Question
I recently purchased a Drosera Spatulata and it came in the mail in pretty good condition.  I put it in my window where it gets sufficient sunlight and I also have it sitting in a shallow bowl of water.  I also use only distilled water.  After about two weeks my plant's leaves started turning brown and it looks dead, there's also a weird long stem coming out the top.  Is my plant hopeless or is there a chance that when spring comes it will come back to life?  Thanks for your help, John

Answer

Drosera spatulata Hello John-- The "weird long stem" coming from the top of the Drosera spatulata is very probably a flower stalk.

Regarding turning brown, older leaves always turn brown and die at the end of their life cycle. It's the new growth emerging from the center of the rosette (growing crown) that are important to observe. If even the new leaves are turning brown, then the problem may be sunburn (if your conditions are much sunnier than the conditions under which the plant was previously grown) or rot (if you are keeping the plant too wet and it doesn't get enough air circulation).

Brown die-back can also be caused by mineral burn ("salt" burn). The distilled water you are using won't cause salt burn, but an incorrect growing medium could do so. You didn't mention what kind of "soil" the plant is in, but I would caution against using any product by Miracle-Gro, almost all of which have added fertilizer.

You will receive a lot of good comments and help if you post a photo or two of the plant, along with your questions and description of the growing conditions, at an Internet carnivorous plant forum--

FlytrapCare.com Forum
http://www.FlytrapCare.com/phpBB3/

CPUK Forum
http://www.cpukforum.com/