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saving my sundews

boxofrain

does this rag smell like chloroform to you?
How Y'all are!?
This is my first posting here, so be gentle with me.
I have a 15"-18" plastic pot full of Cape Sundews, at least two types(color forms) with an unknown Sarr growing with them. This was purchased at our local Fair about 5 years ago. It has since been infested with the everspreading Baby's Tears we have here.
I am not sure where to put the blame on this, but the plants did not seem to grow as large this year as in the past. Would it be from the Baby's Tears, or just need to be repotted?
I was planning on repotting them soon in 1/2 peat 1/2 sand. I am ignorant as to how to transplant these dews and Sarr, do I remove as much root as possible with a spoon, just use water to rinse the roots, or leave some of the soil on the roots.
After seeing some of the beauties here that Y'all grow, I know my plants are not at their full potential. I want to change that.
Thanks for helping a long dormant lover of the CP's
 
Wait for the experts to chime in, but I may be able to help a little. At the very least, it probably isn't a bad idea to repot after these 5 years and get some fresh media for them. 1:1 peat sand isn't terrible by any measure. As far as root disturbance, as long as your careful you should be fine. As I said, some other folks will come along soon enough to offer some more help than I can!
 
How Y'all are!?
This is my first posting here, so be gentle with me.
I have a 15"-18" plastic pot full of Cape Sundews, at least two types(color forms) with an unknown Sarr growing with them. This was purchased at our local Fair about 5 years ago. It has since been infested with the everspreading Baby's Tears we have here.
I am not sure where to put the blame on this, but the plants did not seem to grow as large this year as in the past. Would it be from the Baby's Tears, or just need to be repotted?
I was planning on repotting them soon in 1/2 peat 1/2 sand. I am ignorant as to how to transplant these dews and Sarr, do I remove as much root as possible with a spoon, just use water to rinse the roots, or leave some of the soil on the roots.
After seeing some of the beauties here that Y'all grow, I know my plants are not at their full potential. I want to change that.
Thanks for helping a long dormant lover of the CP's

Well, a repot is definitly in order, but I'd just rinse the roots of with some water (distilled, rain, or RO of course) to get most of the soil off.

When I repot cape sundews in a big pot, I just gently grasp the base of the plant, and use a spoon to losen the soil around the plant till I can get it out.
 
Just curious, what are you doing as far as dormancy? The Sarracenia requires a winter dormancy, and will decline in health if it doesn't experience that seasonal change in temperature and light every year. Meanwhile, the cape sundews are tropical plants and don't require a dormancy. If the Sarracenia hasn't been getting a dormancy, that definitely explains why it hasn't been looking too hot this year.

At any rate, the pot does sound like it's probably pretty crowded (especially with the baby's tears butting in), and after 5 years the soil might be getting pretty compacted. I think a repot definitely sounds like a good idea!
 
EDIT: Welcome to Terraforums! :)


It sounds like you have a pretty decent substrate blend, and D. capensis are usually pretty hardy. As far as repotting them goes, you should probably be as gentle as possible to the roots.

Drosera in general don't have very expansive root systems. Unless you see any mildew or fungal problem, or pests attacking the roots, you should be fine to just take as much root as you can out of the soil and maybe give it a slight shake to get some roots in contact with your new soil.

As Presto mentioned, you probably should separate the Sarracenia from your capensis. They require somewhat different conditions to thrive.

And definitely separate as much of that baby's tear as you can!
 
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Thanks for the helpful replies!
As far as the dormancy for the Sarr,s I have. They are all outdoors under a covered porch for the winter. I live on the S Oregon coast and have a very mild climate, temperate maritime. We get a few days above 90* and a few nights below 40* on the average. With extremes reaching the 100*+ mark and down to freezing once or twice a year is all. So far, I have done nothing but keep them well watered in the trays, moving them into the sun when it is out.
Should I be bringing the D. capensis inside for the cold spell? I also have a nice D. binata "Dichotoma giant" that is doing very well, should it be left out or brought inside for winter as well? I want to repot this too. I want her to get real big this summer, a very striking plant that always gets the attention of visitors. Any special care tips for this one I should bve aware of?
I will get the D. capensis out of that pot today.
Gawd I love this site!
 
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You should bring the two Drosera inside during any freezing temps. They can survive short freezes however. Drosera binata "dichotoma" can go dormant, but I don't think that it is necessary for the health of the plant.
 
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You should bring the two Drosera inside during any freezing temps. They can survive short freezes however. Drosera binata "dichotoma" can go dormant, but I don't think that it is necessary for the health of the plant.

Thanks Mr T!
Your timing is impeccable...we are warned of a light freeze for the next two nights. I will be bringing them in for that.
Yes, the D. binata "Dichotoma" has done very well and has new growth on it at this time, I have just left it out on the covered porch with the others for the last few years at least.
Any suggestions as to the size and shape of pot to put it in for maximum growth? Or special mix other than 50% peat and 50% sand? And most of all, is this a good time to transplant the D. binata "Dichotoma"?
 
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D. binata "Dichotoma" is a spreader with a deep root system, so a pot that is both wide and tall is a good option....something like those geranium pots would work well. The peat/sand mix you mentioned will work great.
 
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  • #10
Your D. capensis would probably benefit from coming inside. That's cool that you are growing them outside, though. I'm a little jealous. :p
 
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  • #11
Got 'er done!
I ended up digging no less and a little more than 40 D. capensis from the mess. I now have them all repotted and in my shop windowsill facing south.
I also repotted the D. binata "Dichotoma" in a 12" round x 16" deep pot.
I took pics of the bunch...but alas, I am not allowed to post attachments at this time.
 
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  • #12
You might consider joining a free image hosting site, I believe it also helps with keeping the forums bandwidth usage down!
 
  • #13
You might consider joining a free image hosting site, I believe it also helps with keeping the forums bandwidth usage down!

I am very pooter illiterate. I can figure a few things out on my own, but have never used one of those sites. Is it very hard to get set up with them to post pics?
 
  • #16
Wow that really was a mess!:0o:

Looks like you got them out in time though. The rhizome looks healthy on the Sarracenia, and the dews all look healthy.

Hope to see them in their prime before long.
 
  • #17
Yes, it was a 3 hour mess getting those little dews free from the Baby's Tears.
I will post pics of the new plantings soon (now that I know how!)
 
  • #18
Yeah i agree with Dex on the sar. It has a great root system and will recover sooner than you think. That pretty much goes for them all. It wont be long before they are all growing great.
 
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