Petiolaris Complex sundews in a 10 gallon terrarium with a Tropical Aire humidifying system. For the lighting I use 1 - 40 watt 67,000K / 10,000K compact fluorescent Sunpaq bulb and 1 - 15 watt Flora Sun bulb.

Drosera falconeri 3/15/08
Drosera falconeri is native in northern Australia.
I read where this sundew likes it hot. Since my terrarium does not get as hot as what I was reading, 96 - 105 degrees I raised the pot so it is about 2.5" below the compact fluorescent bulb. I have taken temperature reading at this location and it gets to the mid 90's.
When my plant went into dormancy it formed a small, tight bulb that was brown in color. The plant looked as if it died. It looked like this for around 4 months before putting out healthy looking growth.
Drosera falconeri will only produce fertile seed if you have two unrelated plants and cross pollinate the flowers.
I lost this plant when it went dormant for the second time. I was keeping it to wet and rotted the plant

Drosera kenneallyi 3/15/08
Drosera kenneallyi is native to Australia.

Drosera ordensis 12/6/06
Drosera ordensis is native in northern Australia.

Drosera ordensis X paradoxa 12/6/06
Drosera ordensis X paradoxa is a cross that a fellow CPer, Homer, created.

Drosera paradoxa 9/6/04
Drosera paradoxa is native in northern Australia.
The easiest of the Petiolaris Complex sundews.
Drosera paradoxa will only produce fertile seed if you have two unrelated plants and cross pollinate the flowers.

 

Pygmy Sundews

I grow my pygmy sundews in a 10 gallon terrarium with a Tropical Aire humidifying system. For the lighting I use 1 - 40 watt 67,000K / 10,000K compact fluorescent Sunpaq bulb and 1 - 15 watt Flora Sun bulb. A few weeks again I moved one of my pygmy pots onto a windowsill to see how they will grow in this location.

Drosera allantostigma 1/28/04 gemmae
Drosera nitidula ssp allantostigma is native in Australia.

Drosera occidentalis ssp occidentalis Deceased
Drosera occidentalis ssp occidentalis is native in Australia.

Drosera pulchella 1/20/06 gemmae
Drosera pulchella is native in Australia.

Drosera scorpioides 11/15/06 gemmae
Drosera scorpioides is native in Australia.

 

Tuberous Sundews

I grow my Tuberous sundews as windowsill plants year round in a south facing window. When the plants die down to there tubers, I allow the pots to dry out till growth appears next season.
I use 3" to 4" wide X 8" to 9 " tall pots for my Tuberous Sundews. This way the plants have more depth in which they can form there tubers when they go dormant.

Drosera erythrorhiza ssp squamosa Deceased
Drosera erythrorhiza ssp squamosa is native in Australia. I grew this plant in a un-drained pot for 1 and a half years. I got careless with watering and rotted my plant.

Drosera erythrorhiza ssp squamosa "Laterite Form" 11/07
Drosera erythrorhiza ssp squamosa "Laterite Form" is native in Australia.

Drosera peltata germinated from seed 8/04
Drosera peltata is native in Australia.
The form I grow does not form it's climbing stem in the first year growing cycle. It took my plants their second year growing cycle to form the climbing stem.

Drosera tubaestylis "Brookton Form" 11/07
Drosera tubaestylis "Brookton Form" is native in Australia.

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