Drosera Adelae
Drosera adelae is a great beginner's sundew. It was my first carniivorous plant. It is a member of the "3 Sisters of Queensland" a group of closely-related sundews from Queensland's tropical rainforests. D. adelae is the hardiest sister in the group. I'd recommend this to any beginner. You can find this plant at Lowes.
media: 100% Long-Fibered Sphagnum (LFS), live sphagnum, or a mix of LFS with some sand. It's not picky. The plant in the picture to the above right is growing in 100% LFS.
media moisture: moist slightly moist
humidity: thrives if given 100% humidity and cooler conditions, but it can tolerate less. People tend to have very differing opinions about this, but I think it has a lot to do with the climate they are growing them in. I just tell people to try experimenting with high and low humidities to see what works best.
feeding: Drosera adelae grows best when fed every month. Feed only a little to avoid rot.
visit the feeding page for more info.
pot height: to grow the largest-sized plants, use a pot that is over 6 inches tall. If you want medium or smaller-sized plants, then use smaller pots. The plant to the left is growing in a 3 inch tall plastic cup. It isn't anywhere near it's full size though. Drosera adelae sends out many runners if it is in a cramped pot, so it will spread instead of getting larger..
plant height: I have seen plants with leaves around 5-inches long. Typically, laves are 2-3 inches. Drosera adelae tends to form a stem over time.
dormancy requirements: Drosera adelae does not need dormancy
light intensity/ photoperiod: since this plant does not have a dormancy requirement, keep the photoperiod above 12 hours a day to be safe. I have mine on a 16 hour photoperiod, and they do very well. The Queensland sundews prefer low light intensity, but D. adelae is very tolerant of stronger light. It will turn bright red in more intense light. I'd recommend parial shade.
temperature: the Queensland sundews prefer cooler environments, but D. adelae is tolerant of warmer temperatures. My plants have tolerated temps of up to 90 degrees F just fine, but Drosera adelae thrives in temps around 60-70 degrees F.
flowers: there are 2 forms of D. adelae- white and red flowered forms. The plants do not produce seed unless pollinated with a genetically-different plant.
trap speed: medium. There is little leaf movement, but tentacles curl around its meal.
propagation techniques:
starting from seed-never tried it, but probably easy if you can find seed somewhere...
leaf-cuttings- work extremely well- D. adelae is one of the easiest plants to take leaf cuttings from. You can obtain 30+ plants on a leaf that is 3-inches long.
root cuttings- VERY easy. You will notice plants popping up on their own from the roots when you aren't even trying to produce more plants.
flower stalk cuttings- have worked before.
divisions- work well. the plants tend to clump a lot since they are constantly sending up plantlets from the roots.
Additional Questions or Suggestions?
Contact me at: sundewman(at)yahoo.com