Question

King Sundew   QUESTION: I bought this King Sundew from you guys about a year ago and it's doing great.  It's getting very large, has bloomed, and I noticed it's actually about three plants clumped together (two big ones and a little one).

I'd like to divide these plants into their own separate containers, should I wait until mid-Winter before attempting to do so?  Does this plant hate to have its roots disturbed?  Anything special I should know?

I have it growing in one of your older mixes which is 1 part perlite, 1 part sand, and 1 part peat.  I intend to use my own mix this time, 2 parts sand and 1 part peat.  Is this okay?

This plant is outdoors year round, Southern California zone 9, in partial sun with with a 12" plastic pot inside a larger ceramic pot, and watered with distilled water.  I also put in 3 to 4 Osmocote pellets in the soil every 3 or 4 months, so far it seems to have liked this treatment and haven't had any problems.

Thank you.

ANSWER: Dividing Drosera regia is fairly straight forward and very similar to dividing Drosera capensis.  The best time to work with this plant is during cooler weather, such as winter.  It's not about it being dormant.  It's mostly about not stressing the plant too much.  Heat is definitely a stressor for this cool-growing plant.

When you unpot the plant, you'll know if the clump can be divided.  You should see long roots coming from each crown.  If not, then you you should wait until the roots from each crown grows longer.  This will increase the probability of a successful division.  You can also watch our Volume 2 DVD.  We demonstrate how to do root cuttings.  This plant propagates well this way.

Your soil mix is also fine.  That's very appropriate for this plant.  It's also tolerant of Osmocote, and we've used it in the past with good results.

Congratulations on raising this sundew.  It's somewhat finicky with temperatures, but it seems to like your zone 9 climate!

Good growing!
Jacob Farin

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King Sundew   QUESTION: Thank you for the always informative reply.  If I chose not to repot or divide this plant, is there any harm in leaving it the way it is based on the picture?

I see some new shoots and growth coming out of the crown, it looks a little crowded but so far the plant seems happy?  I'd hate to disturb it unless I really have to.

Answer
There isn't any harm in keeping the plant whole.  This is how they grow in the wild.  They will typically form large clumps from the same rootstock.  The only time you should divide the plant is if the clump gets too large to manage or if you want to propagate more plants.