New to Sundews, wondering if I'm doing anything wrong

[Sera08]

Hi everyone, new member here,

I'm new to raising carnivorous plants, so I'm not sure if everything's alright with my Drosera aliciae (Named Alice, as I'm not very creative). I've had it for about a week and some days now, and I'm wondering if it's normal for it to have no dew yet? I keep a cool white light about 30cm from it on for 9hrs and keep it in a saucer of filtered water (and refill it whenever it's empty). The temperature's pretty low, but I try to keep it from dropping below about 10c. I live in London and I'm not too sure about the humidity level, if that might be the issue.

I'm thinking I might be getting worried a bit too early, but I figured it'd be best to ask for advice before anything goes too wrong.

Also, some of the tendrils' tips are kinda crispy(?) and reddish-yellowish on the smaller one, which doesn't look healthy.

I attached some images as well, one from when I first received it, and the other two from today and a few days ago, for comparison.

Thanks for any help!

 

[bluemax]

Your plants look like they have been roughed-up a bit but they seem pretty healthy. You will probably not see dew from the established leaves as it looks like the stalked glands (tentacles) are damaged, which is not uncommon. I see that there is new growth starting so I would watch for that to see if it forms properly, develops dew, what kind of coloring, etc. You might find this from the ICPS Grow Guides useful if you haven't already seen it: Growing Subtropical Drosera | ICPS

 

[Sera08]

Thank you for replying! I'm happy to know that Alice seems generally healthy.

Also, will the damaged tentacles heal over time or will only the newly grown tentacles be able to produce dew?

 

[DragonsEye]

The damaged cilia (tendrils/tentacles) will never heal, nor ever be replaced on the current leaves. Therefore, those leaves will no longer be able to trap insects. However, they will still perform photosynthesis as they did prior. New leaves will have functional cilia. If the cilia on the new leaves is producing little to no dew, then move the plants closer to the light source will likely solve the problem.

 

[Sera08]

Thank you! I'll watch out for new tendrils then, and see if they start producing any dew.

 

[fen]

Hi! I have a very similar question, so didn't want to start a whole new thread. I'm new to carnivorous plants, and recieved a Drosera adelae a few days ago. I've potted it in 100% sphagnum moss, in a 12cm tall pot, sat in distilled water just below root level. The whole setup is under a LetPot 60W full spectrum grow light which is set to full brightness for 12 hours a day. The drosera is slightly shaded by spider plants that I've placed around it.

The humidity in my room is currently sitting around 60-80% and the temperature is between 18 degrees and 25 degrees celsius (most of the time it's around 22).

How soon should the droplets start to form if the plant is happy? What sort of signs should I look for that the humidity is too low, or that the roots aren't taking to the substrate?

Also the water in the tray is already disgusting. Not sure what to do about that since it seems like it needs to be that high or it won't soak in enough to reach the roots.

 

[adnedarn]

Hello! I just said in the other post I was excited to see your plant and here it is! D. adelae can do really well in a wide range of light, less light and the plant will be more green and bigger. More light and it will become more red and smaller. Humidity seems to be somewhat important to this plant, but nothing super crazy. It is common for Drosera to sulk a little when transitioning to new growing conditions. Many times not producing any dew until new leaves. Avoid spraying the plant or moving it around constantly to different conditions. Pick a spot that should work for it and let it acclimate there. A high water table on this plant is fine, especially when freshly potted. If the water tray is kept wet, the roots will grow out of the pot and grow new plants in the tray. So as the roots grow you can definitely bring the water level down, but always wet is a plus.

 

[fen]

Hello! I just said in the other post I was excited to see your plant and here it is! D. adelae can do really well in a wide range of light, less light and the plant will be more green and bigger. More light and it will become more red and smaller. Humidity seems to be somewhat important to this plant, but nothing super crazy. It is common for Drosera to sulk a little when transitioning to new growing conditions. Many times not producing any dew until new leaves. Avoid spraying the plant or moving it around constantly to different conditions. Pick a spot that should work for it and let it acclimate there. A high water table on this plant is fine, especially when freshly potted. If the water tray is kept wet, the roots will grow out of the pot and grow new plants in the tray. So as the roots grow you can definitely bring the water level down, but always wet is a plus.

Oh awesome! Thank you so much, that's all good to know.

Sounds like it's just a waiting game now.

That and figuring out how to keep the tray full without the water going immediately stagnant. Changing a litre of distilled water every couple of days will get expensive. Not to mention it'd mean disturbing the plant way too much. I can see myself creating a full on tank setup if I let myself go wild.

 

[DragonsEye]

Many drosera aren’t fussy about humidity, IME. My RH is typically around 10-15% from Oct through April/May and most of my dews couldn’t care less. Drosera adelae, however, is one species I have found does require humidity. I have to grow it in a terrarium to keep it happy. It also doesn’t require the high light levels most Drosera want.