Aloha? Atrocious!

[Johji]

Well, I thought I'd done my research. I mean I read "The Savage Garden" and Adrian Slack's "Carnivorous Plants", and used the search engine here.

So I ordered an assortment of 'tropical' sundews. The first two that arrived were Drosera petiolaris and paradoxa 'white'. I put them in a plastic aquarium with a 'grill' like covering. In the 'Terrarium' MB, I was led to understand that if I had enough water in the bottom of the tank, I could have 70 percent humidity.

Well, my petiolaris and paradoxa are wilting to death after two weeks. What make matters worse is that I had also ordered six other Sundews from another dealer. D. "Marston Dragon", "D. Multifidia 'Extrema'", "D. Capensis 'Narrow Leaf", "D. intermedia 'Cuba'" and "D. adelae".

My terrarium consists of a plastic aquarium with a grill-like top. To counter this, I have covered the tank with saran wrap, leaving about an inch and a half open space for ventilation. I am using 'steam' distilled water, and the bottle makes no mention of salts or other additives. The brand name is 'Alhambra'.

Why are my plants dying? Or are they just going dormant after days in the mail? I don't know how to tell the difference!

Whatever happens, my intent was to eventually report which Drosera species were suitable for lowland Hawaii cultivation. I intend to let you know as my plants either make a come back or die.

Johji

 

[schloaty]

Hey, One thing I'v noticed with some of my sundews (binata, adelea, spatulata) is that they wilt some after transplanting. Stress, I think. They eventually (couple of days) perk back up as long as they have good humidity and I don't fry them with too much sun.
oooo....That could be it too. How much sun do you give them? If you took them right out of the box and put them into all day direct sun, your burning them. You need to introduce them to sun slowly. Maybe just an hour or two the first couple of days, you get the idea. I know that the adelea, for instance, grows better with only a little sun. I burned mine the first time.

So I had to learn the hard way.
Oh, yeah. You can't kill the Capensis you said you are getting. They can live through a war.

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Petiolaris seem not to appreciate shipping, and the stress usually induces dormancy in my experience. I would advise that you not tray water these, at least until they show active growth. At, this stage, I would put them in zip lock bags, and give them as much heat as possible (100F is good) especially at night.

The other species you mention should recover with time.

 

[Johji]

Thank you both very much for your posts, I really appreciated them! Sure enough, I took them straight out of the box and put them on an eastern facing window. They've been getting direst sunlight for most of the morning. Maybe I'm burning them, but I don't know if it would be more traumatic for them if I cut back on their sunlight (what if I induce dormancy that way?), or to just hope that they are adjusting.

The other Sundews I mentioned arrived a couple of days ago. Like my petiolaris and paradoxa, they had no dew on the leaves. The Multifidia 'Extrema' is already too big for my tank, and the poor thing is scrunched up under the saran wrap. But at least it has more room than it did under the plastic cup it was mailed in. My adelae is in that tank. I wonder if it's getting too much light, it's only direct sunlight in the morning.

The good news is that my 'Marston Dragon' is beginning to dew! It started first on one leaf, and then another one yesterday Since that is the sign of a happy plant, I think maybe that one will make it. *Fingers Crossed*

Maybe I should have cut the flower stalks of the paradoxa 'White'. I know that flowering really taxes Venus Flytraps. Guess common sense would be that this would be true of other plants. The one tiny blossom that bloomed was so pretty though. One of my other recently received Sundews is also sending up flower stalks. I forget which ones.

Tamlin, since paradoxa is closely related to petiolaris, and these are both 'tropicals', I'm assuming that they have similar dormancy habits. I'll try to find some gallon size ziplocks and do as you have suggested. I guess since the leaves are all withered (petiolaris and paradoxa are only showing green on the stalks and the base of the leaves now), whether they have sunlight or not is moot since there won't be much photosynthesis going on. I do wonder though, do you have to periodically open the bags to let the air circulate? If so, how often?

Again, many thanks! You guys are great, taking the time and efforts to help a newbie like me

Sundew
Sundo
Sundon't
Sundead...(But maybe that won't happen&#33

Mahalo!
Johji

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Aloha! Drosera paradoxa is in the petiolaris complex. I have had them die back as you describe. Sometimes they can take months before they grow again. Literature regarding their conditions for dormancy in petiolaris complex plants is conflicting, and my own experience is limited (although I have not yet lost any plants). The only time I open the bags is when I am checking them and doing deep sighs/nail biting about once a day. I have heard that they need to be dry, and I have also heard to keep them just moist. I opt for the moist but not sodden conditions.

Great news about the D. binata! I find mine does best grown outdoors, and I wonder why you don't do the same: you certainly have the right climate for this. I think you could probably grow all of them outdoors if you acclimate them in stages. My recent experiments have shown that even adelae will acclimate to lower humidity.

I think I should come over to your house for a couple of weeks, you know, just to get you set up.........;-)

 

[mindmaze128]

Hello Johji

I have a D mutlifida growing outside here in PR, and It's doing well. I didn't even acclimate it when I got it either, I just put it in a pot and put it outside with my other plants. My experience with the few sundews that I have is that they don't need very high humidity to do well. Try and see if the sundews that you have will do well outside. Remember, Hawaii is very different from most of the USA.

Jœl

 

[Johji]

Hi Tamlin and MindMaze128,

Growing Drosera outside is too scary for me! For one thing, we have a dog in the backyard who likes to strip bananna trees. And in the front we have a neighborhood that maybe isn't so cool.

'Marston Dragon' and 'adelae' continue to dew. 'Cuba "intermedia"' looks kind of dried out, and I wonder if it's going to go the way of 'petiolaris'.

Tamlin, on the one hand, I'd love to have you come to my house and see my sundews. I honestly hold your wisdom in the highest regard! On the other hand, I'd be embarrassed for you to see my pathetic growing environments. When the shoots of my petiolaris and paradoxa begin to wilt, I will ziplock them to a dry environment. (Relatively. There has to be -some- moisture, right?)

You guys are great! I don't know how I could've gotten through my sundew crisis without you!

My most basic findings, for sundews in Hawaii, are:
'Marston Dragon' Cool!
'D. adelae' Cool!
'D. paradoxa "White"' Ai yah!
'D. petiolaris' Ai yah!


All the Best to Everybody! And your families!
Johji

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

You should try to forestall the dormancy by doing the bag trick....if the plants are already in a dormant condition, they would be better with some air circulation, sorry if I didn't make that clear enough.

Maybe someday I will make it to your home town. Sigh. Sun, waves, hula girls, pakalolo (no translations please), and some of the most beautiful land on Earth.....too bad I can't hitchhike there!

 

[CP2k]

Hi everyone,

I am currently using a heating pad to keep my newly acquired petiolaris complex droserae warm during the night. The plants are moved to a styrofoam box with a plastic cover during the day. Daytime temps in the box are over 100 degrees. So far the plants are sending up an abundance of new growth.