Question

Sundew D.adelae  
Sundew D. adelae up cl   QUESTION: 1)I have been growing a 4" Droscera adelae sundew for 3 months, 2) and it had been lush and expanding its green growth when suddenly most of its leaves turned brown and mushy.  I removed most of the damaged leaves and it is not reviving.  

3),4) Its been growing in a tropical indoor condition, a bathroom with skylight and artificial lighting.  I have tropical orchids, etc and free roaming veiled chameleons and day gecko, however the animals have had no contact with the sundew in question....temp range max 80-68 min. Water with RO, except spray lightly with tap from Bay Area where ph is 7,5-8.0 typ.  I have used tap on orchid containers that have dripped into the pot from above, but not a problem in the 3 months.  I do feed my nepenthes occasional fruit flies and did put some on the sundew and it grew more, repeated that once again.

5) picture attached?  Might not attach so will send via my email

ANSWER: Hi Maria,

I got the photos, thank-you.  Since your plants were growing fine for about three months chances are the misting with tap water caught up with them.  If you are seeing a pH as high as 8.0 your tap water is probably pretty hard.  Minerals have finally built up to a toxic level for the plant, and D. adelae tends to be pretty sensitive to minerals.

I see you still have some little live shoots, and the roots could still be alive.  Flush your pot with your R.O. water, and cut off the stem of the dead plant.  Give it some time, and you may see new growth in the form of little plantlets developing from the roots.  Avoid misting.  It's of no benefit to sundews, and as you've discovered, can be problematic in some situations.  Also, make sure the plant's soil never gets dry at all.  Many sundews can tolerate some drying, but Drosera adelae does not.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I will flush the pot,  but you say cut off the stem...is it just one plant I have or many?  Wouldn't I be cutting off the little plantlets too? Or are you saying to cut all the foliage away and the roots will send out new plantlets...

Also, c.Can I overdo the fruit flies for the sundew that I have around the frog cages?

I will stop misting!

Thank you so much...

Answer
Hi Maria,

Just the dead ones.  Leave the living ones alone.  Clip them right at the soil surface.

Since fruit flies are so small you're not likely to overfeed.  Just be sure they are on sticky leaves and not dry ones.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com