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Sundews that do well with almost no water and don't care about humidity

The Cape Sundew lives in arid South Africa, and I heard that it can go long spells without watering.
Drosera Binata, the fork-leaved Sundew, supposedly can survive long spells without watering too.
I have heard that D. Brevifola does OK under those conditions too.

So what are the Sundews that survive best without long watering and don't care about humidity? I would keep the plant indoors with the lid off for a week or two at a time, or outside, where there is just regular South Carolina humidity, that is, maybe 50% humidity or so. It's not desert, but it's not wetlands either.

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You seem to have gotten some poor information somewhere. All of the species you've mentioned need to be kept very wet at all times, in fact all Drosera require moist substrates.
 
So what are the Sundews that survive best without long watering and don't care about humidity?

I have to ask: why is this a requirement? Are you not going to be home to attend to the plant's needs for weeks/months at a time?
 
IME, neither binata nor capensis have trouble dealing with low humidity PROVIDED their media is kept wet. Mine endure my winter RH of 25% or less with no problem. I do not grow either in terrs. However, as Cthulhu has mentioned, they must be kept quite wet at all times.
 
Are there other carnivorous plants besides sundews that qualify? The only ones that come to mind might be the Mexican butterworts.
 
Have you heard of Drosera indica and Drosera hartmeyerorum? I heard they need things on the drier side.

I also read:
Tuberous sundews: These nearly 50 Australian species form an underground tuber to survive the extremely dry summers of their habitat, re-emerging in the autumn. These so-called tuberous sundews can be further divided into two groups, those that form rosettes and those that form climbing or scrambling stems. Tuberous sundews comprise the subgenus Ergaleium.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drosera
 
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Mexican butterworts, some go through a dry period, but it is seasonally and for the rest of the year they will need to be kept moist (and I think that's the same for tuberous sundews).

Unfortunately, I am unaware of any carnivorous cacti or succulents . . . and on that note, why not try some of those? They are fascinating!
Check this link (caution, it goes on forever!): Flickriver: Haworthia em Lisboa's most interesting photos
 
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Have you heard of Drosera indica and Drosera hartmeyerorum? I heard they need things on the drier side.

I also read:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drosera


Neither of those species can handle dry media either. As stated above, all Drosera species require moist media. Even Mexican Pinguicula require seasonally wet conditions in summer. The only carnivorous plant that is able to handle conditions on the dryer side is Drosophyllum lusitanicum. I do not however recommend that you attempt growing this plant until you've honed your skills more on much easier genera first.
 
  • #10
It's protocarnivorous, but how about Ibicella ?
 
  • #11
I have to ask: why is this a requirement? Are you not going to be home to attend to the plant's needs for weeks/months at a time?

Yup--personally, I said in my head: this is a cactus/succulent person.
 
  • #12
Glad you liked that succulent collection. :D

If you haven't worked with carnivorous plants, but you have experience with other non carnivorous plants, Drosophyllum lusitanicum might work for you, simply because you won't have the typical carnivorous plant growing habbits in mind.

But I do have to ask, as others already have, why look for a dry-growing carnivorous plant? Either way, I hope you find a plant that makes you happy! :D
 
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  • #13
Neither of those species can handle dry media either. As stated above, all Drosera species require moist media. Even Mexican Pinguicula require seasonally wet conditions in summer. The only carnivorous plant that is able to handle conditions on the dryer side is Drosophyllum lusitanicum. I do not however recommend that you attempt growing this plant until you've honed your skills more on much easier genera first.
Cthulhu,

Why don't you recommend growing Drosophyllum as a beginner? I did great growing the same D. Rotundifolia plant and another kind of Drosera plant for years, but then I left on vacation and the medium dried out and what I had died.

I don't mean to plant it in a desert or never water it, rather I mean that it survives the media drying out, like the Australian ones supposedly do in the summer due to their tubers.
 
  • #14
I'm not Cthulhu, but a few things I've read, that make Drosophyllum lusitanicum tricky, is that: their roots can't handle disturbance (or they die), they are prone to root rot, it will probably need to be grown from seed (because shipping could be harmful for the reasons mentioned above), and seeds take many many months to sprout. However, if your up for a challenge, learn as much as you can, then make it happen!
 
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  • #15
You may have your information a bit mixed up, many drosera can survive but not thrive a bit of a drought, but they will die back to thick roots and grow back again
 
  • #16
You may have your information a bit mixed up, many drosera can survive but not thrive a bit of a drought, but they will die back to thick roots and grow back again
Yes, this would qualify.
 
  • #17
If drought shock does occur to a CP, even if you're lucky enough that the plant survives yet dies back, you're easily setting yourself back a quarter of a year or more! What's the point? Wouldn't it be easier to (a) invest in automated irrigation or (b) grow plants less susceptible to water stress?
 
  • #18
I don't grow tuberous drosera, but given how they operate I would expect that surviving one drought at a regular time each year is very different from surviving multiple droughts that happen at random.

Just something to bear in mind.
 
  • #19
Drosophylum requires roughly arid conditions
 
  • #20
I don't grow tuberous drosera, but given how they operate I would expect that surviving one drought at a regular time each year is very different from surviving multiple droughts that happen at random.

Just something to bear in mind.


And you would be correct. Most tuberous and winter growing ZA species have fairly strict seasonal requirements. Random dessication at irregular intervals will surely kill them. They are strictly winter growing and need to spend their summers dry and dormant. None of these plants should be recommended for beginning growers.
 
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