Help! Drosera adelae dying!

[VelvetViper]

I am very concerned about a small D. adelae that I keep in a vivarium with my White's tree frog. I have several carnivorous plants in this vivarium--a venus fly trap, a butterwort (P. moctezumae) and two D. adelae. The other plants are doing fine, the butterwort especially. But the smaller D. adelae seems to be dying. The leaves have gone brown and soggy, and are shrivelling. They tear off with the slightest tug. The substrate around the plant is also very wet. I give the whole vivarium a good soaking with a Flo-Master garden sprayer every morning and evening. Is this too much? Any other thoughts on what the problem might be? I would greatly appreciate any help I can get--I'd really like to try to save the poor little plant!

 

[carnivoure12]

It doesn't sound like you can save it. The problem is one you have already identified, a humid environment with very soggy media equals root rot! So umm depending on where you live I'd say in the future grow it outside or, in its own pot in the vivarium where you can control its moisture.

 

[SDCPs]

Yes. D. adelae seem to like dry media. You are giving all those plants too much water in my opinion. With D. adelae I water around once a week. You should let the media become slightly dry before you water again.

BTW: I don't think it would be easy to save the plant other than uprooting it, taking a root and planting it where the plant was, and water more sparingly. Maybe new plants will sprout from any healthy roots you plant.

 

[eou812]

I think your doing fine i really think the garden spray is your problem and what kind of soil are you using?

 

[jimscott]

D. adelae is also enigmatic. It can dieback without apparent reason. I would also look for plantlets that form from the roots. They will have rounded leaves, not the mature, "lanceleaf".

 

[Joseph Clemens]

If any part of the plant is still alive, I'd immediately take leaf and root cuttings to propagate replacements for your current plant. It is generally a very easy plant to propagate. If you create several colonies of Drosera adelae, you should then have better insurance against losing your plant completely.

 

[jimscott]

They actually did pretty well for me in saturated LFS, either by a window sill or on a grow rack, as well as a glorified terrarium. But then they'd die back as well, leaving behind plantlets.

 

[tommyr]

Mine live in both LFS and peat/perlite mixes in water trays with 1/2 - 3/4" of water year round and grow like weeds.
As Joseph said take a cutting or 2 and lay them dew side up on the soil mix, they take really easily.

 

[DavyJones]

All three of the plants you mention in your original post have/can have incredibly different growing conditions. Not to sound harsh, but keeping them all together like that, I would expect them not to look the greatest. Flytraps need to be grown strictly OUTDOORs. The butterwort could also have drastically different care conditions than D. adelae and a VFT.

I also have lots of experience with D. adelae, and will second what everybody else has said. The plant will get lanky and then die back every once in a while. Given the proper conditions, it will simply grow back from the roots over time. I always just chopped off all the foliage, and let them do their thing. They'll be back, and if you're lucky, flowering in no time!

 

[twotut]

I happen to have alot of D. adelae that need to be put into their own pots. I could try to send you some if you want. Let me know
twotut
Marian Hill

---------- Post added at 02:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:13 AM ----------

BTW my avatar is a flower from a P. laueana.....it's so cool!

 

[jimscott]

Mine live in both LFS and peat/perlite mixes in water trays with 1/2 - 3/4" of water year round and grow like weeds.
As Joseph said take a cutting or 2 and lay them dew side up on the soil mix, they take really easily.

Shameless plug:

 

[eou812]

I had a D.adelea from Lowe's and it had deformed leaves so i cut it sown to the grown and now about four months later i an allready having to divide almost six plants and one is forming the long skinny leaves so i would not do anything to it except give it water and good sun and it should come up good.