Question
I had a question about the sticky substance the sundews produce on their leaves and such. I almost always have them under my 4, 4' indoor shop light. They are about a foot away from the light. However, when inside, they rarely produce any sticky substance upon their leaves, yet when I place them outside they eventually always produce a healthy amount of their goo. It hasn't even been sunny at all lately, as we've had lots of clouds, rain, and thunderstorms, so I didn't think it was a question of the amount of the light they were receiving indoors.

So my main question is this; could it be that my light is somehow too close to my plants and it's drying them out, which is why my sundews can barely produce any dew upon their leaves when indoors under my light? (I use fluorescent.)

Thanks!

Answer
Hello Devon,

I understand your concern about the proximity of your sundews to your florescent lights, however; I have Drosera adelae, partial/indirect light sundews, some within two inches of florescent lights, and they all produce large amounts of dew. I have 40-50 percent humidity in my home, but humidity is not really the main factor.

I beleive what you are seeing is a light problem. Even with clouds, storms, and overcast conditions, outside light is generally well above the levels of indoor light and of a greater spectral range. Try placing the sundews closer to your light source, making sure that the tubes are cool white of the T-12, 40 watt variety.

In addition, try to redice the amount of moving around with the plants. Plants can be stressed by environmental conditions changing drastically. Inside and outside temepratures and humdity may be very different, thereby stressing the plant beyond tolerance limits continually. Once they adapt to a location, it is best to keep them there and let them do what they do best, be planted plants.

Christopher