Question
sick plants
Hi, I ordered some plants from you back in March or April.Two of the several plants I purchased (D. aliciae and Piguicula moctezumea)are declining while the others are thriving under the same conditions. I live in Provo, Utah.
I'm just perplexed why they've been declining in health. If there was something wrong with the water or lighting, I would expect my other plants to be declining as well. I've been using water from an R.O. foucet at my college for several months, but started buying bottles of distilled water a couple weeks ago to try and rule out water contamination, though I think that is unlikely. My only thought is that it might be a root fungal infection or something. As you can see in the pictures, the leaf tips are browning and are not fully developing in the D. aliciae, and the P. moctezumea seems to be trying to go dormant and the leaves die very quickly after developing. I did repot the D. aliciae about a week ago, but I really did no more than dig them up, look at the roots, and reareange them in the same soil. The roots lookes healthy, with white growing tips, but I'm no expert. The temp. never gets above 80 f in the growing area, and all the plants are several inches from flourescent lights, always standing in water. They are in the same soil you sent them in. What do you think might be the problem, and how might I fix it?
Thanks
Richard
AnswerHi Richard,
It looks like you have a couple problems going on here. For your sundews it looks like they are not getting enough light. I can tell from the photo (Thanks for sending that. It helps so much.) the older leaves are red, but all the newer ones are very pale; dead giveaway. They need to be much closer to your light. Try to get this one within 3 inches of the fluorescent light, depending on what kind of light it is.
The Pinguicula moctezumea is probably too wet. This plant along with P. primuliflora are very prone to rotting. They seem to be at their best when they are in large pots where the soil is damp, but not super wet. P. moctezumea also needs a bone dry dormancy. In any case it is fussy at best. Transplanting these plants to larger pot will help. The sundews would also benefit from a larger pot since D. aliciae has very long roots.
Good Growing!
Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com
