Problem droseras

[PlantAKiss]

I'm trying to figure out why some of my drosera do really well and others do not. Everyone says the capensis is so easy and becomes a weed. But mine struggle! I have one capensis alba that had a rough beginning (5 weeks in the mail). But a nib survived. Its been growing for months and has at last achieved the LOOK of a capensis. But it just doesnt grow in height. It puts out new leaves...then the older leaves die. But it just hangs at about an inch tall. If a leaf catches a gnat, it seems to gradually cause the leaf to die. Its in a tank with high humidity and good light. Temps are a little cooler than I'd like. I also have some capensis regular seedlings and they don't grow much either. Its so discouraging to hear others talk about their rampant 6" capensis. I'd be thrilled if mine would get to 3". Maybe they will grow better in the summer??

My d. adelae (in private terrarium) was doing very well...growing, dewey, etc. Then it took a dive...browning leaves. It did sport a baby. Now its put out a healthy looking leaf. But I can tell its just not happy. I think I'm going to re-do the growing medium. And I get confused when I see those large, lovely, bronzy maroon ones with the long pointy leaves. I've read the color comes from high light. But...if they like lower light situations.......how can they take more light to turn bronzy maroon?

And lastly, my binata.... it came to near death but has come back some and even had a baby. I also propagated some babies which are doing pretty well. BUT...I'm seeing some of the new forks unfurl and turn white. Just like they did before. I have given them more light. They have a nice red growing point (which I THOUGHT indicated good lighting). The tentacles are dewey and have been snaring some gnats.

Its a wonder to me how these plants are so hard for me to grow yet are so easy for others! I read the books and web sites and try to go by the recommendations. (sigh)

Anyone has any tips or suggestions I'd really appreciate it. I want happy plants...and happy plants means a happy grower.

Thanks
Suzanne

 

[Linda]

Suzanne,

I can only comment in regard to the D. Adelae; although, mine are far from perfect. I have two potted. One is dewey and red, growing like a weed with at least three babies in the pot. The other is green, no dew, and barely hanging in there. The condition for the better of the two has been consistant, it is inside a terrium (actually it is a 27 qrt rubbermaid container), clear plastic covers the top. I use one cool white floresent fixture (the kind you put under kitchen cabinets) that sits on top of the tank. The temp has stayed around 70F and humidity ranges between 65-75 % (I move the plastic part way each night to reduce the humidty for a while). The other plant was in a different situation until a few weeks ago, when I moved it in with its sister. It was going downhill before I moved it in, no dew and light green color. I tried various locations for it before I put it in the container. Although it is still green and no dew, it seems to hold on and is slowly sending up new leaves. I think the problem stemmed from 1. it was under full spectrum light before and 2. I had it sitting on a tray of gravel and water. I think the gravel had not been cleaned enough and leached into the pot.

Anyhow, I find the best conditions to be cool white light, temp no more than 70F and humidity min 65 max 75.

Hang in there, spring is around the corner, and everyone may perk up by then.

Linda ö¿ö

 

[noah]

Hi Pak,

One thing I have found with capensis is that it needs A LOT of light. I have tried to grow them inside, and even under lights, they never look that good or grow well. However, outdoors they do great, especially in full sun. Just keep the soil moist to wet and they love the sun. Don't worry about the humidity. Yours must be a lot higher than mine here in southern Cal. and mine stay sparkly all day.

I'm not sure what your binata problem is. Maybe not enough light?? Try putting them outside.

The adalaes..... I think the pointy leaves come with age, the coloration I am not sure, but I believe there is a variety of adalae that turns reddish.

Hope this helps.

Noah

P.S. when in doubt, put outside

I'll have to post pics of my outdoor bog that i set up sometime.

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Are you using pure water for your plants? What are you growing them in as a medium? Your conditions sound right, and it may well be that your mix is compromised. Adelae is best in live sphagnum. Cool is OK, but the humidity needs to be A 80% ideally. Lower light works. I keep mine wet, not moist.

Capensis wants more light, a little less humidity, and does well in 50/50 peat sand.

Your binata sounds like it had a snap dormancy: the red tip where the leaves emerge on my plants forms in response to cooler contitions. Binata appreciates a lot of water too.

If your water isn't pure, it could be the reason for your plants decline.

 

[PlantAKiss]

Hmmmmm.... The water is pure. Only distilled or rain water for everything. I would have thought the light is bright enough (4 tube lights: 2 gro-lux, 2 cool whites). Temps medium (70-75º) in new tank...it was more like 80º in smaller tank). Soil mixes vary per plant but most drosera are in 1:1 peat/sand. Some in sphagnum (not live). I won't be able to try any plant outside (like capensis or binata) until spring/summer. The binata had no dormancy as it was a baby just starting out in the winter. Consensus was...too young for dormancy at the time.

I have not tried any drosera outside since my very first one (unidentified rosetted) last summer. No matter where I placed it, it stayed dry all the time. So that scared me about sundews outside. I can try the capensis and binata outside once it warms up but that will still be a while. I thought sundews would do well here because VA humidity in the summer can be awful (for humans). The VFTs and sarra's were quite happy outdoors all last summer.

While the adelae is not in PURE spaghnum, its mostly spaghnum and kept wet. But when it was kept very wet...it seems to turn brown like rotting.

Well all the plants are alive and I am working to keep them that way.

Thanks everyone!
Suzanne

 

[chris]

i live in MD and i couldnt leave my d. adelae outside even during summer because it would dry out. i plan to keep my sundews inside year round now

 

[PlantAKiss]

Hi Chris

You are a neighbor...I live in VA. I kept my first sundew (rosetted) outside and it stayed dry as well. Since then I keep all my drosera in a tank but once it warms up, I am going to try some outside like the capensis and binata. I know the adelae wouldn't like it outside so I'm not even going to go there! Everone complains about the humidity here but apparently its not enough for the plants that really like high humidity. They do well in my tank though and I enjoy looking at them inside.

Suzanne

 

[Jackson Twobears]

Hello Again, Suzanne,
I see by your post you’re still having problems with that pesky D. Adelae.
If you remember the last time we communicated by email, I had repotted all of my
D. adelae due to a problem with the growing medium, a mixture of peat moss and vermiculite.
The sodium from the vermiculite retarded the plants development dramatically.  I was able to save better than 80% of them by washing the old growing medium off the roots with rain water and repotted then in 100% sphagnum peat moss with no sand, pearlite or especially vermiculite. I must have done something right as one of them is  blooming right now as I type this and a couple of the others are developing flower stalks as well. I am growing them in an unheated laundry room under flourescent lights. One thing no one has mentioned or asked about is the depth of the pot your growing your Adelae in. I have greatest success with those plants when I use a pot that is deeper than it is wide. Like a 16 0z. Styrofoam cup with a hole poked into the bottom for drainage. The cup can hold more water without drowning the roots of the plant, if that’s your problem.
         As for the D. capensis alba, I am growing them out doors this winter ( I don’t have any room left inside the house.) and regularly leave them outside even when the night time temps hit at or near freezing. I don’t leave them out during below freezing temps. I do bring them into the laundry room for those nights. I have read in several books to never let them go below 40 degrees, but I found it not to be true, at least for me. And those darn things are blooming as well. They have been blooming all winter and don’t appear to ever stop. ( I grew them from seed this past summer.) Some of those monsters have two and three flower stalks on them at any given time. Now I know why some people call them weeds. I can’t kill them, and with all the seed they produce they could easily take over and choke out my Flytrap mini bog. (Sounds of me cranking the weed eater.)
           I hope this has helped a little. Keep us posted on your growing adventures.

Jackson Two-Bears
A.K.A. Rex

P.S. I’ll be launching my web site in a couple of weeks. I wanted to know if you would mind looking it over and telling me what I need to improve it before I open it to the public. If you have time, that is.  Let me know and I’ll send the link to you in a privet email.
Thanks!