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D. adelae - I'm Killing My Second One

I'm the worst. I'm killing my second one. This one was thriving in its death cube on my porch until it outgrew it. So I got a Sterilite container and moved it and a smaller one to my room, on a dresser in front of the window, with the Sterilite container over top of them to keep in humidity.

Well for the past few weeks, it's been getting worse looking. And just like last time, I assumed it was not enough light. But today, I checked, and the sun was beating into the container around 11am. I never checked it at that time before. Not only was it super super sunny in there, it was maybe too warm. I pulled the blinds down and took the container off and fanned the area to bring the temp down around the plants.

All the leaves are tilted downward and have no dew. But it still has new leaves coming out. I hope I can save this plant before it's too late. The smaller one, which is just a few plants that came up from roots of the last one I killed, is actually loving it under the Sterilite, with beautiful green leaves and tons of dew.

I don't think I'm meant to ever have D. adelae. :-(
 
Some people just can't grow D. adelae, but pretty much all i've found that you need is very high humidity (mine was thriving in 95+%) and low light levels, higher light levels seem to burn it or cause it to lose its dew if humidity isn't adequate. Heck you'd probably be able to grow it in a sealed tank on a windowsill that doesn't get much light, but beware: it will, in a few short months, produce so many offshoots that'll grow very fast, and you'll never be sure of which plant was the original ever since... good luck though.
 
This is off my website:

Drosera adelae was my first sundew that I tried to grow. After acclimating the plant, I attempted to grow it outside in all but the intense afternoon sun. The plant started to produce less dew on the leaves. Then they started to brown, till everything above the soil was brown and dead. I placed the pot aside and figured that some point I'd clean the pot for reuse. More later.....
I went and got another Drosera adelae. This time I decided to try the plant outside in a shaded location. This plant started to look bad just like the first plant. I decided I had nothing to lose and brought the plant inside to grow on a south facing windowsill in a location that receives about 1 to 2 hours of direct sunlight in the evening. The plant bounced back and has been growing on the windowsill ever since.
The first plant that I purchase and everything was brown and dead, came back to life when the temperatures outside started to cool in the fall.
My learning experience is that Drosera adelae can be a picky plant and play opossum at times when it is unhappy. For me it dislikes direct sunlight for long periods of the day, and hates higher temperatures.
 
I love how they produce so many offshoots. One of my little pots is just 4-5 offshoot plants. And I hate how D. adelae love death cubes and look so healthy and dewy in Lowe's, and then they get into my hands and I kill them.
 
When they are happy they spread like wildfire.

Picture-5360.jpg
 
GORGEOUS pic!

TI think anyone can grow D. adelae if they try to give it lots of light, cooler temps, and reasonable humidity. It can use a lot of light than most people think (and can turn purple-red). Although it likes high humidity, taking off the lid or humidity dome can let a lot more light through, and allow the plant to produce more dew on its own. In my case, when I removed the seal to the container, humidity dropped from 95-100% to 75 or 80%. Although it may not have as much dew for a while, in the long-run this will be better for your plant. So what I'd do is:
1. remove the sterlite container
2. let plant acclimate (can take up to 2 months sometimes before it looks "photo worthy")
3. give as much light as possible if growing indoors

I use fluorescent lights so that I can grow them in my cooler basement. You can tell they start to decline a bit when temps increase to 80 or above. When growing them in 65-70F temps in my basement, they produce a lot more dew, even with less humidity.
 
GORGEOUS pic!

TI think anyone can grow D. adelae if they try to give it lots of light, cooler temps, and reasonable humidity. It can use a lot of light than most people think (and can turn purple-red). Although it likes high humidity, taking off the lid or humidity dome can let a lot more light through, and allow the plant to produce more dew on its own. In my case, when I removed the seal to the container, humidity dropped from 95-100% to 75 or 80%. Although it may not have as much dew for a while, in the long-run this will be better for your plant. So what I'd do is:
1. remove the sterlite container
2. let plant acclimate (can take up to 2 months sometimes before it looks "photo worthy")
3. give as much light as possible if growing indoors

I use fluorescent lights so that I can grow them in my cooler basement. You can tell they start to decline a bit when temps increase to 80 or above. When growing them in 65-70F temps in my basement, they produce a lot more dew, even with less humidity.

So if you get a really good-looking one at the store, you hate to make it go bad and then eventually it'll grow nice leaves? That's sad. :-( I had (have) it under the Sterilite because the central AC is on and keeps the humidity real low.

And I think my plant's been getting too much light indoors, and it only gets 4 hours of morning sun, maybe? Unless it's just been the heat that's been getting to it. That could very well be.

On a side note, I noticed that when I lift the Sterilite container, it smells WONDERFUL under there! Who knew sundews smelled so good?!

---------- Post added at 01:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:32 PM ----------

When they are happy they spread like wildfire.

Picture-5360.jpg

I want some of that!!!!!!!! So that was grown in a house, not in anything special to keep humidity up? Was the house air conditioned, by chance?

AC time is ending, though. The snow in a few months will help make my windows brighter, too, even if there is less daylight time.
 
I'm the worst. I'm killing my second one. This one was thriving in its death cube on my porch until it outgrew it. So I got a Sterilite container and moved it and a smaller one to my room, on a dresser in front of the window, with the Sterilite container over top of them to keep in humidity.

Well for the past few weeks, it's been getting worse looking. And just like last time, I assumed it was not enough light. But today, I checked, and the sun was beating into the container around 11am. I never checked it at that time before. Not only was it super super sunny in there, it was maybe too warm. I pulled the blinds down and took the container off and fanned the area to bring the temp down around the plants.

All the leaves are tilted downward and have no dew. But it still has new leaves coming out. I hope I can save this plant before it's too late. The smaller one, which is just a few plants that came up from roots of the last one I killed, is actually loving it under the Sterilite, with beautiful green leaves and tons of dew.

I don't think I'm meant to ever have D. adelae. :-(


You may be giving it too much light. I find they love bright shade. They also don't need to be covered for humidity. Mine are in a west window, they get bright light and at lost very late afternoon Sun. They turn really red if too much Sunlight. I prefer the green leaf look. They sit in trays with about 1/2 to 3/4" of rainwater. My soild mix is 50/50 Peat moss and perlite. They grow like weeds for me.

dAdalaesummer09.jpg
 
I love the random one coming out of the saucer in that pic. :D
 
  • #10
You may be giving it too much light. I find they love bright shade. They also don't need to be covered for humidity. Mine are in a west window, they get bright light and at lost very late afternoon Sun. They turn really red if too much Sunlight. I prefer the green leaf look. They sit in trays with about 1/2 to 3/4" of rainwater. My soild mix is 50/50 Peat moss and perlite. They grow like weeds for me.

dAdalaesummer09.jpg

Is the west window area air conditioned (lower humidity than just windows open)?
 
  • #11
---------- Post added at 01:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:32 PM ----------


I want some of that!!!!!!!! So that was grown in a house, not in anything special to keep humidity up? Was the house air conditioned, by chance?

AC time is ending, though. The snow in a few months will help make my windows brighter, too, even if there is less daylight time.
Most my plants are not grown in anything special. They are in front of a south facing sliding glass door in my kitchen.
They get A/C in the summer and heat in the winter.
My average humidity for my plants is around 35%. I have dews, Helis, Neps, Pings, Utric, you get the idea, under these conditions.

Take a look at this:

http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108509
 
  • #12
The first one I got( thanks mooo), was a couple days ago, and was messed up a bit from shipping. But after I put it on my window it was fine( as in making 3 new leaves and continueing its leaf from shipping). Humidity is about 20% and it gets up to 100's. Weird? :/
 
  • #13
Is the west window area air conditioned (lower humidity than just windows open)?

NO A/C, that may be your problem if they are in a A/C'd room.
 
  • #14
NO A/C, that may be your problem if they are in a A/C'd room.

Yeah, that's what I'm gettin' at. Outside is so breeze that the dew dries up and then it doesn't make anymore on those leaves, and then inside there's AC, so the humidity is way low and there's no dew.

---------- Post added at 12:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:20 PM ----------

I have a question over here about the one plant's soil. You can see how sorry-lookin' my plant is.
 
  • #15
Through my experiences with D. adelae, they will die back, period. I have never had an established plant acclimatize to my conditions. I lose all growth. Be patient, they will come back from the roots. As far as my conditions go, I grow them inside under four 34-watt T12 bulbs. Humidity is normal household humidity, about 30-45%. They can also seem to take as much water as you can give them. Mine liked it better when I have it standing in water all the time.

I have a few that I stuck outside about a week ago. The growth is struggling and will most likely die back. I have them shaded so they only get the early morning sun. Humidity is whatever the crazy NC weather will give them. Temps are in the 90's or warmer.

Here's a bad picture of my indoor pot
P1030848.jpg


Just my two cents,
Crystal
 
  • #16
Wow, Very NICE pot of Adaleas!
 
  • #17
I have a large pot filled with Adelea, and to mirror everything else you've heard, they can be picky, sometimes. I have noticed that once a leaf loses its dew, for whatever reason, it doesn't tend to ever get it back. Early in May, my pot was turning mostly brown and dieing. At that time I cut it all entirely back to the dirt, and set the pot outside. Now I have a nice full pot of adelae, and am sad that fall is just around the corner. The plants really started to look nice outside.
 
  • #18
I don't do anything special for my adelaes. They are outside here in Mississippi with temps getting near 100 degrees. They get some direct morning sun and partial shade the rest of the day. They have lots of dew and are doing fine.
 
  • #19
i cant grow the species......ive yet to have one live longer than a week.....
 
  • #20
When they are happy they spread like wildfire.

Picture-5360.jpg

So if you get a really good-looking one at the store, you hate to make it go bad and then eventually it'll grow nice leaves? That's sad. :-( I had (have) it under the Sterilite because the central AC is on and keeps the humidity real low.

And I think my plant's been getting too much light indoors, and it only gets 4 hours of morning sun, maybe? Unless it's just been the heat that's been getting to it. That could very well be.

On a side note, I noticed that when I lift the Sterilite container, it smells WONDERFUL under there! Who knew sundews smelled so good?!

---------- Post added at 01:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:32 PM ----------



I want some of that!!!!!!!! So that was grown in a house, not in anything special to keep humidity up? Was the house air conditioned, by chance?

AC time is ending, though. The snow in a few months will help make my windows brighter, too, even if there is less daylight time.

That plant is growing out of the bottom isn't it? :-))
 
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