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D. adelae - Papery leaves

Been having some challenges with D. adelae. It'll grow strongly and produce numerous plantlets, then for no apparent reason, the majority of the leaves dry up and die off leaving rather unsightly plants. Similar effect to what happens if they receive any form of fertilizer. They're planted in LFS, under bright (but not overly bright) light, and in a high-humidity environment. Anyone else encounter this? I've seen numerous shots of some beautiful plants on this site, and just as mine start to look like that, they take a step or two backward. Any feedback/advice would be appreciated.

<span style='color:red'>Edit: The "specific epithet", second word in binomial species names are always written lower case.</span>
 
One other bit of info...they are watered from the bottom with distilled/RO water, and sit in approx 1/2 of water at all times. Thanks!
 
My adalae must be a dud. :-( the leaves don't look normal. They look kind a like o a wrinkled paper, but they're green... hmmm.. It's
wow.gif
mutated i bet
cool.gif

-the cap.
 
Interesting observation...a well-regarded and knowledgeable member of these boards would take the time to "correct" the genus/species identification (which, by the way, I know but didn't feel I had to be hyper precise when making a post -- what's next, spellcheck?), but fail to offer a useful suggestion about the question at hand. Not offering this in a mean-spirited way, but I was rather startled about the nit-pickiness and lack of viable helpful information. Food for thought.
 
Hey Seattleguy2,

I'm a local here down in Puyallup.  I share your experience growing the adelae at times.  I've had excellent results growing this species in a north kitchen window in pure peat with distilled water 1/2 up the pot.  Now the plants are in a terrarium under better light and humidity, and I've noticed the same pattern you described.  The parent plants die off and the plantlets take over.  From what I read and have observed, this is the normal life-cycle of these plants.  Some say that lower light levels tend to make the plants live longer.  Best of luck to you.  
smile.gif


-Homer
 
I also have had my Drosera adelae produce nice clumps of plantlets, only to have the main plants leaves decline rapidly. This seemed to occur when I took newly acquired plants that were kept in lower light conditions, and placed them in higher light conditions. In most cases the main/parent plant recovered with newer compact and very deep red leaves.

I use rain or distilled water and I do not keep my plants standing in water at all times. I do allow the tank or saucer to dry out for a day before adding water. Care is taken to not allow the medium to dry out. Signs of drying out include rapid loss of dew and even browning leaves. Of course, root rot can also exhibit similar symptoms.
 
Same here, but at the time I did not know it, lol.

Regards,

Joe
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (CaptainDrosera @ Jan. 22 2004,17:18)]My adalae must be a dud.  :-( the leaves don't look normal.  They look kind a like o a wrinkled paper, but they're green... hmmm.. It's
wow.gif
 mutated i bet
cool.gif

-the cap.
check your plant for Aphids!!! look at the underside of the leaf
 
Hi Seattleguy2,

First off, welcome to Terra Forums!

Regarding the work of Pinguiculaman in editing your posts, please don't take it personally: Joseph frequently edits my spelling as well, and I appreciate it. Joseph worked for many years as an editor, so these things are second nature to him.

Proper spelling of the binomials is to be encouraged among members who are hopefully reagrded as friends: it's all part of the education process that these Forums offer. It takes a lot of effort to edit all these posts, so please don't be offended! You are , of course, entitled to spell as poorly as you like and I am sure that Joseph will offer no further correction unless asked ;-)

In regards to your question, if you are using pure mineral free water, and keeping them very moist at all times, then this might just be part of the growth cycle these plants experience. Individual rosettes in my collection, mature, flower and die off, and seem relatively short lived compared to other species. Do your plants flower?

Most of your conditions sound good for this species. LFS is a fairly pure medium, but it is also very low in micronutrients. Perhaps the addition of some rinsed peat/sand to the mix will afford something that is missing presently. Even though these plants grow in nutrient deficient conditions, nutrients are still needed. Being a woodland species, I am sure that rain falling through the canopy of trees also delivers some nourishment to the plants.

I have not found them to be as light demanding as other Drosera species. One issue though: do you regularly change your light tubes? These become less effective over time: 8 months max. Mine grow best in cool conditions, and I keep mine very wet, although other growers seem to have success with other methods as well.

Why not experiment? Take some of the offsets, and use a different protocol: different people have different experiences in growing these plants. No single set of conditions applies broad spectrum accross the board. Try a different substrate, perhaps less humid, more light, more feeding, warmer temps. In other words, if what you're doing isn't working for you, try something else. Once you hit on an optimal combination, stick with it.

You are fortunate that this species is so common and prolific in it's offsetting. If you lose this species, it is easily replaced. Sometimes it seems like whatever I do is wrong when cultivating an unfamiliar species! The thing is to choose one set of variables, and alter just that: be attentive and observe the results. If it fails, change another set.
 
  • #10
<span style='font-size:12pt;line-height:100%'>Seattleguy2,

I have grown many Drosera adelae for several decades now. Mine have often "cycled" between growing very well and nearly dying back to stunted runts. So far, in every instance this has happened it was related to mite or thrips attacks.

Spider mite, cyclamen mite, or thrips can quickly cause this kind of damage but are hard to observe when doing their dirtywork. Careful observation, under magnification, of the lower surface of any remaining live leaf parts will usually reveal the culprits. Even under magnification with a hand lens they are still difficult to see, if the culprits are cyclamen mites - they are so small and transparent they are nearly impossible to see. 15X magnification with a loupe is about the least that provides sufficient magnification for spider mites or thrips identification. A few drops of "cinnamon oil" in about 2 ounces of water sprayed on every plant surface usually does the trick if repeated several times over a period of 7 days.</span>
 
  • #11
I was supposed to get a leaf of this species as well as a N.x ventrata,and P. x `weser') about 1 1\2 months ago ,but havent recieved them yet,did vertigo die or something?
sad.gif
 
  • #12
<span style='font-size:12pt;line-height:100%'>Following are photographic illustrations of what spider mites can do to Drosera adelae:

Web Page with spider mite photos

Here is a photo of an affected pot of Drosera adelae:
d_adelae_spider_mite_infested.jpg


And here are some close-ups of the culprits themselves hiding in the hairs on the undersides of Drosera adelae leaves:

spider_mite_and_egg_d-adelae_200x.jpg
spider_mites_d-adelae_200x.jpg


Another technique that works well if you are more patient is to trim off all stems and leaves with sharp scissors (dispose of them) and then to submerge the entire pot under water for several days to a week, before treating it normally and awaiting the flush of new growth that will then happen from the pot full of roots.</span>
 
  • #13
Thanks Tamlin, PinguiculaMan and others who responded. Spider mite/bugs in general haven't been a problem for me yet (thank god!), but I did try topping two of my pots of plants grown in LFS with a peat/sand carnie mix to see if the added nutrients that are washed down help a bit. And in response to Tamlin, no, they haven't flowered yet...they get to about the size the would, then die back. The rest of my collection grows quite happily, except for D. adelae (<---note, correct binomial spelling), which has this wierd cycle thing going on.
 
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