Drosera paradoxa Ø9cm

Drosera paradoxa is a tropical sundew that raises its trap-leaves on long petioles, covered in reddish tentacles bearing droplets of glistening glue. It catches and digests small gnats, visibly reducing pests around your plants. In strong light it turns a spectacular ruby-red. An elegant challenge, easy to please with lime-free water, humid air and plenty of sun. Care instructions The secret with a tropical sundew is to mimic its native marsh: pure water, high moisture at the root, humid air, and as much light as possible. Once you catch this rhythm, the plant becomes surprisingly giving, producing new, ever more colourful leaves all season. Nothing it asks for is complicated - you just have to think like a tropical marsh. Here is everything you need to know, gathered in one place: Light: as much light as possible, even direct sun for a few hours a day. A south-facing windowsill or a strong grow light is ideal. Intense light is what kindles the red of the tentacles and keeps up the dew production; in insufficient light, the plant fades and stops being carnivorous. Temperature: being a tropical species, it is happiest in warmth, between 20 and 30 °C, all year round. It does not need a cold winter; keep it from temperatures below 10 °C and from cold window draughts in winter. Watering: exclusively with lime-free water - rainwater, distilled water or reverse-osmosis water. Tap water, rich in salts, burns its roots. Keep the pot permanently in a saucer with 1-2 cm of water (the tray method), so the substrate stays constantly moist. Humidity: it prefers humid air, above 60%. A clear vessel, a small open terrarium or proximity to other plants helps a great deal. High humidity encourages rich, glossy dew droplets. Substrate: never ordinary soil, which would be fatal to it. A poor, acid mix of sphagnum peat and silica sand or perlite, in equal parts, reproduces the soil of its native marshes. The pot must stand in water. Feeding: in an apartment, the plant catches enough gnats on its own. It is never fertilised at the root and never given pieces of meat. If you wish, you can occasionally offer a small dead insect directly on a leaf. Propagation: by fine seed, sown on the surface of the moist substrate, or by leaf cuttings laid on damp sphagnum, which develop small plantlets in light and warmth. If small problems appear, do not be discouraged - they are signals easy to read, not obstacles. The disappearance of the dew droplets almost always means air too dry or too little light; raise the humidity and move the plant closer to the window. Tentacles turning green and pale call for more light. Dry tips or leaves that suddenly blacken usually betray water with lime - switch immediately to rainwater or distilled water. All these adjustments are minor, and the plant responds to them quickly, putting out new, glittering leaves as soon as conditions settle. Drosera paradoxa is, from start to finish, a plant that teaches you to look at nature more closely - a natural gateway into the world of carnivorous plants, alongside relatives such as Drosera alba. Specifications Pot diameter: 9 cm Total height (incl. pot): 15 cm