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D. spathulata very new, very basic

First Id like to say 'Hello,' I've been involved(read) almost all of the orchid and bromeliad sections, and Ive began to get those down. Ive put together two terrariums in the past year and am planning on doing more.
Anyways my D.Spathulata was in one of the terrariums (with a lizard) and I believe the lizard trampled it. I removed it immediately and have placed it pretty much the same way I bought it (in a pot in a tub of water). To get to the point it is turning very dark and looking unhealhy but appears to still be growing. I could go on for days about what appears to be wrong but most of the problems I feel are sequalea from a larger problem.
Is there anyway I can save this plant? Heres my two terrariums:
This is my latest, It has a small stream. One side of the cork bark is moss and aliflor and the other side is coco-bark. The stream falls into the pond at the end to help airate the water.
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And this is my first one, there is a small air pump with diffusor stone to airate and circulate the water.
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Im very new to this and very sorry that I could not find such a Newbie answer. But I need a little help with my first CP, so any would be most appreciated.
Thank you very much
cody
 
Hello,
It seems to me that your spatulata's biggest problem is that it was stepped on. I think that if you have it in the right soil (peat and mineral free sand or perlite), use distilled water to water it and give it plenty of light your plant will live. I once left my bunch of spatulata in the sun for hours and some of them dried up but most survived and new plants appeared to replace the dried up ones. hope this helps at least a bit.
 
LOs,
Thank You,
Like i said, I am new, so any advice is help!
As of now it is in a tub with water at the bottom. THe roots are in the soil the plant came in but underneath that is sphangum moss. Will this suffice?
Also the plant is inoors with a fan blowing in its direction (I understand they like air flow) Should I just put it outdoors?
No direct water spray either, thats bad right?
And lastly, I noticed a small 'worm' like parasite, that is transparent, no clue as to what it is. What should I do about that?
SOrry for the questions Ive been franting over this all day
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. Ive learned its better to ask than to neglect.
Thanks again
cody
 
The "small 'worm' like parasite" sounds like a fungus gnat larvae they are harmless IME.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (pond boy @ May 27 2004,11:24)]The "small 'worm' like parasite" sounds like a fungus gnat larvae they are harmless IME.
Not true pond boy. Fungus gnats are harmless, fungus gnat larvae can be very damaging depending on conditions.
 
That would make since as I have been having one heck of a problem with them (fungus gnats) recently. THere was only one larva that i saw.. I changed the water and placed them outdoors.
I returned to the store where I bought them and they all appeared in the same condition, despite seperate environments, could it have been an infected shipment?
Thank you both.. DOnt be scared to leave out the basics, Its not going to hurt my feelings any
smile_m_32.gif

cody
 
Fungus gnat larvae are evil, (that's my opinion anyway) they're one of the reasons my sandersonii and nephrophylla kicked the bucket. I'd feed as many as I can catch to my sundew or any other sentient being that is eat them.

To answer your other questions:

As long as you're sure it's shagnum moss it will not harm you plant to have it on the bottom of your pots (have some in some of my pots too). It will suffice. If you want your plants outside I'd gradually expose them to more and more sun unless you live in an ultra dry place. If your plants are looking good where they are I'd leave be. Yes air circulation is good and water spray is bad.
 
THanks again
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.
I actually switched the sphangum to perlite. And I put them outside to get them away from my other indoor plants. The funny thing is i bought this to get rid of fungus flies, and now it looks like the only thing I did was introduce more
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.
In florida the natural humidity is rather high, higher than inside b/c of the wonderful a/c. So I think I am going to leave them outthere. As of now they are in no direct sunlight, ill gradually expose them to some natural rays in a short time.
Thanks again
cody
 
I suggest when you begin to give your plants sunlight that you start with just morning and late afternoon sun, broken in some way. Go slowly: until the plants start looking red there is danger of sunburn, and you have mentioned the plant is not strong. Once it starts grwing well, the light can be increased.

I would also advise that you find a way to keep your mix less wet. Vigorous Sundews can take a good deal of less wet conditions. If I were to squeeze the root ball my plants are in, it would only drip a little bit. They don't appreciate sitting in stagnant water.
 
  • #10
The subtle sunlight has seemed to make the world of differnce. I have very little water at the bottom of the bin in order to make the conditions less wet, I will be moving them once again as soon as I can get a better recovery. They already appear to making dew
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.

However, there seems to be large amounts of gnat larvae. I noticed several crawling around, should I take care of them or will they take care of themselves?
 
  • #11
The larve are not a good thing. Once your plant shows it is happy and growing, I would probably transplant it into clean new mix and have done with the worry. These plants are not very sensitive to transplant, provided you dont break the roots.

If the plants don't take I can send you more for postage to experiment with.
 
  • #12
Tamlin,
First of all, Thank you. I have everything needed for the transplant, Im just going to wait for her to turn around a little more, so in about a week I will transplant. I am very grateful for your generous offer, I will get back to you on that one definately, I just dont have the time at the moment to take on anything new
smile_h_32.gif
. But I am finding the CP world to be most enjoyable, and this site has made my experience even better, thanks again.
Cody
 
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