Drosera multifida 'Extrema' Potted
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.
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. 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 grow throughout the year without dormancy requirements and prefer warmer temperatures. They thrive in temperatures ranging from 40 degrees - 90F degrees and can take a high-temperature spike up to 105F degrees for a short period. These plants do appreciate a 10-20 degree drop in temperature at night. They do not need or require a dormancy, making them an ideal houseplant. However if exposed to cooler temperatures they will go into a semi-dormant state in winter and can return from their roots after a light freezes. We do not recommend exposing to temperatures below 40 in general but they are able to tolerate a brief, light freeze of 25 if the day time temperature rises above 40 degrees.
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. Avoid repotting this species as it is a short lived perennial or an annual. 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 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.