Drosera gunniana
pale sundew
Southern and south-eastern Australia
Overview
Drosera gunniana is a carnivorous tuberous perennial herb growing 4-12 inches (10-30 cm) tall from a small underground tuber. It produces a slender erect stem bearing crescent to shield-shaped leaves on stalks, each leaf covered with red glandular hairs that exude sticky droplets. Insects that land on the leaves are caught by the sticky droplets, and the leaf slowly folds to digest them, supplementing the nutrients the plant draws from poor soils. Small white to pink five-petalled flowers about 0.4 inch (1 cm) across open on a branched stem in late winter and spring. The plant grows through the cool, wet season and dies back to its tuber in the hot, dry summer. Growth is seasonal and slow. The species depends on damp, low-nutrient ground and does not persist where soils are rich or stay dry through the growing season.
Native Range
Native to southern and south-eastern Australia, including Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and parts of New South Wales and Western Australia. Grows in seasonally damp heath, grassland, and woodland on poor, sandy or peaty soils that are wet in winter and spring.Suggested Uses
Grown by carnivorous-plant collectors in pots and bog gardens with damp sand-and-peat mixes, and seen in the wild in seasonal wetlands and heath. It is planted where its winter-wet, summer-dry cycle and poor-soil needs can be met. It is not suited to ordinary garden beds or rich soils.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height4" - 1'
Width/Spread2" - 4"
Reaches mature size in approximately 3 years
Bloom Information
Detailed Descriptions
Flower Description
white to pinkFoliage Description
green with red glandular hairsGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
Requires 4-8 hours of direct sunlight daily
• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight
• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight
Care & Maintenance
Care Guide
Grows in full sun to light shade in constantly damp, low-nutrient sandy or peaty soil during the cool season. It depends on poor soils and is harmed by fertilizer and by rich potting mixes. Through winter and spring the soil is kept wet, while in summer the dormant tuber is kept drier. The plant is frost hardy during its growing season in its native range. It is grown by carnivorous-plant enthusiasts in pots of sand and peat watered with rainwater rather than tap water. The seasonal tuber cycle makes it short-lived if the dry summer rest is not met.Pruning
No pruning is needed. The stem and leaves die back naturally to the tuber at the end of the growing season. Spent flower stems can be left to set seed or removed once dry.Container Growing
✓ Suitable for container growing
Minimum container size: 1 gallons