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Drosera Regia care?

curtisconners

Greetings from the netherworld.
Hello, I have been interested in possibly getting a Drosera Regia. I have kept vft's and nepenthes with success, but this would be my first sundew. What's their care like? Watering lighting etc. Do they need a dormancy?
 
Thanks for the links.
 
I can totally see the attraction to this species and it sounds like you are doing well with your other cp's. D. regia can be kind of expensive and hard to come by, and some find them temperamental. You might want to start out with one of the more common, and cheaper, semi tropical sundews until you get a feel for the genus. For instance, I have been growing D. aliciae for years and I am still in love with this species. They are readily available and do well under conditions that I grow D. regia at. I feel the same way about D. venusta and there are others that would be good for a beginner to start out with. 'Just my two bits.
 
Where are you? (location)
 
I can totally see the attraction to this species and it sounds like you are doing well with your other cp's. D. regia can be kind of expensive and hard to come by, and some find them temperamental. You might want to start out with one of the more common, and cheaper, semi tropical sundews until you get a feel for the genus. For instance, I have been growing D. aliciae for years and I am still in love with this species. They are readily available and do well under conditions that I grow D. regia at. I feel the same way about D. venusta and there are others that would be good for a beginner to start out with. 'Just my two bits.

I've never heard of D. aliciae or venusta, but I just google imaged them and they do look nice. This isn't a priority, but can they eat stink bugs? They invade my house in winter and I would love to get rid of them, or at least have the sundew eat a few.
 
Stink bugs are too strong for any Sundew to hold on to.
 
Unfortunately , in that case, I can't help you


Stink bugs are too strong for any Sundew to hold on to.

There's not a lot of Drosera regia cxarnivorous bits around in winter on my plants anyway.
 
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  • #10
Stink bugs are too strong for any Sundew to hold on to.
Oh well. Thanks for the help. What about D. venusta? Could they handle an Ohio summer? It gets up to 90 during the day here in summer. Should it sit in water like vft's?
 
  • #11
Try a Drosera capensis, they're practically bomb proof and readily available.
 
  • #12
Those I have heard of. I'll probably go with that this spring. Thanks for all the help.
 
  • #13
Stink bugs are too strong for any Sundew to hold on to.

Most definitely. Even trying to stick one to multiple leaves on my D. capensis doesn't work. So I drop into Nepenthes pitchers instead.
 
  • #14
I second the idea of D. capensis. These things may be common among growers but they're pretty splashy as well. And some forms get big. I do think the D. venusta would be fine in 90 F. temps as long as the humidity was good.
 
  • #15
Do you know of any forms in particular that get big? Would a capensis do well with care similar to vft's minus the dormancy?
 
  • #16
I have capensis forms that survive in my Sarracenia pots, so yes they would take "VFT" type conditions minus hard frosts or cold spells. And D. venusta will sulk in the warmer portions of the year, but so long as it cools at some point they're pretty easy. My photo thread shows them in their prime right now.
D. regia is also one that likes cool nights and moderate humidity, airy soil and lots of food. Those are basically its needs.
 
  • #17
Do you know of any forms in particular that get big? Would a capensis do well with care similar to vft's minus the dormancy?

You definitely want to avoid freezing with D. capensis. Mature plants may survive it, but they will die back to the ground. It will probably stay healthier if kept indoors though, and is more tolerant of lower light levels than most sundews. One consideration with this species though is that the roots get very very long. I probably have a foot length of several different roots snaking around the water tray of my D. capensis.
 
  • #18
There are several dealers of D. capensis online that sell what they call 'giant form's. I have seen several versions. Or you could post a 'wanted to buy' ad on TF's sales forum.
 
  • #19
Thanks for all the help. I think I will get a giant capensis and maybe try venusta later on.
 
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