Question

Am I Tropical?   Jacob and Jeff,

I'm trying to identify a type of Sundew and I was hoping you could help me out. This little plant started to grow alongside a Sarracenia purpurea a few weeks after I purchased the sarracenia last year (I would have purchased/ordered more plants from you but I live in Vancouver, BC, so I hear shipping can be a problem).

Though it would be great if you are able to identify the species quite closely, my primary goal at this point is to figure out whether the plant is tropical, and should stay inside, or whether it is cold-hardy and can afford to live its life outside alongside the judith hindle, VFT, etc. that I have. I have attached a photo of the little guy waking up.

Your advice is much appreciated.

Thanks!

Alec

Answer
It's definitely a fork leaf sundew, but I can't tell you what variety it is for sure.  Given that you found it growing alongside a Sarracenia that you have outdoors, my best educated guess is that it's Drosera binata ssp. dichotoma, the giant staghorn sundew.  This plant is native to southern portions of New Zealand, so it can tolerate very cold temperatures.  We have a very large mother plant that we keep outdoors in our Sarracenia pools.  It dies back in winter and comes back every spring.

On our website, however, we sell it as a tropical plant.  We discovered that it really doesn't need to experience cold frigid temperatures in winter.  It'll grow fine as a houseplant as long as the lighting is very strong.  It prefers full sun, like Sarracenia.  In winter, it'll stop growing for a couple months, but it'll pick up again in February.

So you can grow it in either conditions.  I recommend keeping it outside with your Sarracenia.  It'll be a nice addition to your outdoor collection.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin