Wow,I always thought that most carnivorous plants had short root systems.

It is all according to the plant. D. adelae can grow roots out to a surprising length and when you repot them, their roots wind around the periphery of the pot time and time again and reach all the way to the bottom and grow back up to the top... altogether, several feet of root for one 4 inch plant. I was unaware that D. spatulata grew roots over 5 inches in length. When I got this D. spatulata clump, it had it's roots completely ripped off during shipping. I just set the clump back in it's 3 inch pot and within a month it had regrown roots as deep as the pot and seemed as healthy as ever. I repotted it to a 5 inch pot thinking it would be as big a pot as it needed and now its trying to escape...lol. Eventually I will uproot the entire clump and separate individual plants to make new clumps in separate pots. D. spatulata, like D. adelae, thrives on being disturbed and repotted it seems. Root damage seems to be inconsequential to them as well so long as they have time, a healthy environment, and some roots left to grow back with.

Aside from species differences, a general rule of thumb is that the drier the conditions, the more the roots develop, in order to reach water. The more soggy the conditions, the less incentive there is to develop roots. Sarracenias seem to be an exception, though.

Yeah, I thought about that, but my sundews sit in a large tray with about 1 to 1 1/2 inches of water constantly. I also top water them occasionally and never let their soil dry at all.. They are constantly moist.