General Info:
Pygmy Sundews (Drosera subgenus Bryastrum) are beautiful, miniature carnivorous plants that are easy to grow and propagate. Their sticky tentacles capture small insect prey, curl towards the center of the leaf blade, then the leaf will secrete digestive enzymes and absorb the essential nutrients. Most species are native to Southwestern Australia and live in a Mediterranean-type climate with cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers (overlapping with Tuberous Sundews). There are roughly 50 different species in a variety of rosette shapes, but the exceptional diversity is in the flowers.
The plants typically grow a circular arrangement of leaves between 3/8” to 2” in diameter depending on species. Some are flat, geometric rosettes, while others grow a short vertical stem with leaves that form a ball, reminiscent of a palm tree shape. Tuberous sundews can have flowers ranging in colors from orange, purple, pink, white, red, yellow, and many in between. Some flowers have dramatic black centers, while others have a red spot at the base of the petal. These flowers can be tiny (~2 mm diameter) to relatively huge compared to the plant (>1”/25mm).
A unique feature of Pygmy Sundews is their formation of tiny buds called “gemmae” (see photos above). These gemmae can detach from the plant when ripe and will rapidly grow into a new clone of the mother plant. Each plant can produce between around 10-200 gemmae that can be hemi-spheric or disk-shaped in a tight geometric arrangement in the center of the plant. Each gemma is around 1mm long and will grow much faster than seed since it is already vegetative tissue. When placed on moist soil, it will first send out a root, then follow with its first carnivorous leaves. Within a few months, they can be flowering sized plants. Gemmae are produced in response to natural daylight hours, typically around October - November.
Pygmy Sundews will grow great outdoors in any climate that stays above freezing, though extreme heat can cause them to stop growth until temperatures decrease. Most species can be grown together in similar conditions, however some are more tolerant of heat or soggy conditions than others. In general, these prefer better drainage and less moisture than subtropical sundews. If well fed and given strong light, they will grow vigorously and be resilient to different growing conditions. Light is the most important aspect of their care, with good drainage being second (soil that can drain excess water while retaining some moisture). They love to eat and will grow extremely fast when well fed. If indoors, I will feed them insect powder that I carefully apply with a toothpick to the dewy leaves.
Planting Gemmae:
Prepare a pot with appropriate soil (an easy mix is 70% perlite/sand: 30% peat, some species like a lot of sand and good drainage) and moisten. Deep pots are ideal (minimum 3-4” depth, ideally 5-8”) for the long roots and to ensure good drainage.
Gently place the gemmae on the surface of the pot using small forceps or a toothpick.
Spritz with distilled water to ensure good contact with the soil, then cover with a plastic bag with the corners cut off for air flow. They do not require high humidity if they can stay consistently moist on the soil, but the bag method is easier for most people.
Put under moderately strong light (avoid direct sun due to the heat) and wait 1-2 weeks for the gemmae to sprout. After they have a few leaves, you can cut off the corners of the bag to allow some airflow. Then continue to acclimate them to lower humidity over the next week and remove the bag.
Cultivation:
Climate: Mediterranean (SW Australia). 40-100F, low to moderate humidity.
Light: Part to Full Sun or 20W per sq ft LED light. Pygmy sundews love bright light.
Water: Distilled or Reverse Osmosis water. Sitting in 0.5”-1” of water using tray method. The tray can dry out temporarily as long as the soil stays moist. Some species are prone to a summer dormancy where they should be kept moist but not wet until late summer/fall.
Soil: 30% Peat: 70% Perlite/Sand is a good general mix. Some species prefer even better drainage so I use a lower percentage of peat and more perlite/akadama/kanuma/sand. Swampier species will prefer a roughly 40% peat: 60% perlite/sand mix. Refer to the habitat section below for more information on specific habitats for each species.
Feeding: Outdoor plants will typically catch enough food on their own. For indoor plants, feed leaves with Bog Dust (insect powder) at least every month or so (I usually try to feed every 1-2 weeks). I use a moistened toothpick to pick up dry powder, then gently stick it to the tiny tentacles. Only feed an amount that the tentacles can grab with their dew, do not dump powder onto the leaves or plant.
Notes:
These are pygmy sundews! They will generally grow to 0.5”-2” in diameter. Some species are a bit larger, and some like D. scorpioides can develop tall stems over 6” tall.
Feed them light insect powder every few weeks for optimal growth if grown indoors. Only feed fully developed leaves, and feed around 25%-75% of the total leaves each time.
If the temperature is very hot in summer, they might develop white hairs (stipules) in the center of the plant and stop growing. Decrease watering to keep the soil slightly moist during this dormancy period (most will not enter dormancy if kept wet in summer). When temperatures decrease in late summer/fall, resume regular watering and they should come out of dormancy. It can help to give them more shade when it is extremely hot.
When the daylight shortens in fall, they will develop “gemmae” which are tiny buds that can detach from the plant and rapidly grow into another plant. Try wiggling them free and planting them on the surface of moist soil.
Pygmies have very long, thin roots so try to give them tall pots. The taller the pot, the deeper the water tray should be. Pots over 4” tall are good, while 5-8” depth is ideal for most species (but not essential).
The long tentacles on pygmy sundews will responds extremely quickly to food. Some species will fully curl in less than a minute. This video is in 10x speed but you can definitely see it feed with your eyes.
Habitats:
All pygmy sundews by soil moisture (text list)
- Drosera barbigera — dry soil. White silica sand and laterite gravel on the slopes and tops of laterite hills. Moist only while winter rain lasts; dries out in summer. Often goes dormant in summer in cultivation.
- Drosera bindoon — dry soil. Heavy, rough laterite gravel on hillsides and hilltops.
- Drosera citrina — dry soil. Well-drained deep yellow sand in open heath or under Banksia woodland. Often goes dormant in summer in cultivation.
- Drosera coomallo — dry soil. Laterite pebbles over laterite sheet rock on the upper slopes of hills.
- Drosera eneabba — dry soil. Deep, well-drained white silica sand in low open heath, often under sparse shrubs. Often goes dormant in summer in cultivation.
- Drosera gibsonii — dry soil. Granite and laterite scree on the lower slopes of the Stirling Range, laterite on the plains between peaks, and clayey sand on watershed slopes.
- Drosera minutiflora — dry soil. Deep white silica sand between low shrubs in heath.
- Drosera nivea — dry soil. Deep pale yellow to beige sand on sandplain heath. Often goes dormant in summer in cultivation.
- Drosera pedicellaris — dry soil. Deep beige to white sand between low shrubs in heath.
- Drosera pycnoblasta — dry soil. Deep white sand, clayey white sand over laterite gravel, or yellow sand, in low heath and mallee. Often goes dormant in summer in cultivation.
- Drosera rechingeri — dry soil. Deep white or yellow sand in open heath.
- Drosera sargentii — dry soil. Deep, fine white silica sand in low coastal heath and on consolidated dunes.
- Drosera scorpioides — dry soil. Pebbly laterite outcrops with a little silica sand, among heath and open woodland. Often goes dormant in summer in cultivation.
- Drosera silvicola — dry soil. Laterite rubble among leaf litter on the slopes and summits of high hills in jarrah forest. Often goes dormant in summer in cultivation.
- Drosera trichocaulis — dry soil. Deep white sand, or laterite and sand, under low heath and open woodland.
- Drosera albonotata — drained soil. Sandy clay-loam on gravelly slopes, ridges and low rises in Wandoo woodland.
- Drosera androsacea — drained soil. Exposed, poor, often compacted or clayey soils in Wheatbelt mallee and low heath: stony white sandy loam or loam with laterite gravel. These soils bake hard in summer. Often goes dormant in summer in cultivation.
- Drosera callistos — drained soil. Heavy laterite-covered sand, and pockets of pure sand surrounded by laterite. Often goes dormant in summer in cultivation.
- Drosera dichrosepala — drained soil. Well-drained shallow sand over laterite with laterite pebbles, among low scrub.
- Drosera grievei — drained soil. Beige sandy clay with a little laterite, in low open heath.
- Drosera hyperostigma — drained soil. Well-drained laterite mixed with silica sand in open, light forest.
- Drosera lasiantha — drained soil. Loamy laterite scree on high slopes in low jarrah forest, and skeletal soil on granite.
- Drosera leioblastus — drained soil. Silica sand with leaf-litter humus and laterite pebbles, under low heath. Often goes dormant in summer in cultivation.
- Drosera miniata — drained soil. Laterite, clay and silty clay on slopes, often exposed and near granite outcrops; also loam washed onto granite aprons. Often goes dormant in summer in cultivation.
- Drosera oreopodion — drained soil. Sandy clay mixed with laterite pebbles in low heath.
- Drosera platystigma — drained soil. Clayey sand, laterite or loam in open heath and jarrah-forest clearings.
- Drosera sewelliae — drained soil. Laterite with silica sand in open forest, and laterite over sheet rock.
- Drosera spilos — drained soil. Loam strewn with laterite pebbles, or clayey sand, often near granite outcrops.
- Drosera stelliflora — drained soil. Laterite soils, sometimes with a little silica sand.
- Drosera verrucata — drained soil. Clayey sand between low shrubs in heath and scrub; also roadside gravel.
- Drosera walyunga — drained soil. Sandy white clay with a thin laterite gravel layer, around winter-wet springs and seeps. Often goes dormant in summer in cultivation.
- Drosera allantostigma — moist soil. Loam, silica sand or peaty sand on the edges of winter-wet depressions.
- Drosera australis — moist soil. Wet spots in coastal heath, such as the edges of seasonally flooded swampy hollows; also sandy soil over laterite nearby.
- Drosera closterostigma — moist soil. Deep white sand greyed by humus, often in winter-wet depressions and swampy heath. Often goes dormant in summer in cultivation.
- Drosera echinoblastus — moist soil. Deep white sand or beige clayey sand beside winter-wet streams, depressions and seeps.
- Drosera helodes — moist soil. Grey sand in winter-wet depressions, and black humic sand on seasonal swamp edges.
- Drosera leucoblasta — moist soil. Clayey sand, clay and laterite between low shrubs in heath; soils often carry organic matter and peat. Often goes dormant in summer in cultivation.
- Drosera leucostigma — moist soil. Sandy soils on the edges of winter-wet depressions.
- Drosera mannii — moist soil. Loam in jarrah forest, peaty sand on winter-wet seeps, and granite-outcrop aprons.
- Drosera micrantha — moist soil. White silica sand on the higher edges of swamps, and deep sand pockets in the Darling Range.
- Drosera nitidula — moist soil. Clayey sand in and around winter-wet depressions and swamps.
- Drosera omissa — moist soil. Deep white sand around winter-wet depressions; occasionally laterite.
- Drosera patens — moist soil. Sandy edges of swamps, lakes and winter-wet depressions.
- Drosera × badgingarra — moist soil. Clay-rich sand on the edges of wet depressions.
- Drosera × carbarup — moist soil. Laterite and sand in winter-wet depressions with dwarf paperbarks.
- Drosera × pingellyensis — moist soil. White sand on the edges of wet depressions.
- Drosera depauperata — wet soil. Lake edges and wet depressions in sandy soil under paperbarks.
- Drosera enodes — wet soil. Black peaty sand on swamp edges.
- Drosera micra — wet soil. Black sandy soil in winter-wet swampland.
- Drosera microscapa — wet soil. Black silty sand in seepage areas of swampy heath.
- Drosera occidentalis — wet soil. Peaty sand around swamp edges, winter-wet depressions and seeps.
- Drosera paleacea — wet soil. Black sand among reeds and paperbarks on flats that flood in winter.
- Drosera pulchella — wet soil. Sand, peaty sand, peat, laterite or loam on the edges of lakes, swamps, streams and seeps; sometimes grows submerged.
- Drosera pygmaea — wet soil. A wide range of poor soils, usually near winter water: seeps, trailside ditches, peaty swamp edges, and shallow sand or clay in exposed heath.
- Drosera roseana — wet soil. Peaty sand on swamp edges.
- Drosera × badgerupii — wet soil. Peaty sand or pure peat on swamp and lake edges. Often goes dormant in summer in cultivation.
- Drosera × legrandii — wet soil. Black silty sand in swampy heath.
- Drosera × sidjamesii — wet soil. Silica sand stabilised by sedges on lake shores; sometimes underwater in wet winters.
