Question
I have a sundew that its got a long stem with forked branches with sticky tentacles.The long stems do not have tentacles.the developing ones grow like fiddleheads.Once i brought it home, it got plenty of sunlight,produced dew,and the whole forked part is covered with bugs!(well,actually a plant died ,not a carnivorous one though,and tons of fruit flies were produced.)Now, the plant is sending out new leaves/stems but they are twice as long and separated into four parts instead of two.i don't mind that, but they began to sag. They also have phototropism, which makes them curve towards the sun.Now to looks like a person's head with a crazy hairstyle! ho do I make it return to its normal,neat shape?And when will it start to flower? I've had it since Christmas ,but now its growing like crazy, so should I cut the flowers off?(I don't want to kill the plant for some seeds though.)

Answer
Hello Kate,

It sounds like you have Drosera binata of the sometimes called dichotoma form. It is a sundew that sends up long, slender petioles straight up from the ground and then has a divided leaf that looks kind of like a T shape and can, in some forms of the plant, divide even further until the leaves form shapes similar to a stag's horns.

Drosera binata enjoys strong light and phototropism is common in any plant grown indoors. Even an Ivy will grow towards light, so this is not a disease or some problem that is fixed through any action other than getting the plant the proper light intensity and coverage from all directions. Actually, plants in the wild are affected by phototropism as well as the sun travels across the sky. They grow slightly towards the sun as it moves. Some plants even tend to turn their flowers towards the sun and bend slightly towards the sun as the day progresses.

Best bet would be to place the plant outside if the conditions are warm enough for it so that it can get sunlight from all angles. If it is cold outside or the sun is too bright and weather too dry where you live, you can add banks of florescent shop lights or compact florescent bulbs over the plant. Place at least 2-3 100 watt equivalent compact florescent bulbs at about 6-8 inches above the plant's leaves or 2-4 40 watt tubes of the cool white shop light variety about 4-6 inches from the top of the plant. The main thing is getting intensity and coverage so that the plant grows normally and receives enough light to survive and flower properly. The sundew's tentacles should turn dark red in bright light and the dew drops should be large enough to ensnare insects properly. It does sound like your plant is getting enough light to live on, but it will need coverage from above and from the other sides to keep it from bending towards the only light source. The more divided leaf forms of this plant do tend to droop with the weight of their leaves. Use a hanging pot if you wish as the plant's leaves will hang down even further as it gets bigger.

If the sundew has dark red tentacles and produces plenty of glue, then you can watch it flower and gather seeds if you wish. There does not seem to be a set time for the plant to flower as it is a semi-tropical that can go dormant when weather is cold enough. It will grow year round in warm weather and flower almost any time it has enough light and maturity to do so.

Christopher