P. moranensis leaves sticking up

[steveo]

My ping's newer leaves are sticking straight up in the air, and curling a bit at the edges--I expect them to be flattening out in a rosette, but much the opposite seems to be happening. They are still a healthy, glistening green.

Any ideas as to what causes this behavior? I've got 4 20W fluorescent lights about 8 inches away, 16 hours a day. I can make it seven, or reduce the light. Or is humidity the problem? It's been averaging about 80 % and 75 F in there. The neps and sundews are happy enough.

There is a small chance that the ping is getting "fertilized" by an earthworm colony (and/or some tubifex) that came with the plants. Would this cause such behavior?

Steve

 

[Dionaea Enthusiast]

The little curls at the leaf edges are called drool margins. Their function is to stop digested prey (a fluid) from flowing over the edge of the leaf.

New leaves tend to stick up until they're fully formed.

Your light seems a bit high...I grow my pings the same distance from the same number of blubs, but I keep them farther away--more like 12". Also, the photoperiod should be more like 12 hrs., this time of the year.

I keep my pings at a lower temp.--70 F, though I doubt that's your problem.

I don't know about the worms. If they really seem to be damaging the plant, repotting should be your last resort.

Chris

 

[steveo]

Thanks!

Both these leaves have food on them, which may explain it. I was under the impression that with 20W bulbs I'd really have to bring the light in close for it to matter, esp. for the sundews.

If it's the case that this is too much light, I will remove the reflective material around the tank and make the light a little more diffuse.

Steve

 

[Dionaea Enthusiast]

But you say you're growing them with sundews...sundews tend to appreciate more light than pings, and your setup sounds great for sundews, but not pings...

Any way you could elevate the sundews closer to the lights so that they receive more light in your new setup (sans those reflectors)? Inverted pots could be used as stands.

I think it's more likely that the problem, if any, is photoperiod. My terrarium pings are set to 14 hours this time of the year--16 hours in the summer, 12 in winter. What photoperiod do you plan to provide over the summer? BTW, will removing the reflective material allow natural light into the tank? How do you plan to diffuse the light?

BTW, do you have a sheet of glass under the lights to block the ballast heat? Glass is believed to block a certain part of the light spectrum, so if you do use glass, switch to plexiglass. If so, that may be your problem.

 

[Guest]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Dionaea Enthusiast @ May 27 2002,7:13)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">But you say you're growing them with sundews...sundews tend to appreciate more light than pings, and your setup sounds great for sundews, but not pings...

Any way you could elevate the sundews closer to the lights so that they receive more light in your new setup (sans those reflectors)? Inverted pots could be used as stands.

I think it's more likely that the problem, if any, is photoperiod. My terrarium pings are set to 14 hours this time of the year--16 hours in the summer, 12 in winter. What photoperiod do you plan to provide over the summer? BTW, will removing the reflective material allow natural light into the tank? How do you plan to diffuse the light?

BTW, do you have a sheet of glass under the lights to block the ballast heat? Glass is believed to block a certain part of the light spectrum, so if you do use glass, switch to plexiglass. If so, that may be your problem.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Let me start by saying thank you.

I can move the pings to the "dark" end of the tank with the neps, which are also happy so far as I can tell. As to photoperiod, I was going to go 16 hours year-round, and I am guessing that it may be a bad idea?

There is nothing stopping me from changing the photoperiod, I suppose. What is your schedule for adjusting it, IYDM?

Since I have to re-pot everything but the neps to get rid of earthworms

I will be able to do anything I want with the setup. The ping may be happy in their shadow--but the photoperiod is still a problem. I *could* put it in the bathroom with the D. Adelae, but the light will be much reduced in all respects.

A little natural light will get in--but the tank is on the north end of the house, so no direct sunlight will get in. A curtain stands between it and the window at that end of the room.

I'm not actively diffusing the light, but with the bottom and sides of the tank open, brightness is much reduced. I can barely read by the light the tank throws off, even with four bulbs blazing away. I thought that 20W would be half as strong as 40W, so I went for two fixtures of two bulbs each and chrome tape.

Finally, something I did right! The lid is plexiglass, with a substantial gap over the dark end to keep the humidity below 100 % and give the neps a slightly cooler night's sleep. Interestingly, no matter what the ambient temp, the temp in the tank maxes out at 80 F. What ambient air seems to affect the most is minimum temperature (which can get as low as 65 F on a cool night) and humidity, which can drop to 75 % on a cold, dry day. I'm using the neps as the guage on that, and they are pitchering away like mad.

I'll yank out the perlite to start.

Steve

 

[steveo]

Re repotting--

What if I just flooded the pots for a day or so? Would the worms drown or drop out? I could wash out worm-induced nutrients this way, too.

Steve