Decline of a d.alicae

[Lauderdale]

I have a D.alicae, which when I got it, was a healthy, dew producing, bug eating beauty. It has produced five offspring...cute little devils...by runners but it has been in a long steady decline. First the dew dissappeared, then all of the new leaves became deformed. It is still producing lots of new leaves but all are very strangely deformed...tips curling under and off to the side. I am growing it in 1/2" of water as I do with all of my dews and they are doing fine. Is it possible that producing all of the "pups" has done it in or is it more likely that the culprit is too much water in a very humid (South Florida) climate.

 

[FlytrapGurl]

It's not the humidity... how much light and what kind is it getting? Where did you get it? I trust you know what to water it with. Most sundews LOVE the humidity... I have two small potfulls of adelae here in Central Florida and they love it, and they look like diamond studded things they produce so much dew. It might also be chemicals it doesn't like in the soil. If it came from anywhere but PFT, it's likely to have chemicals in the soil. Maybe a good flushing of the soil will do it good, or maybe even a repotting.

Keep us posted, and good luck!
FTG

 

[Vertigo]

Is the color of the tips changing at all?

 

[cephalotus88]

there can be a few factors leading to this. Check under the leaves for aphids.

 

[Lauderdale]

I checked for aphids and there are none. The tips of my D.alicae are as green as the rest of the leaves. It is getting the same amount of early morning and late evening sun as the rest of my Drosera…they are doing so well that I am going to have to give away a couple hundred D. Capillaris as soon as they are large enough to transplant. I got the plant from a much respected grower so I don’t think the soil has anything to do with it. It has gotten plenty of flushing with all of our nightly showers…deluges. I have a gut feeling that it does not like setting in the rainwater that nature so abundantly provides for us here in S. FL and is getting root rot. I have taken it out of its’ watering tray and will see what happens. However, if any of you have other ideas as to what is causing this…please let me know.

 

[FlytrapGurl]

Well, now we know why the dew disappeared... the rain washes off the dew. It may not like the constant rain. I keep my adelaes in my five foot tall, two foot wide greenhouse under the overhang on the back slab, so they don't get rained on, and they have tons of dew.

Good luck!
FTG