Intermediate sundew (Drosera intermedia) - seeds

The native insect catcher for the bog garden

Scope of delivery: 30+ seeds.

Bring a fascinating piece of native nature into your garden! The Intermediate Sundew is one of three sundew species that are native to Germany. It belongs to the carnivorous plants and enchants with its countless dewdrops, which sparkle in the sun especially in the morning hours, waiting for an abundant catch.

Growth & Appearance

• Lifespan: Perennial and long-lasting.

• Height: A rather delicate plant, usually only growing up to approx. 5cm tall.

• Habit: Grows in a rosette shape. The reddish leaves are covered with fine tentacles, at the ends of which sticky droplets sit.

• Wintering: It is completely winter-hardy and forms a so-called winter rosette (hibernaculum) in autumn, into which the plant withdraws and with which it survives the icy winter months.

Origin Drosera intermedia is found almost all over the Northern Hemisphere. It naturally grows in wet, acidic bogs and swamp areas. However, its population in the wild is sharply declining, as these sensitive natural habitats are unfortunately becoming increasingly scarce.

Catching Mechanism & Special Features Instead of drawing nutrients from the soil through deep roots (which is hardly possible in a bog), the sundew has adapted to its barren environment: it catches its own fertilizer! Small insects like mosquitoes get stuck in the sticky "dewdrops". The leaves then slowly curl around the prey, and special enzymes digest the catch.

Use For enthusiasts, cultivation is also excellently possible in their own garden (in a specially created bog garden or a large bog container). IMPORTANT NOTE: They are absolutely not houseplants! They need the seasons, fresh air, and outdoor winter rest.

Historical & Curious Facts Due to its glistening droplets, the sundew was often valued by alchemists in earlier times, who considered the secretion to be "sun water" and brewed magical potions from it. Today, the greatest magic of the plant is its ingenious adaptation to extreme, nutrient-poor habitats.

Location, Care & other important things If you keep carnivorous plants, you need to observe a few golden rules, as they behave quite differently from normal garden plants:

• Location: The Intermediate Sundew absolutely requires a full-sun location.

• Substrate: Normal potting soil is deadly! The plants need a special peat-based substrate (or an unfertilized and acidic substrate suitable for carnivorous plants). Available here!

• Watering: Water only with rainwater (or distilled water)! Tap water contains lime and nutrients, which destroys the roots. The plants must be watered using the tray method – meaning the substrate should always be kept really wet (the pot can literally stand in water).

Sowing instructions: Intermediate Sundew (Drosera intermedia)

Growing carnivorous plants requires a little patience, but it is an absolutely fascinating experience!

When to sow?

• Direct sowing: The seeds absolutely need a cold period before germinating (they are cold stratifiers). Therefore, it is best to sow them directly before winter (autumn to early winter) in situ.

How to sow?

• The right bed: Prepare a pot or the bog bed with the wet special substrate (peat-based).

• Sowing depth (Light germinators!): Drosera seeds are as fine as dust and absolute light germinators. Only scatter them superficially on the soaking wet substrate and press them down very lightly at most. Do not cover with soil under any circumstances!

• Germination conditions: Leave the pot or bed outside over winter (always keep it wet!). The cold breaks the seed dormancy.

• Germination: As soon as the days become warmer and brighter again in spring, the tiny seeds begin to germinate. First, microscopic green dots appear, which soon develop their first tiny sticky droplets.