Question
Dying Leaves on Butter
Hey! I've noticed that the older leaves on my Aphrodite Mexican butterwort keep turning brown & dying off. Fortunately it looks like the plant is still growing vigorously. Is this something normal for the butterwort? She is grown in am open air terrarium, without a lid, under blue spectrum grow lights (approx 8 hours/day). I have her set up higher in the terrarium because I know that butterworts are not swampy plants & prefer slightly drier conditions. She's produced two babies, but they too are doing the same thing. What do I need to change to help them loose less leaves?
AnswerHi Rexenne,
Not a thing. Your plant is perfectly healthy, and this is the normal process of new leaves growing and old ones dying off. The reason it's so obvious on a P. x "Aphrodite" is that the leaves are erect as opposed to something like Pinguicula moranensis that hugs the ground. On the ground hugging varieties you just don't see it as much.
Simply cut off the old ones for good hygiene. You'll probably find in your open terrarium environment that P. x "Aphrodite" is quite prolific, making many new plants, and eventually filling most of the space.
Good Growing!
Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com
