This is Mr. Tentacles. He’s a sundew. Specifically, he’s a Cape sundew (Drosera capensis). I got him along with a Venus fly trap who is still unnamed (suggestions, anyone?) a few months back.
Not long after I got Mr. Tentacles, I brought him to the office with me. I thought he’d make a nice office plant and I figured he could help keep the fruit fly population down once he warmed up to the idea of being in my office. Unfortunately, that was not the case. He never really liked the idea of sitting in my office even if I’d let him outside to get some air and sunbathe sometimes. He stubbornly refused to put out new leaves and the few new leaves that were growing withered and died. I think he was on strike. Possibly, he was depressed. That made me really sad.
So, I decided maybe he wanted the company of his friend, the Venus fly trap (who I had never intended to bring to the office), so I brought Mr. Tentacles back home. And since then, he’s been thriving. The photo above is from only a few days after I brought him back home. I placed him next to the Venus fly trap on a windowsill that gets a good amount of indirect sunlight (and even some direct sun) and gave him his own water bowl so he can have water whenever he wants. He’s putting out new leaves!
About a month later, he has lots of new leaves and they’re all drenched in dew. The leaves look like this, like they’re supposed to (minus the fly, Mr. Tentacles hasn’t caught a fly yet):
And, just last week, Mr. Tentacles caught the little spider that has been spinning webs around the Venus fly trap and himself! I was very proud of Mr. Tentacles. Stupid spider. I looked yesterday and the leaf that caught the spider has unfolded and it looks like the spider has been digested. Hahahahah! Take that!
So, moral of the story: cape sundews get very lonely and need company in order to be healthy. Or…they need a good amount of indirect sunlight and lots of water. Take your pick.
Random moosages as I see fit. 