Question
Hi, I read that the soil for all carnivorous plants needs to be replaced once every year.  I have many drosera adelae multiplying and growing in one large pot.  Since you guys specialize in cultivating carnivorous plants I'm wondering there is any easier way to transplant sundews.  I tried transplanting ONE sundew and it was a total mess.  The soil got all over the dews.  Theres about 20-30 more in the pot.  I cant imagine the mess.

Answer
Hi Matt,

There's definitely a learning curve in figuring out how to transplant sundews without sliming yourself, and making the plant look like a mess.  What I like to do is take the pot (provided it's a plastic pot) and massage it back and forth to loosen the soil.  I'll then gently lift up on the whole plant from underneath the leaves.  If it's a smaller plant, I'll use a spoon to lift it.  The trick is to get underneath the plant, and then settle it into the the new pots.  Don't dump the pots upside down the way you might when transplanting flowers or vegetables.  You need to make sure your soil is ready to go in your new pots before taking the existing sundews out.  I will fill them with cp mix, then making a hole for the roots.  It is too hard with sundews to try and fill in soil by pouring it around them the way you might with Sarracenia.  Also, you don't need to completely clean off the old soil.  Just knock off the excess.  With a sundew like your D. adelae that will be a mass of tangled roots, just do your best to pull clumps free.  With a big adelae I rarely try to separate individual plants, just do clumps.

Hope this helps.


Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com