Question

Nom  

a scratch   I've been suspecting for a while now that my wegie has been taking nibbles of some of my sundews, and I KNOW he's been drinking the tray water.  Last night he decided to chow down on the d. filiformis red. Kinda mad.  Kinda worried about the cat.  Can't find anywhere that says it's toxic to them, so only worried about WHY he ate it (question for a vet), and how to help the plant recover.  

We'll be moving the collection this weekend.  

After a rough recovery from shipping, and brief periods of trying the best distances from the lights, this plant was finally dewing back up and flushing red.  It had even shot out a flower stem, with three pink flowers so far.  I'm extra disappointed in the cat.  I know my growing conditions are right, so the question is how do I help the plant recover better?  Snip everything back down to the growing point and let it heal up or let it come back from this sorry, scraggly looking pile of points?

Thanks!

Answer
Hi Stefani,

Just get the plant back in good growing conditions, and it should recover just fine.  As long as the roots were not dug up it will recover from leaf damage.  Just cut away any damaged areas.

Cats often like to eat sundews.  They are not toxic, and must have an attractive flavor.  Some cp are mildly toxic such as Nepenthes, and some just taste really bad like Sarracenia.  To deter cats from eating them try putting cotton balls treated with peppermint oil around them.  Cats hate peppermint.  You'll have to reapply the oil frequently, but eventually it will turn them off.

Good Growing!

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