Tropical/Indoor Sundews (Drosera)

72 Hour Heat Packs are a great way to help protect your Tropical Plants during shipment. We recommend adding these to your purchases from November to February, whenever your local temperatures drop below freezing. 

Please use your best judgment when ordering, as some plants will become stressed if these are used over summer or when temperatures are above 80 degrees. We will do our best to remove these, and issue a refund, if they are not needed or could be harmful to the plants.

Plants that can use a heat pack are:

• Mexican/Tropical Pinguicula
• Tropical Drosera
• Nepenthes
• Antferns

This is the ideal plant for a windowsill that doesn't get quite enough light for other carnivorous plants! This sundew comes from shaded, mossy stream-sides in Queensland, Australia. If grown in bright light, the plants are smaller leaved and bronzy-red in color.  When grown in lower light the plants are green and can grow up to 5 inches across!

This is a true tropical species and prefers temps in the 70-90's with high humidity. A bell jar or cloche can help keep humidity high. Mature plants have striking little red star-shaped flowers. It forms clumps from the roots quickly. This is an ideal plant for a terrarium as it loves increased humidity and can thrive in lower light. 

The plants we are shipping are about 2-3” tall.

Please note: shipping can be hard on the sticky dew covering the leaves so your plant may arrive without dew. It can take a few weeks for the plant to produce more dew, if after four weeks it has not produced dew, you may need to increase light.

Care Instructions

Growth Habit: Drosera adelae forms lance-shaped leaves up to six inches long. They have long black roots, and new plants can grow from them. Older leaves will turn brown and die back but new leaves will grow in. Can be propagated easily from leaf or root cuttings. These plants readily flower and do not generally self pollinate. 

Sun: Full to part sun. Grow on a sunny windowsill or in a greenhouse or in a terrarium. These plants are very forgiving and can tolerate as little as three hours of light or part sun conditions. They can also be grown under grow lights on a 10-12 hour day length. Grow them to the side of the grow light or 10-12” from the light but be sure to increase humidity if directly under the lights. If your plant does not produce dew, it may need more light or more humidity. 

Water & Humidity: Always sitting in at least two inches of distilled, reverse osmosis or rain water. Keep humidity high, over 70% preferably, increase humidity when temperatures are higher. We grow under domes, cloches or in terrariums to increase humidity. 

Temperature & Dormancy: 50 degrees - 90 degrees, prefers high humidity. Does not have a winter dormancy but may grow more slowly in winter if exposed to cooler temps and shorter photo periods. This is a tropical plant and can not tolerate cold temperatures. Never expose to anything below 50 degrees. They will be happiest if grown always between 70-90 degrees, always increase humidity when temperatures increase. 

Soil & Repotting: We prefer a mix of four-part fertilizer-free peat moss to one-part perlite. You can add our pre-made mix to your order here. These can also be grown in a long fibered New Zealand sphagnum moss mix like a Nepenthes mix. You do not need to repot your plant when you receive it from us for at least a year, and we recommend against it during the spring-summer months. Repot Drosera every 1-3 years. Avoid placing in excessively large pots; size up only a few inches at a time although tall pots are appreciated. Soil can also develop a swampy smell, especially right after shipping, when the plant is wrapped in plastic and sealed. This is normal; these plants grow naturally in bogs and swampy conditions, and peat moss can develop a bit of an anaerobic smell, but this does not indicate a problem with the soil. 

Feeding and Fertilizer: Drosera will catch plenty of food when grown outdoors. When grown indoors, they will significantly benefit from a foliar fertilizer. Plants grown outdoors will appreciate a foliar feed as well. Apply MaxSea fertilizer once or twice per month to the foliage. Dilute 1/4 teaspoon of MaxSea into one gallon of water and then apply to the leaves with a mister bottle or a watering can.

More Information: For further information on dormancy, repotting, dividing, and more, check out our website or our YouTube channel.

These beautiful sundews (Drosera capensis) are the albino form of the Cape Sundew. 'Alba' lacks red pigment (anthocyanin), so its tentacles aren't red, and the flowers are white. Grow it next to the red Cape Sundew or a red Sarracenia for a stunning contrast!  Cape Sundews catch gnats, fruit flies, and occasional house flies.

If you have been thinking about growing carnivorous plants but don't know where to start, look no further than Drosera capensis. These plants are easy to grow and rewarding and will grow in various conditions. They will thrive indoors in full sun, on a windowsill, or under lights. They will also do well outside in lots of sun and are cold hardy down to 40 degrees reliably. They will briefly freeze with the leaves dying back, but the plants regrow readily from the roots in spring.

The plants we are shipping are about 2-4” tall.

Please note: shipping can be hard on the sticky dew covering the leaves so your plant may arrive without dew. It can take a few weeks for the plant to produce more dew, if after four weeks it has not produced dew, you may need to increase light.

Care Instructions

Growth Habit: Drosera capensis are small, bushy plants that grow about 6” tall at maturity, although some forms can be slightly larger. Capensis spread readily by dropping seeds from their abundant flowers in their pots, which do not need to be pollinated. As they grow, their leaves die back, starting from the base of the plant and moving up. The leaves die back and can be cut off. The stem will thicken and be black or brown. Sometimes larger, older plants will flop over and grow sideways as they age, growing taller and taller with new leaves emerging from the top of the plant. Capensis can regrow from the roots quite readily, so if your crown dies, keep nurturing it, and you should see new growth. These plants have a high leaf turnover, meaning their leaves die back frequently, but new leaves grow just as fast. 

Sun: Full sun. Grow indoors on a sunny windowsill, in a terrarium under lights, or outdoors. If grown indoors, Drosera will require full sun to produce their sticky dew, so be sure to place them in a window where they will receive direct sunlight for most of the day. If grown under lights, keep your grow lights on a 10 to 12-hour day length and hang your grow lights 6 to 10 inches above the plants on the quality of your lights. Grown outdoors, these plants will enjoy a great deal of sun. If you live somewhere extremely hot, for example, Arizona, you will want to protect them from the Full intensity of the afternoon sunlight. You can either grow them in morning sun only, or use shade cloth to help protect them in these very hot areas. These plants may be more colorful and smaller when grown outdoors because the light is more intense. You can expect a few leaves to burn back when you first place your plant outdoors in the sun, and if you receive your plant in the summer, it is a good idea to slowly acclimate it to the sunlight over a day or two. Even in less sunny seasons, areas, or with acclimation, you can still expect to see some burned leaves when first placed outside. This is normal, and new leaves will grow that are more adjusted to the sun. In winter, when grown in sunlight, indoors or outdoors, it is very normal for color to fade from red varieties due to less sun. IF YOUR SUNDEW IS NOT PRODUCING DEW, IT MOST LIKELY NEEDS MORE SUNLIGHT. It can also take a few weeks after shipping for dew to generate. 

Water: Always sitting in a few inches of distilled, rain, or reverse osmosis water. These plants always prefer to have their roots wet and can have their pots sitting in a deep saucer of water all the time. 

Temperature and Dormancy: Drosera capensis tolerate a wide range of temperatures but will be happiest in 40 - 80 degrees. They can take temperatures from freezing to 100 degrees but only for short periods and can grow back from the roots after a freeze if the daytime temperatures increase above 40. Drosera capensis do not need a dormancy but will die back or slow growth in winter depending on the conditions they are exposed to. If exposed to freezes, they will die back. And many will slow their growth or grow smaller in winter. Drosera capensis does need a nighttime drop in temperatures of 10-20 degrees; if you’d like to grow this in a tropical zone, we recommend the ‘Alba’ cultivar as it can tolerate no nighttime drop in temperature.

Soil and Repotting: We prefer a mix of four-part fertilizer-free peat moss to one-part perlite. You can add our pre-made mix to your order here. You do not need to repot your plant when you receive it from us for at least a year, and we recommend against it during the spring-summer months. Repot Drosera every 1-3 years. Avoid placing in excessively large pots; size up only a few inches at a time. Soil can also develop a swampy smell, especially right after shipping, when the plant is wrapped in plastic and sealed. This is normal; these plants grow naturally in bogs and swampy conditions, and peat moss can develop a bit of an anaerobic smell, but this does not indicate a problem with the soil. 

Feeding and Fertilizer: Drosera catch small insects like fungus gnats and fruit flies in their sticky dew. They can catch bigger prey like houseflies or crane flies and can slowly curl their leaves around these larger bugs to make better contact. Over time, their leaves will produce enzymes to digest the nutrients from the bug, absorbing them through their leaves, leaving only the exoskeleton on their sticky leaves. There’s no need to remove these as they often serve as a lure to other insects looking for an easy meal. When grown outdoors, they will catch plenty of food. When grown indoors, they will significantly benefit from a foliar fertilizer. Plants grown outdoors will appreciate a foliar feed as well. Apply MaxSea fertilizer once per month to the foliage only. Dilute 1/4 teaspoon of MaxSea into one gallon of water with a mister bottle or a watering can. Watch as the Drosera slowly curl their leaves after a foliar fertilizer application! 

More Information: For further information on dormancy, repotting, growing from seed, and more, check out our website or our YouTube channel.

If you have been thinking about growing carnivorous plants but don't know where to start, look no further than Drosera capensis.  These plants are easy to grow, rewarding and will grow in a variety of conditions.  They will thrive indoors in full sun, on a windowsill or under lights. They will also do well outside in lots of sun and are cold hardy down to 40 degrees reliably. They will even take a brief freeze with the leaves dying back but the plants regrowing readily from the roots in spring.

This is the most typical form of Drosera capensis; the leaves are thin and delicate looking with red tentacles tipped in mucilage. The pink flowers unfurl off of long, arching scapes. Cape Sundews catch many gnats, fruit flies and occasionally house flies.

The plants we are shipping are about 2-4” tall.

Please note: shipping can be hard on the sticky dew covering the leaves so your plant may arrive without dew. It can take a few weeks for the plant to produce more dew, if after four weeks it has not produced dew, you may need to increase light.

Care Instructions

Growth Habit: Drosera capensis are small, bushy plants that grow about 6” tall at maturity, although some forms can be slightly larger. Capensis spread readily by dropping seeds from their abundant flowers in their pots, which do not need to be pollinated. As they grow, their leaves die back, starting from the base of the plant and moving up. The leaves die back and can be cut off. The stem will thicken and be black or brown. Sometimes larger, older plants will flop over and grow sideways as they age, growing taller and taller with new leaves emerging from the top of the plant. Capensis can regrow from the roots quite readily, so if your crown dies, keep nurturing it, and you should see new growth. These plants have a high leaf turnover, meaning their leaves die back frequently, but new leaves grow just as fast. 

Sun: Full sun. Grow indoors on a sunny windowsill, in a terrarium under lights, or outdoors. If grown indoors, Drosera will require full sun to produce their sticky dew, so be sure to place them in a window where they will receive direct sunlight for most of the day. If grown under lights, keep your grow lights on a 10 to 12-hour day length and hang your grow lights 6 to 10 inches above the plants on the quality of your lights. Grown outdoors, these plants will enjoy a great deal of sun. If you live somewhere extremely hot, for example, Arizona, you will want to protect them from the Full intensity of the afternoon sunlight. You can either grow them in morning sun only, or use shade cloth to help protect them in these very hot areas. These plants may be more colorful and smaller when grown outdoors because the light is more intense. You can expect a few leaves to burn back when you first place your plant outdoors in the sun, and if you receive your plant in the summer, it is a good idea to slowly acclimate it to the sunlight over a day or two. Even in less sunny seasons, areas, or with acclimation, you can still expect to see some burned leaves when first placed outside. This is normal, and new leaves will grow that are more adjusted to the sun. In winter, when grown in sunlight, indoors or outdoors, it is very normal for color to fade from red varieties due to less sun. IF YOUR SUNDEW IS NOT PRODUCING DEW, IT MOST LIKELY NEEDS MORE SUNLIGHT. It can also take a few weeks after shipping for dew to generate. 

Water: Always sitting in a few inches of distilled, rain, or reverse osmosis water. These plants always prefer to have their roots wet and can have their pots sitting in a deep saucer of water all the time. 

Temperature and Dormancy: Drosera capensis tolerate a wide range of temperatures but will be happiest in 40 - 80 degrees. They can take temperatures from freezing to 100 degrees but only for short periods and can grow back from the roots after a freeze if the daytime temperatures increase above 40. Drosera capensis do not need a dormancy but will die back or slow growth in winter depending on the conditions they are exposed to. If exposed to freezes, they will die back. And many will slow their growth or grow smaller in winter. Drosera capensis does need a nighttime drop in temperatures of 10-20 degrees; if you’d like to grow this in a tropical zone, we recommend the ‘Alba’ cultivar as it can tolerate no nighttime drop in temperature.

Soil and Repotting: We prefer a mix of four-part fertilizer-free peat moss to one-part perlite. You can add our pre-made mix to your order here. You do not need to repot your plant when you receive it from us for at least a year, and we recommend against it during the spring-summer months. Repot Drosera every 1-3 years. Avoid placing in excessively large pots; size up only a few inches at a time. Soil can also develop a swampy smell, especially right after shipping, when the plant is wrapped in plastic and sealed. This is normal; these plants grow naturally in bogs and swampy conditions, and peat moss can develop a bit of an anaerobic smell, but this does not indicate a problem with the soil. 

Feeding and Fertilizer: Drosera catch small insects like fungus gnats and fruit flies in their sticky dew. They can catch bigger prey like houseflies or crane flies and can slowly curl their leaves around these larger bugs to make better contact. Over time, their leaves will produce enzymes to digest the nutrients from the bug, absorbing them through their leaves, leaving only the exoskeleton on their sticky leaves. There’s no need to remove these as they often serve as a lure to other insects looking for an easy meal. When grown outdoors, they will catch plenty of food. When grown indoors, they will significantly benefit from a foliar fertilizer. Plants grown outdoors will appreciate a foliar feed as well. Apply MaxSea fertilizer once per month to the foliage only. Dilute 1/4 teaspoon of MaxSea into one gallon of water with a mister bottle or a watering can. Watch as the Drosera slowly curl their leaves after a foliar fertilizer application! 

More Information: For further information on dormancy, repotting, growing from seed, and more, check out our website or our YouTube channel.

This is probably Damon's favorite cape sundew! Peter sold him one at a flea market when Damon was a little boy and it is the plant that got himinto carnivorous plants! We're still selling this easy to grow beauty; it has very wide leaves which make it look a bit more robust than the other clones we sell. A perfect first plant for anyone!

If you have been thinking about growing carnivorous plants but don't know where to start, look no further than Drosera capensis.  These plants are easy to grow, rewarding and will grow in a variety of conditions.  They will thrive indoors in full sun, on a windowsill or under lights. They will also do well outside in lots of sun and are cold hardy down to 40 degrees reliably. They will even take a brief freeze with the leaves dying back but the plants regrowing readily from the roots in spring.

The plants we are shipping are 2-4” tall.

Please note: shipping can be hard on the sticky dew covering the leaves so your plant may arrive without dew. It can take a few weeks for the plant to produce more dew, if after four weeks it has not produced dew, you may need to increase light.

Care Instructions

Growth Habit: Drosera capensis are small, bushy plants that grow about 6” tall at maturity, although some forms can be slightly larger. Capensis spread readily by dropping seeds from their abundant flowers in their pots, which do not need to be pollinated. As they grow, their leaves die back, starting from the base of the plant and moving up. The leaves die back and can be cut off. The stem will thicken and be black or brown. Sometimes larger, older plants will flop over and grow sideways as they age, growing taller and taller with new leaves emerging from the top of the plant. Capensis can regrow from the roots quite readily, so if your crown dies, keep nurturing it, and you should see new growth. These plants have a high leaf turnover, meaning their leaves die back frequently, but new leaves grow just as fast. 

Sun: Full sun. Grow indoors on a sunny windowsill, in a terrarium under lights, or outdoors. If grown indoors, Drosera will require full sun to produce their sticky dew, so be sure to place them in a window where they will receive direct sunlight for most of the day. If grown under lights, keep your grow lights on a 10 to 12-hour day length and hang your grow lights 6 to 10 inches above the plants on the quality of your lights. Grown outdoors, these plants will enjoy a great deal of sun. If you live somewhere extremely hot, for example, Arizona, you will want to protect them from the Full intensity of the afternoon sunlight. You can either grow them in morning sun only, or use shade cloth to help protect them in these very hot areas. These plants may be more colorful and smaller when grown outdoors because the light is more intense. You can expect a few leaves to burn back when you first place your plant outdoors in the sun, and if you receive your plant in the summer, it is a good idea to slowly acclimate it to the sunlight over a day or two. Even in less sunny seasons, areas, or with acclimation, you can still expect to see some burned leaves when first placed outside. This is normal, and new leaves will grow that are more adjusted to the sun. In winter, when grown in sunlight, indoors or outdoors, it is very normal for color to fade from red varieties due to less sun. IF YOUR SUNDEW IS NOT PRODUCING DEW, IT MOST LIKELY NEEDS MORE SUNLIGHT. It can also take a few weeks after shipping for dew to generate. 

Water: Always sitting in a few inches of distilled, rain, or reverse osmosis water. These plants always prefer to have their roots wet and can have their pots sitting in a deep saucer of water all the time. 

Temperature and Dormancy: Drosera capensis tolerate a wide range of temperatures but will be happiest in 40 - 80 degrees. They can take temperatures from freezing to 100 degrees but only for short periods and can grow back from the roots after a freeze if the daytime temperatures increase above 40. Drosera capensis do not need a dormancy but will die back or slow growth in winter depending on the conditions they are exposed to. If exposed to freezes, they will die back. And many will slow their growth or grow smaller in winter. Drosera capensis does need a nighttime drop in temperatures of 10-20 degrees; if you’d like to grow this in a tropical zone, we recommend the ‘Alba’ cultivar as it can tolerate no nighttime drop in temperature.

Soil and Repotting: We prefer a mix of four-part fertilizer-free peat moss to one-part perlite. You can add our pre-made mix to your order here. You do not need to repot your plant when you receive it from us for at least a year, and we recommend against it during the spring-summer months. Repot Drosera every 1-3 years. Avoid placing in excessively large pots; size up only a few inches at a time. Soil can also develop a swampy smell, especially right after shipping, when the plant is wrapped in plastic and sealed. This is normal; these plants grow naturally in bogs and swampy conditions, and peat moss can develop a bit of an anaerobic smell, but this does not indicate a problem with the soil. 

Feeding and Fertilizer: Drosera catch small insects like fungus gnats and fruit flies in their sticky dew. They can catch bigger prey like houseflies or crane flies and can slowly curl their leaves around these larger bugs to make better contact. Over time, their leaves will produce enzymes to digest the nutrients from the bug, absorbing them through their leaves, leaving only the exoskeleton on their sticky leaves. There’s no need to remove these as they often serve as a lure to other insects looking for an easy meal. When grown outdoors, they will catch plenty of food. When grown indoors, they will significantly benefit from a foliar fertilizer. Plants grown outdoors will appreciate a foliar feed as well. Apply MaxSea fertilizer once per month to the foliage only. Dilute 1/4 teaspoon of MaxSea into one gallon of water with a mister bottle or a watering can. Watch as the Drosera slowly curl their leaves after a foliar fertilizer application! 

More Information: For further information on dormancy, repotting, growing from seed, and more, check out our website or our YouTube channel.

We love all the different forms of Drosera capensis! These plants are beautiful, fun to grow, and very rewarding! If you want to grow a carnivorous plant, a Cape Sundew is the perfect one to start with!

This is a new cultivar to us, called “Dark Maroon.” It is an all-red form, with both the tentacles and the petioles flushing a deep red!  

The plants we are shipping are about 2-3” tall. In the winter and early spring, sundews often lose their dark red coloration. As soon as day lengths increase, or if grown under lights, the dark red coloration comes back! 

Please note: Shipping can be hard on the sticky dew covering the leaves, so your plant may arrive without dew. It can take a few weeks for the plant to produce more dew. If after four weeks it has not produced dew, you may need to increase light.

Care Instructions

Growth Habit: Drosera capensis are small, bushy plants that grow about 6” tall at maturity, although some forms can be slightly larger. Capensis spread readily by dropping seeds from their abundant flowers in their pots, which do not need to be pollinated. As they grow, their leaves die back, starting from the base of the plant and moving up. The leaves die back and can be cut off. The stem will thicken and be black or brown. Sometimes larger, older plants will flop over and grow sideways as they age, growing taller and taller with new leaves emerging from the top of the plant. Capensis can regrow from the roots quite readily, so if your crown dies, keep nurturing it, and you should see new growth. These plants have a high leaf turnover, meaning their leaves die back frequently, but new leaves grow just as fast. 

Sun: Full sun. Grow indoors on a sunny windowsill, in a terrarium under lights, or outdoors. If grown indoors, Drosera will require full sun to produce their sticky dew, so be sure to place them in a window where they will receive direct sunlight for most of the day. If grown under lights, keep your grow lights on a 10 to 12-hour day length and hang your grow lights 6 to 10 inches above the plants on the quality of your lights. Grown outdoors, these plants will enjoy a great deal of sun. If you live somewhere extremely hot, for example, Arizona, you will want to protect them from the Full intensity of the afternoon sunlight. You can either grow them in morning sun only, or use shade cloth to help protect them in these very hot areas. These plants may be more colorful and smaller when grown outdoors because the light is more intense. You can expect a few leaves to burn back when you first place your plant outdoors in the sun, and if you receive your plant in the summer, it is a good idea to slowly acclimate it to the sunlight over a day or two. Even in less sunny seasons, areas, or with acclimation, you can still expect to see some burned leaves when first placed outside. This is normal, and new leaves will grow that are more adjusted to the sun. In winter, when grown in sunlight, indoors or outdoors, it is very normal for color to fade from red varieties due to less sun. IF YOUR SUNDEW IS NOT PRODUCING DEW, IT MOST LIKELY NEEDS MORE SUNLIGHT. It can also take a few weeks after shipping for dew to generate. 

Water: Always sitting in a few inches of distilled, rain, or reverse osmosis water. These plants always prefer to have their roots wet and can have their pots sitting in a deep saucer of water all the time. 

Temperature and Dormancy: Drosera capensis tolerate a wide range of temperatures but will be happiest in 40 - 80 degrees. They can take temperatures from freezing to 100 degrees but only for short periods and can grow back from the roots after a freeze if the daytime temperatures increase above 40. Drosera capensis do not need a dormancy but will die back or slow growth in winter depending on the conditions they are exposed to. If exposed to freezes, they will die back. And many will slow their growth or grow smaller in winter. Drosera capensis does need a nighttime drop in temperatures of 10-20 degrees; if you’d like to grow this in a tropical zone, we recommend the ‘Alba’ cultivar as it can tolerate no nighttime drop in temperature.

Soil and Repotting: We prefer a mix of four-part fertilizer-free peat moss to one-part perlite. You can add our pre-made mix to your order here. You do not need to repot your plant when you receive it from us for at least a year, and we recommend against it during the spring-summer months. Repot Drosera every 1-3 years. Avoid placing in excessively large pots; size up only a few inches at a time. Soil can also develop a swampy smell, especially right after shipping, when the plant is wrapped in plastic and sealed. This is normal; these plants grow naturally in bogs and swampy conditions, and peat moss can develop a bit of an anaerobic smell, but this does not indicate a problem with the soil. 

Feeding and Fertilizer: Drosera catch small insects like fungus gnats and fruit flies in their sticky dew. They can catch bigger prey like houseflies or crane flies and can slowly curl their leaves around these larger bugs to make better contact. Over time, their leaves will produce enzymes to digest the nutrients from the bug, absorbing them through their leaves, leaving only the exoskeleton on their sticky leaves. There’s no need to remove these as they often serve as a lure to other insects looking for an easy meal. When grown outdoors, they will catch plenty of food. When grown indoors, they will significantly benefit from a foliar fertilizer. Plants grown outdoors will appreciate a foliar feed as well. Apply MaxSea fertilizer once per month to the foliage only. Dilute 1/4 teaspoon of MaxSea into one gallon of water with a mister bottle or a watering can. Watch as the Drosera slowly curl their leaves after a foliar fertilizer application! 

More Information: For further information on dormancy, repotting, growing from seed, and more, check out our website or our YouTube channel.

If you have been thinking about growing carnivorous plants but don't know where to start, look no further than Drosera capensis.  These plants are easy to grow, rewarding and will grow in a variety of conditions.  They will thrive indoors in full sun, on a windowsill or under lights. They will also do well outside in lots of sun and are cold hardy down to 40 degrees reliably. They will even take a brief freeze with the leaves dying back but the plants regrowing readily from the roots in spring.

These are plants from Vogelgraat, South Africa and are a nice, wider leaf, giant form. 

The plants we are shipping are 2-4” tall.

Please note: shipping can be hard on the sticky dew covering the leaves so your plant may arrive without dew. It can take a few weeks for the plant to produce more dew, if after four weeks it has not produced dew, you may need to increase light.

Care Instructions

Growth Habit: Drosera capensis are small, bushy plants that grow about 6” tall at maturity, although some forms can be slightly larger. Capensis spread readily by dropping seeds from their abundant flowers in their pots, which do not need to be pollinated. As they grow, their leaves die back, starting from the base of the plant and moving up. The leaves die back and can be cut off. The stem will thicken and be black or brown. Sometimes larger, older plants will flop over and grow sideways as they age, growing taller and taller with new leaves emerging from the top of the plant. Capensis can regrow from the roots quite readily, so if your crown dies, keep nurturing it, and you should see new growth. These plants have a high leaf turnover, meaning their leaves die back frequently, but new leaves grow just as fast. 

Sun: Full sun. Grow indoors on a sunny windowsill, in a terrarium under lights, or outdoors. If grown indoors, Drosera will require full sun to produce their sticky dew, so be sure to place them in a window where they will receive direct sunlight for most of the day. If grown under lights, keep your grow lights on a 10 to 12-hour day length and hang your grow lights 6 to 10 inches above the plants on the quality of your lights. Grown outdoors, these plants will enjoy a great deal of sun. If you live somewhere extremely hot, for example, Arizona, you will want to protect them from the Full intensity of the afternoon sunlight. You can either grow them in morning sun only, or use shade cloth to help protect them in these very hot areas. These plants may be more colorful and smaller when grown outdoors because the light is more intense. You can expect a few leaves to burn back when you first place your plant outdoors in the sun, and if you receive your plant in the summer, it is a good idea to slowly acclimate it to the sunlight over a day or two. Even in less sunny seasons, areas, or with acclimation, you can still expect to see some burned leaves when first placed outside. This is normal, and new leaves will grow that are more adjusted to the sun. In winter, when grown in sunlight, indoors or outdoors, it is very normal for color to fade from red varieties due to less sun. IF YOUR SUNDEW IS NOT PRODUCING DEW, IT MOST LIKELY NEEDS MORE SUNLIGHT. It can also take a few weeks after shipping for dew to generate. 

Water: Always sitting in a few inches of distilled, rain, or reverse osmosis water. These plants always prefer to have their roots wet and can have their pots sitting in a deep saucer of water all the time. 

Temperature and Dormancy: Drosera capensis tolerate a wide range of temperatures but will be happiest in 40 - 80 degrees. They can take temperatures from freezing to 100 degrees but only for short periods and can grow back from the roots after a freeze if the daytime temperatures increase above 40. Drosera capensis do not need a dormancy but will die back or slow growth in winter depending on the conditions they are exposed to. If exposed to freezes, they will die back. And many will slow their growth or grow smaller in winter. Drosera capensis does need a nighttime drop in temperatures of 10-20 degrees; if you’d like to grow this in a tropical zone, we recommend the ‘Alba’ cultivar as it can tolerate no nighttime drop in temperature.

Soil and Repotting: We prefer a mix of four-part fertilizer-free peat moss to one-part perlite. You can add our pre-made mix to your order here. You do not need to repot your plant when you receive it from us for at least a year, and we recommend against it during the spring-summer months. Repot Drosera every 1-3 years. Avoid placing in excessively large pots; size up only a few inches at a time. Soil can also develop a swampy smell, especially right after shipping, when the plant is wrapped in plastic and sealed. This is normal; these plants grow naturally in bogs and swampy conditions, and peat moss can develop a bit of an anaerobic smell, but this does not indicate a problem with the soil. 

Feeding and Fertilizer: Drosera catch small insects like fungus gnats and fruit flies in their sticky dew. They can catch bigger prey like houseflies or crane flies and can slowly curl their leaves around these larger bugs to make better contact. Over time, their leaves will produce enzymes to digest the nutrients from the bug, absorbing them through their leaves, leaving only the exoskeleton on their sticky leaves. There’s no need to remove these as they often serve as a lure to other insects looking for an easy meal. When grown outdoors, they will catch plenty of food. When grown indoors, they will significantly benefit from a foliar fertilizer. Plants grown outdoors will appreciate a foliar feed as well. Apply MaxSea fertilizer once per month to the foliage only. Dilute 1/4 teaspoon of MaxSea into one gallon of water with a mister bottle or a watering can. Watch as the Drosera slowly curl their leaves after a foliar fertilizer application! 

More Information: For further information on dormancy, repotting, growing from seed, and more, check out our website or our YouTube channel.

Cape sundews are some of the easiest and most forgiving carnivorous plants to grow! There’s something magical about these dew-covered plants! Each leaf is covered in tons of dewy tentacles, waiting to lure in, trap, and eat insects like fungus gnats and fruit flies.

This is a new cultivar to us, called “Mini Red.” It has a slightly smaller stature than other capensis—a charmingly petite plant! It is covered in red tentacles with green petioles. 

The plants we are shipping are about 2-3” tall.

Please note: Shipping can be hard on the sticky dew covering the leaves, so your plant may arrive without dew. It can take a few weeks for the plant to produce more dew. If after four weeks it has not produced dew, you may need to increase light.

Care Instructions

Growth Habit: Drosera capensis are small, bushy plants that grow about 6” tall at maturity, although some forms can be slightly larger and this form is likely much smaller. Capensis spread readily by dropping seeds from their abundant flowers in their pots, which do not need to be pollinated. As they grow, their leaves die back, starting from the base of the plant and moving up. The leaves die back and can be cut off. The stem will thicken and be black or brown. Sometimes larger, older plants will flop over and grow sideways as they age, growing taller and taller with new leaves emerging from the top of the plant. Capensis can regrow from the roots quite readily, so if your crown dies, keep nurturing it, and you should see new growth. These plants have a high leaf turnover, meaning their leaves die back frequently, but new leaves grow just as fast. 

Sun: Full sun. Grow indoors on a sunny windowsill, in a terrarium under lights, or outdoors. If grown indoors, Drosera will require full sun to produce their sticky dew, so be sure to place them in a window where they will receive direct sunlight for most of the day. If grown under lights, keep your grow lights on a 10 to 12-hour day length and hang your grow lights 6 to 10 inches above the plants on the quality of your lights. Grown outdoors, these plants will enjoy a great deal of sun. If you live somewhere extremely hot, for example, Arizona, you will want to protect them from the Full intensity of the afternoon sunlight. You can either grow them in morning sun only, or use shade cloth to help protect them in these very hot areas. These plants may be more colorful and smaller when grown outdoors because the light is more intense. You can expect a few leaves to burn back when you first place your plant outdoors in the sun, and if you receive your plant in the summer, it is a good idea to slowly acclimate it to the sunlight over a day or two. Even in less sunny seasons, areas, or with acclimation, you can still expect to see some burned leaves when first placed outside. This is normal, and new leaves will grow that are more adjusted to the sun. In winter, when grown in sunlight, indoors or outdoors, it is very normal for color to fade from red varieties due to less sun. IF YOUR SUNDEW IS NOT PRODUCING DEW, IT MOST LIKELY NEEDS MORE SUNLIGHT. It can also take a few weeks after shipping for dew to generate. 

Water: Always sitting in a few inches of distilled, rain, or reverse osmosis water. These plants always prefer to have their roots wet and can have their pots sitting in a deep saucer of water all the time. 

Temperature and Dormancy: Drosera capensis tolerate a wide range of temperatures but will be happiest in 40 - 80 degrees. They can take temperatures from freezing to 100 degrees but only for short periods and can grow back from the roots after a freeze if the daytime temperatures increase above 40. Drosera capensis do not need a dormancy but will die back or slow growth in winter depending on the conditions they are exposed to. If exposed to freezes, they will die back. And many will slow their growth or grow smaller in winter. Drosera capensis does need a nighttime drop in temperatures of 10-20 degrees; if you’d like to grow this in a tropical zone, we recommend the ‘Alba’ cultivar as it can tolerate no nighttime drop in temperature.

Soil and Repotting: We prefer a mix of four-part fertilizer-free peat moss to one-part perlite. You can add our pre-made mix to your order here. You do not need to repot your plant when you receive it from us for at least a year, and we recommend against it during the spring-summer months. Repot Drosera every 1-3 years. Avoid placing in excessively large pots; size up only a few inches at a time. Soil can also develop a swampy smell, especially right after shipping, when the plant is wrapped in plastic and sealed. This is normal; these plants grow naturally in bogs and swampy conditions, and peat moss can develop a bit of an anaerobic smell, but this does not indicate a problem with the soil. 

Feeding and Fertilizer: Drosera catch small insects like fungus gnats and fruit flies in their sticky dew. They can catch bigger prey like houseflies or crane flies and can slowly curl their leaves around these larger bugs to make better contact. Over time, their leaves will produce enzymes to digest the nutrients from the bug, absorbing them through their leaves, leaving only the exoskeleton on their sticky leaves. There’s no need to remove these as they often serve as a lure to other insects looking for an easy meal. When grown outdoors, they will catch plenty of food. When grown indoors, they will significantly benefit from a foliar fertilizer. Plants grown outdoors will appreciate a foliar feed as well. Apply MaxSea fertilizer once per month to the foliage only. Dilute 1/4 teaspoon of MaxSea into one gallon of water with a mister bottle or a watering can. Watch as the Drosera slowly curl their leaves after a foliar fertilizer application! 

More Information: For further information on dormancy, repotting, growing from seed, and more, check out our website or our YouTube channel.

The most beautiful and striking of the Cape Sundews, the entire plant will be bright red when grown in full sun.  They are slightly slower growing than other Cape Sundews. The flowers are darker pink and on shorter scapes. This form is really exciting because not only is it a bright red color but it is a site location plant from De Kom, RSA.

If you have been thinking about growing carnivorous plants but don't know where to start, look no further than Drosera capensis.  These plants are easy to grow, rewarding and will grow in a variety of conditions.  They will thrive indoors in full sun, on a windowsill or under lights.  They will also do well outside in lots of sun and are cold hardy down to 40 degrees reliably. They will even take a brief freeze with the leaves dying back but the plants regrowing readily from the roots in spring. 

Please note; in winter these plants can lose their red pigment and look quite green. They will regain their red coloration again in spring and summer or if grown under lights and exposed to longer photo periods.

The plants we are shipping are about 2-4” tall.

Please note: shipping can be hard on the sticky dew covering the leaves so your plant may arrive without dew. It can take a few weeks for the plant to produce more dew, if after four weeks it has not produced dew, you may need to increase light.

Care Instructions

Growth Habit: Drosera capensis are small, bushy plants that grow about 6” tall at maturity, although some forms can be slightly larger. Capensis spread readily by dropping seeds from their abundant flowers in their pots, which do not need to be pollinated. As they grow, their leaves die back, starting from the base of the plant and moving up. The leaves die back and can be cut off. The stem will thicken and be black or brown. Sometimes larger, older plants will flop over and grow sideways as they age, growing taller and taller with new leaves emerging from the top of the plant. Capensis can regrow from the roots quite readily, so if your crown dies, keep nurturing it, and you should see new growth. These plants have a high leaf turnover, meaning their leaves die back frequently, but new leaves grow just as fast. 

Sun: Full sun. Grow indoors on a sunny windowsill, in a terrarium under lights, or outdoors. If grown indoors, Drosera will require full sun to produce their sticky dew, so be sure to place them in a window where they will receive direct sunlight for most of the day. If grown under lights, keep your grow lights on a 10 to 12-hour day length and hang your grow lights 6 to 10 inches above the plants on the quality of your lights. Grown outdoors, these plants will enjoy a great deal of sun. If you live somewhere extremely hot, for example, Arizona, you will want to protect them from the Full intensity of the afternoon sunlight. You can either grow them in morning sun only, or use shade cloth to help protect them in these very hot areas. These plants may be more colorful and smaller when grown outdoors because the light is more intense. You can expect a few leaves to burn back when you first place your plant outdoors in the sun, and if you receive your plant in the summer, it is a good idea to slowly acclimate it to the sunlight over a day or two. Even in less sunny seasons, areas, or with acclimation, you can still expect to see some burned leaves when first placed outside. This is normal, and new leaves will grow that are more adjusted to the sun. In winter, when grown in sunlight, indoors or outdoors, it is very normal for color to fade from red varieties due to less sun. IF YOUR SUNDEW IS NOT PRODUCING DEW, IT MOST LIKELY NEEDS MORE SUNLIGHT. It can also take a few weeks after shipping for dew to generate. 

Water: Always sitting in a few inches of distilled, rain, or reverse osmosis water. These plants always prefer to have their roots wet and can have their pots sitting in a deep saucer of water all the time. 

Temperature and Dormancy: Drosera capensis tolerate a wide range of temperatures but will be happiest in 40 - 80 degrees. They can take temperatures from freezing to 100 degrees but only for short periods and can grow back from the roots after a freeze if the daytime temperatures increase above 40. Drosera capensis do not need a dormancy but will die back or slow growth in winter depending on the conditions they are exposed to. If exposed to freezes, they will die back. And many will slow their growth or grow smaller in winter. Drosera capensis does need a nighttime drop in temperatures of 10-20 degrees; if you’d like to grow this in a tropical zone, we recommend the ‘Alba’ cultivar as it can tolerate no nighttime drop in temperature.

Soil and Repotting: We prefer a mix of four-part fertilizer-free peat moss to one-part perlite. You can add our pre-made mix to your order here. You do not need to repot your plant when you receive it from us for at least a year, and we recommend against it during the spring-summer months. Repot Drosera every 1-3 years. Avoid placing in excessively large pots; size up only a few inches at a time. Soil can also develop a swampy smell, especially right after shipping, when the plant is wrapped in plastic and sealed. This is normal; these plants grow naturally in bogs and swampy conditions, and peat moss can develop a bit of an anaerobic smell, but this does not indicate a problem with the soil. 

Feeding and Fertilizer: Drosera catch small insects like fungus gnats and fruit flies in their sticky dew. They can catch bigger prey like houseflies or crane flies and can slowly curl their leaves around these larger bugs to make better contact. Over time, their leaves will produce enzymes to digest the nutrients from the bug, absorbing them through their leaves, leaving only the exoskeleton on their sticky leaves. There’s no need to remove these as they often serve as a lure to other insects looking for an easy meal. When grown outdoors, they will catch plenty of food. When grown indoors, they will significantly benefit from a foliar fertilizer. Plants grown outdoors will appreciate a foliar feed as well. Apply MaxSea fertilizer once per month to the foliage only. Dilute 1/4 teaspoon of MaxSea into one gallon of water with a mister bottle or a watering can. Watch as the Drosera slowly curl their leaves after a foliar fertilizer application! 

More Information: For further information on dormancy, repotting, growing from seed, and more, check out our website or our YouTube channel.

If you have been thinking about growing carnivorous plants but don't know where to start, look no further than Drosera capensis.  These plants are easy to grow, rewarding and will grow in a variety of conditions.  They will thrive indoors in full sun, on a windowsill or under lights. They will also do well outside in lots of sun and are cold hardy down to 40 degrees reliably. They will even take a brief freeze with the leaves dying back but the plants regrowing readily from the roots in spring.

These are seed-grown plants from Stellenbosch, South Africa and are a nice, wide leaf form. 

The plants we are shipping are 2-4” tall.

Please note: shipping can be hard on the sticky dew covering the leaves so your plant may arrive without dew. It can take a few weeks for the plant to produce more dew, if after four weeks it has not produced dew, you may need to increase light.

Care Instructions

Growth Habit: Drosera capensis are small, bushy plants that grow about 6” tall at maturity, although some forms can be slightly larger. Capensis spread readily by dropping seeds from their abundant flowers in their pots, which do not need to be pollinated. As they grow, their leaves die back, starting from the base of the plant and moving up. The leaves die back and can be cut off. The stem will thicken and be black or brown. Sometimes larger, older plants will flop over and grow sideways as they age, growing taller and taller with new leaves emerging from the top of the plant. Capensis can regrow from the roots quite readily, so if your crown dies, keep nurturing it, and you should see new growth. These plants have a high leaf turnover, meaning their leaves die back frequently, but new leaves grow just as fast. 

Sun: Full sun. Grow indoors on a sunny windowsill, in a terrarium under lights, or outdoors. If grown indoors, Drosera will require full sun to produce their sticky dew, so be sure to place them in a window where they will receive direct sunlight for most of the day. If grown under lights, keep your grow lights on a 10 to 12-hour day length and hang your grow lights 6 to 10 inches above the plants on the quality of your lights. Grown outdoors, these plants will enjoy a great deal of sun. If you live somewhere extremely hot, for example, Arizona, you will want to protect them from the Full intensity of the afternoon sunlight. You can either grow them in morning sun only, or use shade cloth to help protect them in these very hot areas. These plants may be more colorful and smaller when grown outdoors because the light is more intense. You can expect a few leaves to burn back when you first place your plant outdoors in the sun, and if you receive your plant in the summer, it is a good idea to slowly acclimate it to the sunlight over a day or two. Even in less sunny seasons, areas, or with acclimation, you can still expect to see some burned leaves when first placed outside. This is normal, and new leaves will grow that are more adjusted to the sun. In winter, when grown in sunlight, indoors or outdoors, it is very normal for color to fade from red varieties due to less sun. IF YOUR SUNDEW IS NOT PRODUCING DEW, IT MOST LIKELY NEEDS MORE SUNLIGHT. It can also take a few weeks after shipping for dew to generate. 

Water: Always sitting in a few inches of distilled, rain, or reverse osmosis water. These plants always prefer to have their roots wet and can have their pots sitting in a deep saucer of water all the time. 

Temperature and Dormancy: Drosera capensis tolerate a wide range of temperatures but will be happiest in 40 - 80 degrees. They can take temperatures from freezing to 100 degrees but only for short periods and can grow back from the roots after a freeze if the daytime temperatures increase above 40. Drosera capensis do not need a dormancy but will die back or slow growth in winter depending on the conditions they are exposed to. If exposed to freezes, they will die back. And many will slow their growth or grow smaller in winter. Drosera capensis does need a nighttime drop in temperatures of 10-20 degrees; if you’d like to grow this in a tropical zone, we recommend the ‘Alba’ cultivar as it can tolerate no nighttime drop in temperature.

Soil and Repotting: We prefer a mix of four-part fertilizer-free peat moss to one-part perlite. You can add our pre-made mix to your order here. You do not need to repot your plant when you receive it from us for at least a year, and we recommend against it during the spring-summer months. Repot Drosera every 1-3 years. Avoid placing in excessively large pots; size up only a few inches at a time. Soil can also develop a swampy smell, especially right after shipping, when the plant is wrapped in plastic and sealed. This is normal; these plants grow naturally in bogs and swampy conditions, and peat moss can develop a bit of an anaerobic smell, but this does not indicate a problem with the soil. 

Feeding and Fertilizer: Drosera catch small insects like fungus gnats and fruit flies in their sticky dew. They can catch bigger prey like houseflies or crane flies and can slowly curl their leaves around these larger bugs to make better contact. Over time, their leaves will produce enzymes to digest the nutrients from the bug, absorbing them through their leaves, leaving only the exoskeleton on their sticky leaves. There’s no need to remove these as they often serve as a lure to other insects looking for an easy meal. When grown outdoors, they will catch plenty of food. When grown indoors, they will significantly benefit from a foliar fertilizer. Plants grown outdoors will appreciate a foliar feed as well. Apply MaxSea fertilizer once per month to the foliage only. Dilute 1/4 teaspoon of MaxSea into one gallon of water with a mister bottle or a watering can. Watch as the Drosera slowly curl their leaves after a foliar fertilizer application! 

More Information: For further information on dormancy, repotting, growing from seed, and more, check out our website or our YouTube channel.

If you have been thinking about growing carnivorous plants but don't know where to start, look no further than Drosera capensis.  These plants are easy to grow, rewarding and will grow in a variety of conditions.  They will thrive indoors in full sun, on a windowsill or under lights. They will also do well outside in lots of sun and are cold hardy down to 40 degrees reliably. They will even take a brief freeze with the leaves dying back but the plants regrowing readily from the roots in spring.

These are seed grown plants from Valsrivier, South Africa and are a nice, typical form with some having a redder tone. 

The plants we are shipping are 1-3” tall.

Please note: shipping can be hard on the sticky dew covering the leaves so your plant may arrive without dew. It can take a few weeks for the plant to produce more dew, if after four weeks it has not produced dew, you may need to increase light.

Care Instructions

Growth Habit: Drosera capensis are small, bushy plants that grow about 6” tall at maturity, although some forms can be slightly larger. Capensis spread readily by dropping seeds from their abundant flowers in their pots, which do not need to be pollinated. As they grow, their leaves die back, starting from the base of the plant and moving up. The leaves die back and can be cut off. The stem will thicken and be black or brown. Sometimes larger, older plants will flop over and grow sideways as they age, growing taller and taller with new leaves emerging from the top of the plant. Capensis can regrow from the roots quite readily, so if your crown dies, keep nurturing it, and you should see new growth. These plants have a high leaf turnover, meaning their leaves die back frequently, but new leaves grow just as fast. 

Sun: Full sun. Grow indoors on a sunny windowsill, in a terrarium under lights, or outdoors. If grown indoors, Drosera will require full sun to produce their sticky dew, so be sure to place them in a window where they will receive direct sunlight for most of the day. If grown under lights, keep your grow lights on a 10 to 12-hour day length and hang your grow lights 6 to 10 inches above the plants on the quality of your lights. Grown outdoors, these plants will enjoy a great deal of sun. If you live somewhere extremely hot, for example, Arizona, you will want to protect them from the Full intensity of the afternoon sunlight. You can either grow them in morning sun only, or use shade cloth to help protect them in these very hot areas. These plants may be more colorful and smaller when grown outdoors because the light is more intense. You can expect a few leaves to burn back when you first place your plant outdoors in the sun, and if you receive your plant in the summer, it is a good idea to slowly acclimate it to the sunlight over a day or two. Even in less sunny seasons, areas, or with acclimation, you can still expect to see some burned leaves when first placed outside. This is normal, and new leaves will grow that are more adjusted to the sun. In winter, when grown in sunlight, indoors or outdoors, it is very normal for color to fade from red varieties due to less sun. IF YOUR SUNDEW IS NOT PRODUCING DEW, IT MOST LIKELY NEEDS MORE SUNLIGHT. It can also take a few weeks after shipping for dew to generate. 

Water: Always sitting in a few inches of distilled, rain, or reverse osmosis water. These plants always prefer to have their roots wet and can have their pots sitting in a deep saucer of water all the time. 

Temperature and Dormancy: Drosera capensis tolerate a wide range of temperatures but will be happiest in 40 - 80 degrees. They can take temperatures from freezing to 100 degrees but only for short periods and can grow back from the roots after a freeze if the daytime temperatures increase above 40. Drosera capensis do not need a dormancy but will die back or slow growth in winter depending on the conditions they are exposed to. If exposed to freezes, they will die back. And many will slow their growth or grow smaller in winter. Drosera capensis does need a nighttime drop in temperatures of 10-20 degrees; if you’d like to grow this in a tropical zone, we recommend the ‘Alba’ cultivar as it can tolerate no nighttime drop in temperature.

Soil and Repotting: We prefer a mix of four-part fertilizer-free peat moss to one-part perlite. You can add our pre-made mix to your order here. You do not need to repot your plant when you receive it from us for at least a year, and we recommend against it during the spring-summer months. Repot Drosera every 1-3 years. Avoid placing in excessively large pots; size up only a few inches at a time. Soil can also develop a swampy smell, especially right after shipping, when the plant is wrapped in plastic and sealed. This is normal; these plants grow naturally in bogs and swampy conditions, and peat moss can develop a bit of an anaerobic smell, but this does not indicate a problem with the soil. 

Feeding and Fertilizer: Drosera catch small insects like fungus gnats and fruit flies in their sticky dew. They can catch bigger prey like houseflies or crane flies and can slowly curl their leaves around these larger bugs to make better contact. Over time, their leaves will produce enzymes to digest the nutrients from the bug, absorbing them through their leaves, leaving only the exoskeleton on their sticky leaves. There’s no need to remove these as they often serve as a lure to other insects looking for an easy meal. When grown outdoors, they will catch plenty of food. When grown indoors, they will significantly benefit from a foliar fertilizer. Plants grown outdoors will appreciate a foliar feed as well. Apply MaxSea fertilizer once per month to the foliage only. Dilute 1/4 teaspoon of MaxSea into one gallon of water with a mister bottle or a watering can. Watch as the Drosera slowly curl their leaves after a foliar fertilizer application! 

More Information: For further information on dormancy, repotting, growing from seed, and more, check out our website or our YouTube channel.

The most beautiful of the fork-leaf sundews, Drosera multifida 'extrema' leaves, can be up to a foot across and branch over 32 times, like the first photo, which is of a mature plant we’ve had in the nursery for years! The entire plant is red in high light. Old mature plants will surround a hanging pot with red sticky leaves. They don't always go dormant, but they will in cooler temperatures.

The plants we are shipping are 2-4” tall.

Please note: shipping can be hard on the sticky dew covering the leaves so your plant may arrive without dew. It can take a few weeks for the plant to produce more dew, if after four weeks it has not produced dew, you may need to increase light.

This lovely cultivar is probably one of the most beautiful of all the sundews.  When grown well it looks like a compact, wide leaf Cape Sundew on steroids!  The parentage is somewhat contested but is thought to be a cross between Drosera capensis 'alba' and Drosera aliciae. We are really excited to have these plants!

Care Instructions

Growth Habit: Drosera capensis are small, bushy plants that grow about 6” tall at maturity, although some forms can be slightly larger. Capensis spread readily by dropping seeds from their abundant flowers in their pots, which do not need to be pollinated. As they grow, their leaves die back, starting from the base of the plant and moving up. The leaves die back and can be cut off. The stem will thicken and be black or brown. Sometimes larger, older plants will flop over and grow sideways as they age, growing taller and taller with new leaves emerging from the top of the plant. Capensis can regrow from the roots quite readily, so if your crown dies, keep nurturing it, and you should see new growth. These plants have a high leaf turnover, meaning their leaves die back frequently, but new leaves grow just as fast. 

Sun: Full sun. Grow indoors on a sunny windowsill, in a terrarium under lights, or outdoors. If grown indoors, Drosera will require full sun to produce their sticky dew, so be sure to place them in a window where they will receive direct sunlight for most of the day. If grown under lights, keep your grow lights on a 10 to 12-hour day length and hang your grow lights 6 to 10 inches above the plants on the quality of your lights. Grown outdoors, these plants will enjoy a great deal of sun. If you live somewhere extremely hot, for example, Arizona, you will want to protect them from the Full intensity of the afternoon sunlight. You can either grow them in morning sun only, or use shade cloth to help protect them in these very hot areas. These plants may be more colorful and smaller when grown outdoors because the light is more intense. You can expect a few leaves to burn back when you first place your plant outdoors in the sun, and if you receive your plant in the summer, it is a good idea to slowly acclimate it to the sunlight over a day or two. Even in less sunny seasons, areas, or with acclimation, you can still expect to see some burned leaves when first placed outside. This is normal, and new leaves will grow that are more adjusted to the sun. In winter, when grown in sunlight, indoors or outdoors, it is very normal for color to fade from red varieties due to less sun. IF YOUR SUNDEW IS NOT PRODUCING DEW, IT MOST LIKELY NEEDS MORE SUNLIGHT. It can also take a few weeks after shipping for dew to generate. 

Water: Always sitting in a few inches of distilled, rain, or reverse osmosis water. These plants always prefer to have their roots wet and can have their pots sitting in a deep saucer of water all the time. 

Temperature and Dormancy: Drosera capensis tolerate a wide range of temperatures but will be happiest in 40 - 80 degrees. They can take temperatures from freezing to 100 degrees but only for short periods and can grow back from the roots after a freeze if the daytime temperatures increase above 40. Drosera capensis do not need a dormancy but will die back or slow growth in winter depending on the conditions they are exposed to. If exposed to freezes, they will die back. And many will slow their growth or grow smaller in winter. Drosera capensis does need a nighttime drop in temperatures of 10-20 degrees; if you’d like to grow this in a tropical zone, we recommend the ‘Alba’ cultivar as it can tolerate no nighttime drop in temperature.

Soil and Repotting: We prefer a mix of four-part fertilizer-free peat moss to one-part perlite. You can add our pre-made mix to your order here. You do not need to repot your plant when you receive it from us for at least a year, and we recommend against it during the spring-summer months. Repot Drosera every 1-3 years. Avoid placing in excessively large pots; size up only a few inches at a time. Soil can also develop a swampy smell, especially right after shipping, when the plant is wrapped in plastic and sealed. This is normal; these plants grow naturally in bogs and swampy conditions, and peat moss can develop a bit of an anaerobic smell, but this does not indicate a problem with the soil. 

Feeding and Fertilizer: Drosera catch small insects like fungus gnats and fruit flies in their sticky dew. They can catch bigger prey like houseflies or crane flies and can slowly curl their leaves around these larger bugs to make better contact. Over time, their leaves will produce enzymes to digest the nutrients from the bug, absorbing them through their leaves, leaving only the exoskeleton on their sticky leaves. There’s no need to remove these as they often serve as a lure to other insects looking for an easy meal. When grown outdoors, they will catch plenty of food. When grown indoors, they will significantly benefit from a foliar fertilizer. Plants grown outdoors will appreciate a foliar feed as well. Apply MaxSea fertilizer once per month to the foliage only. Dilute 1/4 teaspoon of MaxSea into one gallon of water with a mister bottle or a watering can. Watch as the Drosera slowly curl their leaves after a foliar fertilizer application! 

More Information: For further information on dormancy, repotting, growing from seed, and more, check out our website or our YouTube channel.