Sundews (Drosera)

Sparkling, dew-covered leaves for a sunny windowsill — fast-growing, easy, and most need no winter rest.

Difficulty Beginner-friendlyLight Direct sun or grow lightDormancy None (except D. dichotoma)Catches Gnats, fruit flies and midges
Deadly dew

The plant Darwin cared about more than the origin of species

Charles Darwin was obsessed with sundews. In 1860 he wrote to a friend that he cared more about Drosera "than the origin of all the species in the world." He spent years testing them and found a leaf could feel a speck of hair far too light for us to notice, yet only curled up properly around real food, not sand or glass. Every leaf is covered in fine tentacles, each tipped with a bead of sticky dew that looks like nectar. Anything that lands is held fast as the tentacles slowly fold in and the leaf curls around it.

Read the Drosera care guide →
Deadly dew: Each tentacle holds a bead of glue that glitters like nectar.
Deadly dewEach tentacle holds a bead of glue that glitters like nectar.
The slow wrap: A cape sundew leaf curling around a trapped fly.
The slow wrapA cape sundew leaf curling around a trapped fly.
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  • Drosera capensis 'Dark Maroon' sundew with deep red leaves covered in sticky dew

    Drosera capensis 'Dark Maroon'

    Drosera capensis 'Dark Maroon'
    $29.99
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  • Fly caught on the sticky leaf of a Drosera capensis sundew

    Drosera capensis

    Drosera capensis
    $24.99
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  • Drosera aliciae sundew rosettes seen from above, wedge-shaped leaves in yellow-green and red

    Drosera aliciae

    Drosera aliciae
    $24.99
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  • Forked, dew-covered leaf of a Drosera dichotoma 'Giant Form' sundew in a nursery

    Drosera dichotoma 'Giant Form'

    Drosera dichotoma 'Giant Form'
    $24.99
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  • Drosera spathulata sundew, a flat rosette of spoon-shaped leaves covered in dew

    Drosera spatulata

    Drosera spatulata
    $24.99
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  • Pale green leaf of a Drosera capensis 'Alba' sundew lined with clear dew drops
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    Drosera capensis 'Alba'

    Drosera capensis 'Alba'
    $24.99
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Growing Sundews (Drosera)

Read the full care guide →

Light

Strong, direct light: 4 to 6 hours of direct sun, a grow light on a 12 to 14 hour cycle, or both. Strong light means healthy, heavy dew.

Water

Rainwater, distilled or RO water. Stand the pot in a tray of water, a couple of centimetres deep or up to about 1/4 of the way up the pot, and top it up as it evaporates.

Dormancy

None needed for our subtropical sundews, which grow year round. D. dichotoma is the exception, and needs a true cold winter rest.