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Care for 4 species of sundews

DrWurm

Californian in DC
So I just sent out a birthday gift of 4 dews to my girlfriend, and I'd like to know where she
ought to grow them. She lives in Atascadero, CA and has been getting heat wave temps over
100 degrees. She can probably get them full or partial sun outside, but I'm not sure about her
windowsill situation.

The 4 species I got her:
Capensis (okay, I think she can handle that one)
Spatulata
Capillaris
Roseana

These are her first plants, although she's been interested in dews for some time. She knows
they're coming and would rather not kill them.
 
spatulata is hardy like capensis she can handle that one to.
 
just throw em in a pot on a windowsill...i dont think any of those dews are too hard to grow. especially spatulata and capensis.
 
All of those will tolerate and thrive under full sun and will do ok on a bright, sunny windowsill.

Be aware that the D. roseana is likely to go dormant within the next few months and watering should be cut back drastically.

Also D. capillaris and D. spatulata are short lived although they can go several years under the right conditions. They also go in and out of semi-dormancy where they will stop growing. Save some seed that they produce so you'll always have some plants. Heat tolerance of these two depend mainly on the location from which the plants originated from in nature.
 
Can you give me a little more info on pygmy care? Some sources I've read through say that
it's probably a good idea to skip dormancy due to high loss rates. And that it's better to just
cut back on watering a bit to make them slow down, but not go dormant. Other sources just
say stick them out in hot sun and forget about them for a few months.

Anybody have some tried and true methods?
 
I keep them wet and with good light with tall pots.
I use peat and perilite thats it nothing exotic.
Big pots and good CP light with the typical mix thats it.
Don't disturb the roots or replant them unless you have to since provided you didn't damge the tap root they most likely will go dormant but I
I've gotten bareroot(from a member to me) pygmies that are growing great and didn't go dormant.
 
The usual method is to grow pymies under fairly constant conditions in a tank under lights. The downside is that they usually won't form gemmae either. Lowering the temps and photo period in the fall usually stimulates gemmae production.
 
I grow my pygmy Dros outside next to my driveway, by the lawn. They get lots of food, several hours of full direct sunlight, and produce gemmae by the end of the season. They don't do well in too much humidity, and actually do better in less humid conditions than most CP.

- Rich
 
I just leave them on the windowsill in the winter then when they are done with gemmae put them back on lighting.
 
  • #10
I grow my pygmy Dros outside next to my driveway, by the lawn. They get lots of food, several hours of full direct sunlight, and produce gemmae by the end of the season. They don't do well in too much humidity, and actually do better in less humid conditions than most CP.

- Rich

Do your pygmies go through dormancy?

It also seems that I might end up growing some too, not just my girlfriend... Pygmies are awesome
 
  • #11
Some species seem to go through a dormancy, others don't, and some even die after producing gemmae, but they still seem to fill the pots, and I have to give away lots of them every year.

-Rich
 
  • #12
I grow my pygmy dews in my south window during the winter and move them outside when the temps are above 40°F. They love full sun and do well in the low humidity of Colorado.
 
  • #13
I've normally kept them at window sills but this year I am trying them outside for spring->fall, just as BCK has been doing.
 
  • #14
alright, thanks for the help guys. I think she can manage her way around this now....
(and me too for that matter, just put out a new plant order for scorpioides and microscapa)
 
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