When Can You Tell Your Sundew Plant Is Dead?

Characteristics

• Sundew plants, part of the Droseraceae family, are carnivorous. The sundew traps insects with the sticky gel at the ends of leaf tentacles. Sundews naturally grow in nutrient-poor soil, such as that found in bogs. The plants are often found growing near or on dead sphagnum moss. Because of their environment, sundews may look dead or dying, but they may in fact be thriving. The common sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) grows best in sunny, humid conditions.

Dead Stems

• Some sundew plants may go dormant at the onset of winter, naturally dying down as they prepare for spring's new growth. Check to see if your plant is dead by lightly scraping away a small section of a remaining stem. If you find living green within the stem, your sundew is most definitely still alive. Check more than one stem if you find one that is dead right away; some parts of the plant may die while others yet live. Until you're certain that no stem is living, do not assume your plant is dead. Even dead stems are not a dead giveaway that you have to give up on your sundew plants.

Dead Roots

• Examine the roots to definitively learn whether or not the plant lives. Potted plants may be removed and examined easily, but for garden sundews you will have to gently dig down until you expose the roots. Touch the roots with your hands. Light-colored, springy roots are healthy and alive. Dark, brittle roots are dead and rotten. If the roots are not alive, you may consider that your sundew plant has died. If you want to make sure of the death, wait until spring. When the sundew produces no new growth, you'll know for certain there's no hope.

Saving Sundew

• When leaves and stems on your plant are dead, it can be disconcerting, but living roots can be coaxed into producing a living plant. Prune all the dead stems of the plant, cutting down until you find living stem growth. If no stems are alive, simply cut the plant down 2 inches above the soil. Provide sundew with moisture, but never fertilizer. The plant thrives in soil with few nutrients, like many carnivorous plants, and fertilizer will do more harm than good. Wait for spring, and the plant may produce new stems and leaves.