Question
QUESTION: I am in your tropical plant of the month club and I have received a number of sundews. I live in Mi in zone 5/6 (kind of on the border). I started getting plants in January, then 3 in March. They have been doing very well over the winter, very dewy and lots of growth. Now all of a sudden my lance-leaf is dying back rapidly, my multi-fork leaf is gone and my alice is looking very poorly. No dew and very floppy leaves. My tropical pitcher plants however are doing fabulously. I have the plants under 2 40 watt flourescent bulbs on my plant stand. The sundews are sitting in distilled water 24/7, no fertilizers and I have not repotted anything. What is going wrong?

ANSWER: Hi Linda,

Just based on what you've written, it's a bit difficult to diagnose the situation without examining the plants myself.  First off, however, I was wondering how far the lights were from the plants.  Ideally the lights should be about 6-8 inches above the plants (at the wattage you've indicated).  If they were much higher than that, that would certainly be an area to investigate.  Sundews are fairly light intensive plants.  If the lights were not strong enough, it'll make sense for the multifork leaf sundew to go first, followed by the Alice sundew and lance leaf sundew.  They may have responded OK initially to the lights, but after time weakened.

If the lights were at the recommended distance, then I would either consider a possible bug that got into the soil.  Given that the plants seem to die back rapidly all at once, this is likely.  Look for small flying insects around your plants, such as fungus gnats.  While the adult gnats eat soil fungus, the larvae will live in the soil at munch away at the roots.

If you see any of these critters, spray your plants with a water-based insecticide.  Safer?brand has a prepared solution that works very well.   As always, follow the directions indicated by the manufacturer.

You've also mentioned that you have tropical pitcher plants that are doing very well.  Are they also sitting in the same water as the sundews?  The tropical pitcher plants shouldn't sit in water and should be grown as regular houseplants.  If they are sitting in water, the coconut husk that we use in the mix will breakdown very rapidly and release its nutrients into the water, which in turn will be absorbed by the sundews.  Sundews are very sensitive to nutrients, which could also explain their rapid decline if the tropical pitcher plants are sitting in the same tray of water.  Over time, the tropical pitcher plants will also decline as a result of root rot.  So remove the pitcher plants from the tray if they are sitting in water.

I guess I could continue writing, but without really knowing more details, I'll just be taking a shotgun approach without any real precision to my recommendations.

Could you follow-up with more details?  These sundews are very easy to grow, so if they are declining rapidly, then something is certainly amiss in the growing conditions.  To be sure, I checked the batch of plants that your plants came from, and I haven't noticed anything unusual about them.  

Please include more information about light distance, whether or not all of your tropical plants were sitting in the same tray of water, any presence of bugs, or anything that could provide more clues to this mystery.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin

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

QUESTION: Each plant is in it's own water source so there is no chance of communal infection. The lighting distance is correct, I measured the distance when the plants first arrived. I did notice some gnats, the lance leaf caught a good many of them. I don't think there is nay hope for the fork-leaf and possibly not for the Alice, but the others I might be able to save. Should i spray the pitcher plants also?

ANSWER: With the lights at 6-8 inches above the plants and each plant in its own water dish, we can safely rule out light and water as factors.  Since you noticed some gnats, we can at least assume that's where the potential problem could be.  Spray your plants with a water-based insecticide, such as the one I recommended above.  You may need to repeat the application in a week.  Just spray around in the soil.  This should take care of both the adults and larvae.  You should also spray the soil of your Nepenthes as a precaution.  

We normally don't do this, but given the circumstance, I'll make an exception.  I'll make sure that you receive replacement plants in your next plant shipment in May.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin

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

QUESTION: Would it be wise to spray all new plants just as a precaution or is that too much of a good thing?

Answer
You can, but the problem is that wet soil attracts fungus gnats like an overripe banana attracts fruit flies.  These insects are ubiquitous and they'll eventually show up.  If you prefer, you could simply spray your plants on a monthly or bimonthly basis.  This is the only way to really prevent future infestations.  If you choose this route, I encourage you to use natural products, Orange Guard?  You'll need to do an internet search for this product since it's not ready available at many garden centers.

Products with pyrethrin will also be fine.  This compound is extracted from marigold flowers.  As always, follow the directions indicated by the manufacturer.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin