D. Capensis Wide Leaf. Subtropical South African Sundew, Carnivorous Plant Seeds.

Price and shipping:

15+ seeds for $12.00

-Seeds harvested in late June - July 2023, from my collection.

-Ships for free with USPS Ground Advantage, with tracking number.

-Seeds Ship in a paper packet placed in a small baggie and shipped in a padded envelope

-Typically takes 2 to 5 business days to arrive from the date shipped.

General plant information:

-Subtropical Perineal.

-No dormancy required

-D. Capensis is native to South Africa and is one of the easiest and hardiest carnivorous plants to grow, even from seed, and they are great beginner plants.

-This variety has a wider leaf, with a slightly larger purple flower and seeds, than the typical narrow leaf varieties.

-Capensis flowers readily self-pollinate and can produce a lot of seeds and can be considered a weed in some gardens.

-Green colored strap-shaped leaves with red tentacles.

-Leaves sometimes bend or fold around food to maximize nutrient extraction. 

-Seeds are easy to germinate and can stay viable for years when stored properly. 

Sowing seeds:

-Seeds germinate in 2 to 6 weeks and no cold stratification needed to germinate these seeds.

**Do not bury the seeds**

-Sow seeds right on top of wet carnivorous plant soil.

-Place pot or container in a bright to sunny location location, or under grow lights.

-Make sure soil stays wet at all times.

-Some people like cover pot or containers with plastic food wrap, or placed in a plastic bag to ensure humidity stays high.

-Caution with direct sunlight if you cover or place in a bag, so the seeds don’t cook in the sunlight.

-Temperatures around 60-80 degrees Fahrenheit will Increased germination time and success rate.

-You can transplant seedlings when they’re about one inch or lager and have at least 2 to 3 carnivorous leaves.

Plant care recommendations:

Light:

-Outdoors, in full to part sun, dappled sun, or in a bright location. 

-Indoors on a bright to sunny windowsill with

3 to 4 plus hours of direct sunlight for best color.

-Under grow lights for 10–16 hours. 

-Increase light if leaves tentacles have no dew and if they lack red pigmentation.

-This variety has not flowered for me under grow lights, only has flowered when grown outdoors.

Water:

-It is always recommended to use rain, distilled, or reverse osmosis water. Soft water with 50 ppm or less is OK to use.

-Keep soil wet at all times

-Easiest to sit pot in a dish or tray with water a 1/4 to 2 inches high and best to add water directly to the tray.

-Clean trays or dish out when algae gets bad.

Temperatures:

-Protect from frost and freezing temperatures or leaves will burn and die down to the soil level. Plants will regrow when temperatures are favorable again in the spring. Just maintain the soil wet to damp during the winter.

Soil:

-Grow in a 50:50 peat:perlite, or peat:sandy mix, or in living or dead long fiber sphagnum moss.

-If you get a slimy spot on soil increased air flow around the plant, by opening a window, or running a fan off n on throughout the day can help. Or More direct sunlight can also help to control slimy spots.

Feeding:

-Plants growing outdoors will lure and catch their own food.

-Feed when not catching any food, or when growing indoors.

-Feed once to twice a month, small pieces no bigger than the leaf. Feed, ants, flies, fish food (flakes or ground pellets), freeze-dried blood or mealworms (slight rehydrated, soak up excess fluids to prevent mold on leaves), or you can feed a light misting on the leaves with Maxsea 16-16-16 (1/4 teaspoon of Maxsea per gallon of water).

-Feed smaller amounts if mold grows on leaf, or mold could also be due to a lack of air flow.

-Feed seedlings to speed up their growth when they have 3 or more leaves.

-Start with one leaf and wait about a week to see how leaf reacts. You can feed the same leaves when they still had dew on them.

Grooming and transplanting.

-Trim or cut away any brown or dried leaf parts, leaving green parts to continue collecting the lights energy. 

-This variety can be transplanted at any time and doesn’t mind root disturbance like some sundews do. Increasing humidity after translating will help plants recover and adjust faster.

-Optional, to transplant seedlings when they are around 1 inch or bigger with at least 2 to 3 leaves.

-You can cut any older leaves that lay close to the soil and have no more dew on them. This helps stimulate new growth and maintain a neater cleaner appearance. 

-Please feel free to ask any questions.

Links for more information:

http://www.growsundews.com/sundews/Drosera_capensis.html

https://carnivorousplants.org/grow/guides/SubtropicalDrosera

https://carnivorousplants.org/grow/propagation/seedgermination