A question about Drossera binnata var.dichotoma

[Tunguska]

Hi! So I bought my first sundew, a Drossera binnata var.dichotoma f.pedata "giant form", from a local grower like a month ago. It came bare-root and without any leaves so I planted it in a pot with a mixture of sphagnum peat, perlite and vermiculite and a layer of live sphagnum covering it all. After a couple of weeks it started to grow and ,despite my cats eating like 4 of the sprouting leaves, it is now a functional drossera, huntig mosquitos and fungus gnats without mercy. My question is, ¿do this plants need a dormancy period during the winter, like dionaea or sarracenia? I'm keeping it inside right now because the winters here are kind of harsh (for the mediterranean standard, I mean) with temperatures droping to -3ºC/26,6ºF and very low humidity. I keep my other CPs (except for my nepenthes) outside so they can hibernate naturally during the winter, but I don't know if I should do the same with my D.binnata and I've only found contradictory information on the internet, with some telling me I should keep it inside during the winter because it doesn't need dormancy, others telling me to put it outside so it can go to sleep and some telling me to keep it inside inducing hibernation artificially, as the winters here are too cold for these forked sundews. ¿What should I do? thanks in advance for reading all of this

 

[hcarlton]

*Drosera* dichotoma has no additional forms; "pedata" is an invalid term for a handful of lineages that happen to get a bit larger than most, it's still just dichotoma. If the plants go dormant on their own, let them, but they do not generally require it, however your conditions are nowhere near too cold for them, mid 20's F is perfectly within their tolerance range (they're not a Mediterranean climate plant, they come from southeast Australia and Tasmania some locations of which experience true, very cold temperate winters).

 

[Tunguska]

*Drosera* dichotoma has no additional forms; "pedata" is an invalid term for a handful of lineages that happen to get a bit larger than most, it's still just dichotoma. If the plants go dormant on their own, let them, but they do not generally require it, however your conditions are nowhere near too cold for them, mid 20's F is perfectly within their tolerance range (they're not a Mediterranean climate plant, they come from southeast Australia and Tasmania some locations of which experience true, very cold temperate winters).

Sorry for the mistakes, I'm kind of new to carnivorous plants so there are a lot of things I don't know. Thanks for the help! I think I will put it outside with the other CPs once it grows a bit more and catches some more bugs so it can build reserves for the winter. Last question: Is hibernation a must with dichotoma? like, will it die if it doesn't undergo dormancy (like Dionaea m. or Sarracenia sp)?

 

[hcarlton]

As stated, they may go dormant when exposed to cold:

but they do not generally require it

And Dionaea are not a species that require dormancy strictly either (touchy details about conditions required if they are to grow year round so not recommended for beginners at all, but they can be subtropical).

 

[Sarracenia 2004]

From my understanding, small binatas will form a hybernaculum, like the T - forms. Larger plants may just die down to the roots.

 

[hcarlton]

No. There are multiple separate species within the binata complex (D. dichotoma is at least one, multifida perhaps another or a complex of several, as is the rest of binata), and at least hundreds of localities; the seasonal behavior of any of them is controlled by the climate they came from, not size or otherwise part of their appearance. Anything from a tropical to subtropical or even warm temperate area will not go dormant, anything from a temperate area may potentially form hibernacula.