Drosera x ‘Southern Cross’ is a thread-leaf hybrid that is an artificial cross between Drosera anglica and the thread-leaved sundew Drosera filiformis var. tracyi. Drosera anglica has elongated spoon-to-paddle-shaped leaves and is a green plant with red tentacles. Drosera tracyi has long filiform leaves that are nearly pure green. Weirdly, and this often happens with hybrids, the cross of D. anglica x tracyi is a dark red plant with long, thin leaves of about five to six inches. And the leaves can move, mainly near the ends, where they can fold up around hapless prey! This cross will grow rapidly in spring and usually goes dormant in late summer.
The plants we are shipping will be 2-3” in size.
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.
DORMANT SEASONALLY, STARTING AS EARLY AS JULY AND LASTING AS LATE AS MARCH, DEPENDING ON THE CONDITIONS AND SPECIES/HYBRID. The leaves turn brown and die back to the crown during this time. Please see the final photo to see how Drosera can look when dormant. They will begin to grow vigorously again in Spring when photoperiods lengthen and temperatures increase.
Care Instructions:
Growth Habit: Drosera x ‘Southern Cross’ grows long, thin leaves, covered in dew that develop dark red coloration in strong light. These will grow to 5-6” tall and form clumps over time. These plants are sterile hybrids that do not make seeds but can be propagated from leaf cutting. It will die back to bud in winter. Drosera have high leaf turnover meaning that their leaves die back frequently but new one grow in, you can remove black, dead leaves. Drosera have black roots and their stems can be black or brown as well.
Sun: Full sun. Drosera require lots of direct sun to grow and form dew properly. In many areas, they can be grown outdoors in full sun. If you live in a very hot AND very dry place like Arizona or Sacramento, for example, you will want to grow your plants in full morning sun with protection from the afternoon sun or under 30% shade cloth. It is common for several leaves to "burn" and die back when you first place your plant into the sun; your plant is acclimating to your conditions, and in most cases, new leaves will soon grow and be fully acclimated. These small Drosera should be carefully acclimated to the full sun if introduced in the hot and sunny months of summer as smaller plants can burn too much and die. Drosera can be grown indoors on extremely sunny windowsills that receive all-day sun, or under grow lights. Grow lights should be 6-10” from the plant, depending on the light, and on a 10-12 hour day length. If your plant is not producing dew, it most likely needs more light. It can take a few weeks for a plant to regenerate this dew after shipping or making changes to its growing conditions. If grown indoors, they will want a winter dormancy. We recommend growing this species outdoors.
Water & Humidity: Always keep them in a saucer with a few inches of distilled, rainwater, or reverse osmosis water. Never let them dry out, especially in the hot summer months. This species particularly likes water-logged conditions and do best in non-draining container. Drosera are bog plants that prefer water-logged conditions unless you live somewhere both very hot AND extremely humid, like Alabama. In that case, let the water tray dry out for a day or two between refills. Always use distilled, reverse osmosis, or rainwater only. These plants are sensitive to their water quality, and giving them mineral and salt-free water is very important. In winter you can let them dry out a bit between rain storms, but do not let the soil get so dry that it pulls away from the edges of the pots. Be sure to supplement water as needed in between rains in winter. These plants appreciate humidity of at least 40%.
Temperature and Dormancy: These are warm-temperate plants, meaning they need warm summers and chilly winters. They will do best grown outdoors year-round in areas with mild winters. They thrive in temperatures ranging from 15 degrees - 90F degrees and can take a brief freeze or high-temperature spike up to 100F degrees for a short period. If nighttime temps drop below 20 but rise again during the day above 40, your plant will be fine outside. They may burn back a bit in summer if exposed to a heatwave and often go dormant in July or August after the peak heat of the season. If you live in an area with very cold winters, where nighttime temperatures drop below 20 degrees for sustained periods, you have three options for providing them with winter dormancy: the garage method, mulching in, or the fridge method. In winter these plants will die back to small bud. Dormancy is triggered by a combination of exposure to shorter photo-periods and cooler temperatures in the 40-60's F. While you can skip a dormancy period once or twice, in the long term, your plant will begin to do poorly and will eventually die if you skip this crucial period.
The garage method: Bring your plant indoors to a sunny windowsill in an unheated room or garage, where the nighttime temperatures will dip down to 50-60F. Keep it well watered during this period, do not let it dry out, and put it outside again when the outside nighttime temperatures increase consistently above 20F.
The mulch method: Mulch them in very, very well outdoors. Pack at least four inches of mulch on top of the plants and all around the sides to prevent winds from chilling them and freezing the roots. You can also dig the pots into the ground and then mulch heavily on top.
The fridge method: leave your plant potted and place the pot in a resealable bag, and put the bag into the refrigerator. You can also treat the pot with super as a preventative before placing in the fridge. Leave them in the fridge from October to February, periodically checking on them to ensure they are still moist and not growing mold or fungus. Bring them out in February. You can vary the timing to align with your outside nighttime temperatures so that your plants can come out of dormancy when it is safe to place them back outside. You can leave them in the fridge for an extended period if you have very long winters.
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 3 years in winter when they are dormant. Avoid placing in excessively large pots; size up only a few inches at a time. They do well in tall pots. 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 per month to the foliage only. Dilute 1/4 teaspoon of MaxSea into one gallon of water and then apply 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.
