TL;DR – Growing Sundews
- Sundews (Drosera) are carnivorous plants that trap insects on sticky, dew-covered tentacles.
- They want a nutrient-poor substrate (sphagnum + perlite/sand), bright light and constant moisture.
- Water only with distilled or rainwater – tap-water minerals build up and kill them.
- Don’t fertilize the soil and don’t force-feed; healthy sundews catch their own bugs.
- This was my very first plant timelapse (2020) – three species over ~155 days, embedded below.
How to Grow Sundews (Drosera) – My First Timelapse
This was my very first plant timelapse, filmed back in 2020 – the project that basically kicked off the whole channel. I grew three sundew species under artificial light in a controlled terrarium and filmed them growing (and catching the occasional unlucky insect) over roughly 155 days. Here’s the video, plus everything I learned about keeping these carnivorous plants alive.
Want to film your own grow? Everything I use is in my Plant Time-Lapse Equipment Guide – camera, interval settings and lighting.
What Are Sundews? (And How They Catch Bugs)
Sundews are carnivorous plants in the genus Drosera – one of the largest groups of carnivorous plants, with roughly 190 species worldwide. Their leaves are covered in tiny, gland-tipped tentacles that secrete sticky droplets of mucilage. That “dew” is what gives them their name, and it’s a trap: small insects land, stick fast, and the tentacles slowly curl inward to digest them.
Why bother eating bugs? Sundews naturally grow in boggy, nutrient-poor soils where there’s almost no nitrogen. Catching insects is how they get the nutrients the soil can’t provide. That single fact explains almost all of their care: give them lean soil, clean water and light, and let them handle the hunting.
The Sundew Species I Grew
For this terrarium project I grew three species, all under artificial light:
- Drosera capensis ‘Red’ – the Cape sundew, famously one of the easiest carnivorous plants for beginners.
- Drosera binata ‘Marston Dragon’ – the forked sundew, with distinctive branching, antler-like leaves.
- Drosera graomogolensis – a striking Brazilian species with reddish, paddle-shaped rosettes.
How to Grow Sundews: Care Guide
Substrate
Sundews need a nutrient-poor substrate. A mix of sphagnum moss and perlite or silica sand works best. Never use regular potting soil – the nutrients and fertilizers in it will burn and kill these plants.
Temperature
These carnivorous plants are comfortable in a range of about 60–85°F (15–29°C). A stable temperature in that band keeps subtropical sundews like the Cape sundew growing happily year-round.
Watering
Sundews want high humidity and consistently wet soil. Use distilled water or rainwater only – tap water contains minerals that build up in the substrate and slowly kill the plant. The “tray method” (the pot standing in a shallow tray of mineral-free water) keeps the substrate reliably moist without you fussing over it.
Light
Sundews need lots of light to develop their colour and sticky dew. Indoors, use a full-spectrum grow light positioned close to the plants for around 12–16 hours a day. Outdoors, a spot with full to partial sun works well. Good light is also what brings out the red colouration in species like D. capensis ‘Red’.
Feeding
Here’s the easy part: you mostly don’t. A sundew with good light will catch its own prey. If you grow them in a closed terrarium with few insects, you can occasionally offer a wingless fruit fly or other tiny insect – but never fertilize the soil, which does far more harm than good.
Frequently asked questions
Not really. If you get the water and light right they are surprisingly forgiving. The Cape sundew (Drosera capensis) in particular is one of the easiest carnivorous plants for beginners.
Only mineral-free water – distilled water or rainwater. Tap or well water contains minerals and salts that build up in the soil and will usually kill a sundew within a few months.
No. A sundew with enough light catches its own insects. Indoors you can occasionally offer a tiny insect like a wingless fruit fly, but never fertilize the soil.
Not strictly, but it helps. A terrarium or tray system keeps the high humidity and constant moisture sundews love, which makes them much easier to grow indoors.
Further Reading on Sundews
- Carnivorous plant growing guides – International Carnivorous Plant Society (ICPS)
- Sundews (Drosera) Growing Tips – California Carnivores
More Plant Projects You Might Like
- Create Your Own DIY Jar Ecosphere – another closed-environment timelapse project.
- Grow a Dragon Fruit Cactus from Seed – another unusual plant grown from scratch on camera.
