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dewless sundews

kccpguy

Carnivorous Plants KCCPGUY
I have several sundews (rotundifolia , pygmy, filiformis ) in my terrarium but I don't see any dew on them any more.
I water them top down and they also have water in their bottom cups.

2 growlights GE are few inches from them and have enough wattage. Could it be the dewless is caused by being too close?

Otherwise they are healthy and growing but dewless. I am clueless about this.
 
If it were me, I would have the rotundifolia & filiformis outside, in a minbog, soaking up the sun. For pigmy's a SW window sill worked well for me. Dew is a direct function of adequate lighting, but I am unfamiliar with the use of artificial lighting.
 
I find all these species fare much better outside providing there is 40 per cent humidity. Lack of dew can be attributed to insufficient light, but also to fungal attack which destroyes the glands that produce the dew. This problem is more likely in terrarium conditions where there is insufficient air circulation. Wet on the leaves is not good in terrarium conditions and I suggest you not water from the top if you elect to continue with the terrarium culture of Drosera. I kept a viable terrarium for over a decade before losing my entire collection to a fungus attack, and haven't grown in terraria since. If possible, get some sun to your plants to supplement the lighting, increase the air circulation and be sure your tubes are changed at least every 8 months. Good luck with your Drosera cultivation!
 
I don't have D. rotundifolia, but I do have D. filiformis and D. scorpioides outside and with the exception of the d*** cottonwood seeds stickin' to them they are nice and sticky. Temps are in the upper 40s to lower 50s at night and mid to upper 80's during the day. They get direct sun from about 7:30am to 1:30pm and the humidity is in the upper 20% to lower 30% range. Try a couple spare plants outside to see how they do. Just remember to let them adapt to the outdoors and direct sun slowly to avoid sunburning the leaves.
 
terrariums are generally BAD for most Drosera. as a newbie i killed more dews because of lack of air circulation in a terrarium in my first 6 months than to lack of humidity in the last 3 years. very very very few Drosera require terrarium culture the only Drosera i have in a tank are falconeri and paradoxa but thats cause im keeping that tank warmer than the room temp of my basement. my rotundifolia and filliformis when i had them did wonderful in an open tray in a south window for me. they even went dormant without me having to put them in the fridge and snapped out of it on there own when the days started to lengthen. i wouldnt worry to much about low humidity, the localized humidity around the pots is fine. my drosera dont seem to suffer teh 15-20% humidity we have indoors in the winter due to the cold and the furnace running
 
You know, what's weird is that all my US temperate species (ie, rotundifolia, intermedia, capillaris) are loving just being by the window without a humidity dome. However, as for my tropicals and non-US forms (ie, aliciae, spatulata, adelae, binatas), they croak as soon as I remove the dome even by a bit. The only exception to this is Capensis--it's dewing quite well uncovered--but we all know how that particular plant can be.
 
give the binatas time to adapt, they are adapting just fine to my back step in the full sun.............yesterday at 1 p.m. it was 100 degrees and 30% humidity(as per the NWS website) and they looked fine and happy
 
Thanks very much for the ideas and insigthts. When I had the sundews outside in the summer they had dew all the time (capensis and others).But when i went into the hospital for 10 days, they did not get the attention and enough water and they died.

They are not doing badly. They are sending up flower shoots but no dew. I might try taking them to the sun a little . Its a little bit of a quandry. I mean I thought these were tropicals and had to stay indoors.

The gro-lites (2) GE do well and the sundews are close within 4-5 inches of the lights .
Thanks very much for the ideas and insigthts. When I had the sundews outside in the summer they had dew all the time (capensis and others).But when i went into the hospital for 10 days, they did not get the attention and enough water and they died.

They are not doing badly. They are sending up flower shoots but no dew. I might try taking them to the sun a little . Its a little bit of a quandry. I mean I thought these were tropicals and had to stay indoors.

The gro-lites (2) GE do well and the sundews are close within 4-5 inches of the lights .

But maybe they can do the dew outside.

Thanks for your time and consideration and food for thought.

If I find the answers I will note here and also put on my blog

But maybe they can do the dew outside.

Thanks for your time and consideration and food for thought.

If I find the answers I will note here and also put on my blog
 
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