Drosera Care

Light/Temperature

• Provide sundews with 3 to 4 hours of direct sunlight every day. An east window is good for morning sun, and a west window will provide good sun in the afternoon. South-facing windows are good for all day. Don’t leave your indoor sundew in the sun all day during hot summers since it may dry out. Avoid incandescent bulbs because they’re too hot for these plants. Although different species of drosera have adapted to different habitats, most sundews prefer summer temperatures between 70 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit and winter temperatures between 38 and 45 degrees.

Water/Humidity

• Wild droseras are often found growing in bogs and low-lying areas, so they like being in water. Keep your pot in a saucer filled with a couple inches of water. Don’t use tap water, which is usually high in minerals and may contain chlorine; use rainwater or distilled water instead. Droseras also need lots of humidity and do well in terrariums. Humidity should be between 40 and 90 percent.

Feeding

• Don’t fertilize sundews because they don’t like lime or large amounts of nutrients in the soil. Most sundews manage to catch small insects on their own, even when they’re kept inside. You don’t need to handfeed them. However, if you do want to feed your sundew, don’t give it more than one bug every week. Sundews eat small insects like gnats, mosquitoes and whiteflies. If you’re feeding your sundew a dead insect, you should use a toothpick to make it “wriggle” once you’ve placed it on a leaf so your plant will respond to it more quickly.

Dormancy

• Tropical sundews grow year-round, but species from colder areas may require a dormancy period. During this time they may die back to their roots and form a rosette of non-sticky leaves. Place dormant sundews in a cool spot and reduce watering. Species that don’t go dormant may still exhibit slower growth and produce smaller leaves because of reduced sunlight they’re receiving.