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noob questions. Please help...

Hi, I'm new to this and I'm having some problems. I haven't managed to kill anything yet and I hope to avoid it. I recently rescued a couple of sundews and pitcher plant from death cubes and I'm trying to get conditions right. The difficult part is that I live in the high plains of the new mexico/texas border and our climate is not very good for carnivorous plants at all from what I've read. I need to know how I can keep the temperature decent in my terrarium (my houseis not the warmest, it drops to the high 50s in here at night) and how to better control the humidity. In my house it stays at a constant 15 to 20%.
 
Cold for the pitcherplants right now is a good thing, as they need to be in dormancy.
But depending on the sundews, they may or may not to need be cool and dryish or warm and wet.

But you have a terrarium, eh?
For heat, a heating pad (like for reptiles) smacked onto the bottom helps. If you have water in the bottom of it, that'll inevitably create loads of humidity. Clamp lamps with appropriate bulbs are also good heat/light sources for a terrarium.
As for humidity, well, an enclosed space is probably a good idea. Having it without a lid or a screen top won't be doing you much favors.
My little growspace for my lowland nepenthes during winter is kept very humid by the high temps provided by lights with a small bowl of water in there. I do mist every other day too, just for the plant's sake :)

I'm sure others will be able to give you more detailed help based on their experiences!
Welcome and happy growing!
 
I do have a hamster style top on it. The thing is the sarracenias appeared to be dying and I'm pretty sure that they were given the lighting they had and how I'm fairly certain they were watered from the tap. The root's however are healthy looking so they may just be entering dormancy. the sundews are sort of healthy even though they have no dew.
 
If you're concerned about their water, you can flush their pots with RO/distilled/rain water....but as long as the rhizome is firm and you say the roots are healthy, then it's most likely just dormancy- pitchers browning is a common occurrence then. But I'd move the Sarrs to a sunny windowsill, so they can get a reduced photo-period and cool temps they need. Keep them in trays with a low watertable, possibly letting it go dry for a day before refilling it.

As for your dews, this will be able to tell you alot: http://www.growsundews.com/

If you can post pictures of the plants and setup, that'd be incredibly helpful.
 
I don't necessarily know the species of the sundews... I assume that'll have a huge difference.
 
It will. If you can get pictures up, though, people here will be able to ID them for you. Liz has already given you the advice I would have for the Sarrs.
 
Most likely your sundews from the Lowes Deathcubes are Drosera capensis or Drosera adelae, those two are tropical and can be grown indoors under lights year round. I don't THINK they ever put D. intermedia or D. spatulata in those cubes but it may be possible. If it is D. intermedia then this one does need a dormancy just like the Sarracenias (American pitcher plants) and D. spatulata does not need a dormancy.

Do you know about this website: http://cpphotofinder.com/

It's a nice site to try and ID your plants. Look up those Drosera species I mentioned and see if any of those fit what you have. Don't worry about color in the pics you see (it's generally dependent upon growing conditions), just look at leaf characteristics. If you have good light you will turn your green death cube Drosera into a green one with red dew or even all red leaves and red dew. Good luck!
 
Thank you all very much. I am quite impressed with how willing everyone is to help me :). I posted some pics in the identify this plant thread if you wouldn't mind taking a look.
 
It's a Drosera capensis. A media of 50/50 peat/perlite or sand is perfect. Keep it on the tray method for watering. It does not require dormancy and should appreciate the temperatures in your house, though a little warmer wouldn't hurt. As far as I know, it's not a hugely humidity-demanding plant, but it never hurts CPs. It does, however, like a whole lot of light.
 
  • #10
I am quite impressed with how willing everyone is to help me
It's what we're here for! Well that and arguing politics every so often! :D But it's all in good fun.

I agree looks like a D. capensis should be a easy grower for you, keep it wet with pure water (rainwater, Reverse Osmosis or Distilled). Bright light will make shorter/sturdier leaves, color the dew and maybe even turn the leaves blood red!
 
  • #11
It's what we're here for! Well that and arguing politics every so often! :D
Bleh, a debate every now and then is healthy! ^.^
 
  • #12
They have had visible improvement in the past few days. I currently have them situated in between a south and west facing window with a 90 cri 5000ish k bulb and a CFL in a reflector against the front of the tank. I have lined all the walls that don't get much light input with foil. the humidity in my terrarium has gone up some so now it's hovering at about 33%.
 
  • #13
Sounds like you're on the right path!
 
  • #14
Not trying to hijack the thread but was wondering how important air flow is in a terrarium?
 
  • #15
I'm also still new to this, but here's my take and understanding on airflow.

Typically speaking, high humidity + high temperatures + no circulation is a recipe for a whole lot to go wrong in the way of mold and whatnot. Air circulation is pretty important, generally, and it can usually be accomplished pretty easily, even by sticking a small fan in it. It doesn't necessarily have to "fresh" air blowing into the terrarium, just so long as the air in it is moving, making it hard for mold spores to get a good foothold. Fresh air, however, is important at some point. Depending on the density of plant mass in the tank as well as the light available, CO2 can drop pretty quick, which plants obviously need.
 
  • #16
I've actually been wondering about that myself, everything I've read talks about fans on top to dissipate heat, but I figured stagnant air inside couldn't be any good either.
 
  • #17
In my experience I have found that air flow is not necessarily very important. But it does really depend on the species. My terrarium stays very humid, and very stagnant, almost all the time. I've lined almost every inch with live sphagnum and Nepenthes. I've heard so much about there needing to be good air flow that I have been watching and waiting for different fungi to start growing and kill my plants.

So far I have had only one or two casualties, and those were plants that were already compromised to begin with.

Most of the Drosera, Utricularia, and Nepenthes I have grown seem fairly okay with low air flow. That being said, I've heard rumors that Heliamphora and certain species of Nepenthes like argentii, can be more finicky and require fresher air. So to combat that I keep them higher up in tank where the air is freshest and I have been trying to open the top as often as I can.

If all you have for now is a handful of beginner dews neps or sarrs I wouldn't worry too much about regulating airflow. Just see if you can grow them at all first. :)

The most important thing is humidity.
 
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