Expert: Christopher Littrell - 6/1/2011

Question
Hi! I have finally obtained some of these plants last year, and problems already appeared! I am growing them outside in a bog garden with sarracenias, sphagnum moss and a few other types of bog plants. Last year i had 4-5 of them, but only one formed a hybernaculum and survived. My question is why? And the other one is that I am growing it in a really sunny spot, and it receives 6-7 hours of full sun during late spring and whole summer, but it is not very dewy... Can that be in some kind of relation to water table? I don't prefer water table to be higher than around 5-6cm below ground because I grow a few dionaeas there as well, and from what I have heard, they dont like being permanently waterlogged and in a stagnant conditions... Do I have to raise water table and make another solution for dionaeas? What am I doing wrong? Just to mention that droseras are growing in a layer of live sphagnum with a pure peat below... the layer of sphagnum is around 2-4cm thick...

Answer
Hello Elvis,

Drosera Rotundifolia is rather more difficult to grow then some other species of Sundews. First off, they do like very wet conditions, with a very low pot or soil depth to water ratio. Venus Flytraps like the water level to be just near their root tips, Drosera rotundifolia prefer near waterlogged conditions. Drosera rotundifolia also come in several subspecies. There is a subspecies that has less of a dormancy requirement than other D. rotundifolias, however; tends to die back randomly and spontaneously, which is what you seem to describe. I have not found any information regarding the reson why die back occurs in that manner in that particular subspecies. Perhaps you could ask some of the other experts if they have any further information regarding this occurance.

Christopher