Newbie with a baby Drosera capillaris

[lazerboi_64]

Hi All,

Newbie to carnivorous plants in general and Drosera capillaris specifically. I purchased one from Predatory Plants back on October and have been keeping it heavily watered since receipt. It's placed under a string of under-counter LED lights along with my Devil's Ivy.

My local gnat supply has apparently disappeared so per information from the supplier's website I purchased some freeze-dried mealworms to feed it. An entire mealworm would span about half the plant's diameter (or more) so I broke it up into pieces and laid them over some of the leaves. Unfortunately in trying to do that, I was touching most of the leaves (since they are so small) and I noticed them react by slowly folding up. The mealworm pieces I did place correctly were left for several days. After about a week I noticed the pieces were moldy so I threw them away.

As you can see, there are two, going on three, very tall stalks sprouting from the plant. Are those flower stalks? Can I leave them be, or are they robbing the plant of nutrients needed for leaf growth?

You can also see some very fine green growth down amongst the leaves. It's obviously not mold. Is that a form of moss or some type of weed? I think it would complement the plant were it to grow larger.

I'm worried that it is malnourished since there are no gnats for it to feed on. It's still too small (my opinion) for the mealworms. I did see that Predatory Plants had a liquid fertilizer/food for their plants but it said nothing about it being safe for the Drosera.

What do you guys think? Thanks!!

 

[adnedarn]

Hello and to carnivorous plants!!
Time will tell if the under cabinet lights are strong enough for this plant to thrive, they tend to appreciate more light than a standard house plant.
I would say for a small Drosera that freeze dried blood worms would be a better idea (rehydrated with purified water) than a meal worm. But also, CPs do not require feeding to live, they are a plant and will get plenty of energy from light but can be more vigorous with some feedings. Drop a mosquito you smacked on it, use the blood worms on a trap or two, no reason to go crazy. There are some supplemental foods you can use like diluted maxsea but that comes with it's own challenges, if sprayed on the media it can speak break down or fungal growth. I'd focus on lighting for now- give it some time to grow and observe, make sure new leaves are growing out of the center of the plant and that those leaves look healthy are turn into open carnivorous leaves. Here is an example of what you should be looking for: For Sale - Drosera capillaris 'Emerald's Envy'
yes, you have flower stalks, you can leave them and collect the seed when the pods turn brown or sprinkle it right back on to the media.
Looks like the original plants plug is growing moss, likely from peatmoss which isn't a problem unless it becomes really dense and starts choking out the plant. Having some of those seeds saved in the fridge is great backup for anything that happens in the future as you lean to care for it.

 

[lazerboi_64]

Hello and to carnivorous plants!!
Time will tell if the under cabinet lights are strong enough for this plant to thrive, they tend to appreciate more light than a standard house plant.
I would say for a small Drosera that freeze dried blood worms would be a better idea (rehydrated with purified water) than a meal worm. But also, CPs do not require feeding to live, they are a plant and will get plenty of energy from light but can be more vigorous with some feedings. Drop a mosquito you smacked on it, use the blood worms on a trap or two, no reason to go crazy. There are some supplemental foods you can use like diluted maxsea but that comes with it's own challenges, if sprayed on the media it can speak break down or fungal growth. I'd focus on lighting for now- give it some time to grow and observe, make sure new leaves are growing out of the center of the plant and that those leaves look healthy are turn into open carnivorous leaves. Here is an example of what you should be looking for: For Sale - Drosera capillaris 'Emerald's Envy'
yes, you have flower stalks, you can leave them and collect the seed when the pods turn brown or sprinkle it right back on to the media.
Looks like the original plants plug is growing moss, likely from peatmoss which isn't a problem unless it becomes really dense and starts choking out the plant. Having some of those seeds saved in the fridge is great backup for anything that happens in the future as you lean to care for it.

Awesome, thanks for the quick reply! I'm definitely watching it every day and will see what transpires. Something definitely likes all the water I've been giving it. It seems like I have to refill the bowl every 3 or 4 days. And I know it's definitely NOT evaporation!

 

[hcarlton]

It definitely is evaporation, along with transpiration. In an open air environment a LOT of water is going to come out of that moss and out of the plant (especially through all the water-based dewdrops on the tentacles) so it will use up water quickly. Even in my greenhouses the average pot (focusing on ones not sitting above lights) will still dry out within 5-7 days, anything that isn't 80%+ humidity will dry out even faster. Not a bad thing, because that means good airflow, but does mean you need to stay on top of it even more than the average houseplant.
With there already being several flower stalks developed fully I would recommend cutting the newer ones and using them for propagation so the plant focuses more on leaf growth...and is this is a recent purchase it may be too early to tell but it definitely wants more light than it was getting overall, these are more or less full sun plants and need it very, very bright to be happy. And, per the moss growing around it, it's not sphagnum and it will become very dense over time so trimming it back regularly is recommended. It's near impossible to get rid of completely but it can be managed.