What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Cannot seem to get ideal conditions for my Drosera

Hi all

I am getting frustrated with not being able to get ideal conditions for my Drosera.
Can I please get some advice as I am just about to give up on these :(

I have a shelf set up in my bookcase with 5x 2ft T5 HO fittings, complete with nano reflectors.
First of all the temperature was far too high at about 95 degrees with humidity at 20%.

I added the fan to blow some air in, which dropped temp to about 80 degrees and pushed humidity up to about 40%.
I then purchased a humidifier to up the humidity.

I felt the temp was still too high so I added a layer of perspex to block the heat from the lights, and removed the humidifier.
This made the temp about 70 degrees and humidity 50%, which seemed just right as I started getting dew on my aliciae.
A few days later now and the dew has gone again.

From what I have read humidity is not a big issue, and also they can thrive in high temps.
So I am at a loss to what to do.
I think I have enough options to get the temp and humidity to a desired level now, so what should I aim for?

Here are some photos to check out.
As you can see the aliciae is turning red, which was totally green when I bought it, so I assume the light level is fine.
The spatulata is a new addition which came with loads of dew, but is losing more and more daily.
Both plants and producing new growth, but not enough dew.

Any advice would be gratefully received!

Thanks :)

photo5yi.jpg


photo4ck.jpg


photo3bef.jpg


photo1os.jpg


photo2md.jpg
 
Moar water. I use the tray method for the majority of my sundews.
 
Way too close to the lights. Top of the pots will do 4-8 inches away from the lights for Drosera.

Here is Ivan Snyder's setup. He's just using two 4 foot shop light fixtures. If you don't know who Ivan Snyder is go to the ICPS website and search the CPN by author name.
IMGP5880copy.jpg
 
I had the same problem when I was growing indoors under lights...they were growing great but the dew was never present until I moved the plants further from the lights...drop the Battle Royale books and see if that helps, if not drop the Deathnote Books one at a time
 
Thanks guys.
It's funny, you read so much contradictory information it does my head in!

The battle royale books are a new addition, they were just on the death note books previously.
I thought I needed to get them closer to the lights.
They were doing just as badly on only the death note books.

So shall I remove the books altogether and get a deeper water tray?
If so, what about the perspex shield? What temp and humidity should I try to aim for?
 
Thanks guys.
It's funny, you read so much contradictory information it does my head in!

The battle royale books are a new addition, they were just on the death note books previously.
I thought I needed to get them closer to the lights.
They were doing just as badly on only the death note books.

So shall I remove the books altogether and get a deeper water tray?
If so, what about the perspex shield? What temp and humidity should I try to aim for?

Its also variable depending on the situation, how is the air flow and humidity on that shelf?

Here is my old thread on my setup, Ive moved since then and unfortunately my wife didn't take good care of my plants while I was finishing my contract in a different state.

I moved them up and the dew dried out quickly, moved them back down and they started producing dew again...it worked for me but may not work for you.
 
Air flow is good thanks to the fan blowing and humidity varies from 40-50%.
But I have tried so many variations with temp and humidity and nothing has really worked so far.

I dont understand it really, because from all my reading it seems people get them to thrive in all humidities as well as temperatures!
I will move them further away from the lights, but again it seems strange as people suggest they need as much light as possible, and it seems counter intuitive to put them further away :)

I shall give you previous thread a read, thanks
 
It may just be a lot of environmental changes happening too often...they may just need to stabilize
 
They look cooked to me, I also vote for moving them farther away from the lights.
 
  • #10
Thanks again.
I have dropped the books and turned off the fan. I will give it some time and see how they do.

Ok, after having it set up like this for today, the conditions have settled.
The tops of the pots are 7in away from lights.
Temp is almost 90 degrees, humidity is 60%.

Shall I now leave this for a few weeks to see what happens?
Or shall I put the perspex shelf back in to drop the temperature some more?

Thanks
 
Last edited:
  • #11
Don't over think this! Raising the lights was the right move and keep them in a water tray with about a half inch or so of water, more if it evaporates quickly. I too think you cooked them a bit.
 
  • #12
Its hard not to over think it :)
Surely its the temperature that cooked them? Not too much light?
So currently I have less light but a higher temp. Is the temperature not such a big issue here?
Do you think this is fine now? I need to be patient I guess and just leave them to settle for a few weeks.

Thanks for all the advice, I appreciate it! :)
 
  • #13
Its hard not to over think it :)
Surely its the temperature that cooked them? Not too much light?
So currently I have less light but a higher temp. Is the temperature not such a big issue here?
Do you think this is fine now? I need to be patient I guess and just leave them to settle for a few weeks.

Thanks for all the advice, I appreciate it! :)

The heat FROM the tubes being too close, they do throw out a little heat. They get more air circulation now. I'd leave them for a few weeks and see what happens. Some of mine are under a T5 fixture, the room temp currently is 88f with 60% humidity, but they can handle lower humidity. Others of mine are in a west window with BRIGHT indirect Sun. Same temperature. I have Scorps, Spatulatas and Adeleas.
 
Back
Top