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How well do you know these sundews?

I read that some sundews prefer a more sandy medium and some a more peat moss medium. Also the four different sundews I have are mainly forked sundews but I have one tropical and one cape. I was wondering if anyone can tell me the main difference between these four. D Dicatoma Giant, D Capensis wide leaf, D Marstons Dragon, D multifidia extrema. Differences as in Medium, hardiness, fast and slow growers, height and robustness of mature plants, etc. thank you
 
also if you can include dormancy info that would be great
 
I grow 3 of the 4 (although my D. Capensis is a typical and alba, not a wide leaf), and the one I don't grow (D. Marston's Dragon) is just a D. M. Extrema x D. Dicatoma Giant.

All 4 grow just fine in a mix of Peat and Perlite. D. Dicatoma Giant likes to grow flower stalks, I've taken to trimming them down as they appear, which causes the rest of the plant to go nuts. My D. Multifidia Extrema has some Bladderworts in the pot, and doesn't grow as fast as the others, but I hate to repot it and kill the bladderworts. ;)
 
When i first got them i cut all their leaves off because they weren't producing dew and i thought it would help prevent shock. The capensis is by far growing the fastest, 2nd would have to be marstons dragon, 3rd would be Dicatoma Giant, and 4th The multifidia extrema (which is taking forever). Do any of them have to go inside for the winter?
 
It depends on what your winters are like.

If it gets below 40F the D. capensis should go indoors .

If it gets below 32F they should all go indoors.

Note the D. dichotoma "Giant" requires dormancy, it can tolerate temperatures down to 15F unless the roots freeze . The D. multifida "Extrema" and 'Marston's Dragon' will not go dormant if kept above 40F and do not require dormancy. These will go dormant if the temperatures drop enough. The binata complex typically dies down to the roots when dormant.

mcantrell: the Utricularia will hasten the break down of peat in your pot and you will have to repot eventually at some point. Just take a few "plugs" of media with Utricularia in them and "seed" new pots with them. They will grow rapidly.
 
well i live very close to your condition, Mid to southern california in the high desert. Santa Clarita
 
It's up to you if you don't care if the "Extrema" and 'Marston's Dragon' go dormant. Otherwise leave them outdoors except on the nights when the temperatures dip below the mid 30'sF.

The D. capensis won't go dormant but could die down to the roots if exposed to cold enough temperatures (frost - low 30sF)
 
To keep it simple, if you purchase a bag of orchid moss (LFS) and grow the plants at a sunny window sill, you'll do just fine. Here's the basic idea:

Picture017-2.jpg
 
Would the D multifidia extrema do well in a high humidity environment? It gets good light. I put it in the terrarium because it didn't look too good, and I just got it today, so I don't want it too dry out too much. The soil isn't wet though, its just moist, and its very humid inside.
 
  • #10
I don't think that D. dichotoma "Giant" requires a dormancy. I've had one for three or four years and it's never stopped growing - it's become a real monster, too. A few pots of cuttings that I didn't have room for inside last Winter went dormant and came back, but I certainly don't think it's necessary. Where did you hear that, NaN? I'm a little surprised to hear you treat them so delicately. I've heard newer growers talk about dormancy for binata strains, but the formal concensus had always seemed to me to be that they didn't have a dormancy and behave like tropicals other than being able to come back from the roots after a frost.
I'm curious now - maybe I'll leave some of my dichotoma and "extrema" plants outside this Winter and see how they do. Last year the pots of cuttings maintained their foliage through several days of frost, then snow and hail, before I moved them into my friend's garage where it hovered just above freezing. They didn't drop their leaves until he kept them unlit for like three or four weeks, but when he got the lights set up they all came back. Out of five pots of D. dichotoma and about thirty more of capensis, they're all as good as new this year.
~Joe

PS - To answer the original questions - treat them all the same. Basic mix of peat and an inorganic filler like perlite, ceramic chips or sand. Keep them indoors and they'll do fine; keep them outdoors and they may die back to the roots after a frost, after which they should probably come in until the risk of frost has passed. But if it doesn't freeze often and you put them in a well-protected container (like an in-ground bog) they may well just take to life outside permanently. I'd recommend keeping them in separate pots, as one will eventually choke the others out in all likelihood.
 
  • #11
from what ive seen the binata complex will go dormant if given a chance.....they go dormant on me when the day length changes even though the temps dont in my office window.....they go dormant about November and start back up about March.......
 
  • #12
from what ive seen the binata complex will go dormant if given a chance.....they go dormant on me when the day length changes even though the temps dont in my office window.....they go dormant about November and start back up about March.......

Certainly. But to they need that rest period, or do they just stop growing when it's cold?
On a tangental note, is there a different word for a "required" dormancy, or is dormancy assumed to normally be optional with plants? I'm a little confused by the terminology. Generally, when I see the word "dormancy," I think of the type of dormancy of Sarracenia or VFTs, where the health of the plant is at stake.
~Joe
 
  • #13
i see better growth in plants that go through the dormancy.........the spring growth is much bigger and more robust that what was there when it the previous season.....it makes bigger leaps than if you had just let it keep growing...

i dont believe a dormancy is required but since it doesnt need cool temps to go through dormancy its rather simple to let it do so and you will have a better plant if yah do......

my capensis tend to go through a dormancy aswell, though they die back during the hottest months of the summer and start growing again about September.....not every one goes dormant but the majority do.....havent heard anyone else say this but mine have consistantly done it over the last couple years......
 
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