Carnivorous Plants/winter care

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Expert: - 12/4/2009


Question
can you please let me know if my drasera capensis needs any special care during winter like cutting down on water?

Answer
Hello Alandaines,

Yes, your Drosera capensis does need special care in places that have cold weather winters. Cape sundews are sub-tropicals that can be grown year round in warm, well-lighted environments. Keep your Cape sundew inside in normal room temperatures and in a good window where it will receive the longest and brightest hours of sunlight as possible. You may need to supplement the window light with florescent lamps or shop lights of up to 6000 to 12000 lumens between 6-8 inches from the plant's leaves and for about 12hours a day if the window light is insufficient to keep the plant growing normally. Keep watering the plant as usual during winter with a water tray under the pot for up to 1/4 the pot depth in standing water. Make sure the water is distilled, reverse osmosis, or normal rain water as tap water has chemicals and minerals that would modify the acidity of the moss the plant needs for soil. That is all I do for my Cape sundew and it has been growing well for over two years now in the same environment I just detailed.

Christopher

Carnivorous Plants

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Christopher Littrell

Expertise

I am capable of answering questions about the most common carnivorous plants found in cultivation. I have no personal experience with Byblis, Drosophyllum, Aldrovanda, and Heliamphora. I have not cultivated gemmae forming pygmy sundews nor tuberous sundews. For information regarding those aforementioned species, I would suggest contacting other experts. I can answer questions regarding most species of Nepenthes, tropical and temperate Drosera, Mexican Pinguicula, Sarracenias, and Dionaea. I have some limited experience with growing Utricularia, Cephalotus, and Darlingtonia.

Experience

I have grown carnivorous plants off and on for about 27 years. I have made the same mistakes and suffered the same mishaps that many growers make as they attempt to separate the myths from the realities of growing these plants. Currently, I am successfully growing a variety of tropical sundews, a Nepenthes, several Venus Flytraps of varying ages, and Sarracenias. I have been successful in stratifying Sarracenia seeds and providing artificial dormancy requirements for my temperate plants when needed.

Education/Credentials
I hold a Master's degree in Educational Psychology. Over my lifetime, I have constantly read books involving the growing conditions of carnivorous plants. I hope to incorporate the educational aspects involved in psychology with teaching other people how to cultivate carnivorous plants.

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