Question
QUESTION:      I have a butterwort and a cape sundew.  I am not sure what type of
butterwort it is.  It came in a kit with my sundew and purple pitcher plant. I
think it's a Mexican hybrid.  Can I send you a pic of it so you can tell me what
it is and its proper requirements?
They were both grown outside during the summer, but now that it's Fall, I am
growing them inside.  They are on my dining room table in "east" sun.  The
sun is very bright there until probably around 1pm. They seem to be doing
well.  The sundew is growing.  Should they be in a south window?
     My south window is in the kitchen.  I didn't want to keep the plants there
b/c I don't want to cook with them in there.  This probably sounds dumb to
you, but I heard that it clogs up pours of plants when you cook with them in
kitchen. It's also very hot and dry for plants when you cook, (so I've heard)
What would happen to dew of carnivorous plant if you cook with them in
there? I also don't have plants in kitchen, b/c when it gets very cold I put on a
portable heater there.
     Lastly, when it gets colder I put heavy curtains up, and therefore there will
be no more light from windows.  Is it ok for carnivorous plants to get light
from only florescent lights? This would only be for the winter.  If it's ok, I
would put the sundew and butterwort in my living room and get a 40 watt
cool bulb to put on them. Thank you.

ANSWER: You can peruse our Mexican butterwort care sheet to make sure your butterwort is indeed a Mexican variety.  There's no reason that you can't keep your plants in your kitchen window.  I have a collection of plants in my south kitchen window.  Many of our customers also grow plants in their kitchen windowsill.  So I recommend a south window over an east window because you'll get a lot more sunlight.  Just keep them away from the stove and you'll be just fine.

You can grow your plants under fluorescent lights as well.  Follow our lighting recommendations outlined in our care sheets:
http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets

Good growing!
Jacob Farin

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

QUESTION:          For the past few days, my sundew has no dew at all on it.  Is this b/c of
not enough light or is this normal for this time of year? I am going to get the
sundew and my butterwort a florescent light for additional light.  They are in
east sun in front of a large window right now.  My kitchen only gets south sun
for about one hour. That's why they are not there. The east sun is there the
entire day.
      Maybe my sundew doesn't have dew on it b/c I used a fungicide spray on
it a few days ago?  (on Sunday) This leads me to my next question.  
        You had said that you used the spray I have Garden Safe Fungicide 3
with no bad effects on your plant.  I sprayed a decent amount of it on all of
my carnivorous plants and their soil. (I sprayed it several times on soil and on
plants to ensure I covered every area well)  When I sprayed the sundew, a
minute later there was white balls all over it.  I had to take a tweezer and pull
theses balls off one by one.  I tried to get as many as I could. These balls
were also on the table where I sprayed. Did this happen to you when you used
it? I hope the spray didn't hurt my sundew.
        I accidentally saturated my butterwort with the spray when I was trying
to spray the moss around it.  The next day the leaves curled a little and I had
to cut off a leave that was affected from the spray. Is the butterwort a fragile
plant? I seem to have the most problems with them.  Many of its leaves are
brown and dead.  Specifically the bottom ones.  Is this normal? They were like
this before I used the fungicide. Thank you.

Answer
It could be from the lower light levels.  The Cape sundew likes it fairly bright, yet cool.  But given that you recently sprayed your plants with a fungicide, you may also need to give your plants more time to recover from the spraying.  The white balls are also residue from the particular fungicide you're using.  This is normal.  You can pick them off, but we generally don't.  

We haven't noticed any adverse affect when we used the product with our Mexican butterworts.  Some leaf curling sometimes occurs, but nothing to the point where we think we need to cut off the leaf.  Each leaf also lives for only a month or so, then it dies off.  So the browned leaves on the bottom are normal.  Just pull them out as they occur to reduce the risk of fungal infection.

Again, give your plants time to recover from the spraying.  It may take a couple weeks.  While this might seem like a set back, you have to weigh it against the risk of the plants dying from the fungal infection.  

For now, give your plants lots of lighting, direct natural lighting whenever possible.  To reduce the risk of future fungal infections, try top watering the soil rather than keeping the plants in standing water.  Water your plants only enough to keep the soil moist, but be attentive to dry soil.  We sometimes recommend this method of watering during the winter months when growers have issues with house mold that affects their plants.  Top watering will wash the fungal spores away, and keeping the soil damp but not wet also helps.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin