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Hey all,
Im going to start this topic as a newcommer. A very annoyed newcommer. You see, i have a problem. I can grow some plants very well, and others very suck. The weirdest thing is, its usually easier plants that i end up killing.

My plants are in a 20L tank with three flourecent terrarium bulbs no more than a foot above the plants (at most). I have a glass cover that the lights sit on that i keep open about two inches to let some air in and out. The humidy hovers between 45 and 85% (usually around 60%). The temperatures have been fluctuating, but mostly between 50 and 85 degrees. I mist the asian pitcher plants and the sun pitcher every night and a couple of times a day to keep the humidity up. I use reverse osmosis water and the lights are on for 15 hours a day.

As for the plants that i have grown successfully;
N. Ventricosa (both normal and 'red')
Dionaea Muscipula typical
D. Spatulata
S. Purpurea
H. Heterodoxa x Minor (new, but seems to be doing ok)
N. Gracilis var nigrapurpurea (again, new but doing ok)
D. Scorpidos (some problems at first, but now doing well)
D. Zimbabwe (Hasnt gorwn much, but hasnt died either)
S. Alata (young enough to fit in the terrarium)

Now for the bad list for whatever reason, these plants didnt work;
D. Capensis (tried several times, with several plants. The gorwing head turns grey, than dies and spreads)
D. Regia (was doing very well for a while, gorwing in spurts, than it just stopped and died, though i have been told that they can come back sometimes)
D. Aliciae (i seem to have problems with small rosette sundews)
D. Borneo 8
D. Sessilifolia (both of these apear to be on their way out)
S. flava (might make a recovery, i changed some things)

If you have any thoughts, or if your in the same predicament, let me know. I morn the plants greatly (esspecially the d. regia. I loved that plant... little nice guy). My only thought is that it might be a bad infestation of soil knats. I have been told they are relativly harmless to most plants. But the ones i was talking about were mostly young plants that might have been overwhelmed. To counteract this i have tried moving sundews and pings closer to the infected pots, in the hopes that the plants would eat the adults.

any thoughts? Let me know.
 
Terrariums are unnecessary for a lot of sundews, especially D. capensis, and I don't think they're good for regia either... I seem to remember hearing that they are prone to mold due to the still, humid air. The Sarracenia should go outside - I don't think any reasonable fluorescent lighting rig could fulfill the needs of an upright pitcher plant. Do some searches on the forums for the Drosera that you've got in the terrarium right now and see how many of them actually need humidity. The rest should be removed from the tank. All of my Drosera, both the tropical indoor ones and the outdoor ones, do just find with humidity dropping into the twenties almost every day.
Best luck,
~Joe

PS - While misting is a definitely good thing for Heliamphora and Sarracenia, Drosera mostly dislike it, I think because it washes away their glue.
 
Yeah. I know about the misting. i never mist the Drosera. They are on the other side of the tank from the Heliamphora and the Sarracenia and i am very careful not to hit the sundews. Is there a happy middle ground for humidity between the plants like the sunpitchers and and ones that dont need as much like D. capensis. Like 40%?
~jeff
 
Well, that's just the thing... you don't need a middle ground. Just take the Drosera out of the tank. Then you can give the Helis and Neps the humidity they want, and the Drosera will get the air circulation that they like. Drosera don't need necessarily dry air - I suspect you could grow plenty of different Drosera in totally saturated air, so long as it was well circulated.
~Joe
 
hehe, the thing is, being in the tank protects them in many ways, not least of which from my housemates cat. Should i try to increase air circulation... like by blowing a small fan across the openining in the tank?
 
Well if they need to be enclosed, maybe try getting a small muffin fan in the tank with them... I'm not totally sure. I only grow Neps in a tank, and they love still air, so I don't have to manage this kind of situation. If you had a fan blowing across the top, I have a sneaking suspicion that it will change the humidity much more than the air circulation, and that might not make your Neps happy. But in a pinch, it's worth a try.
~Joe
 
I've often wondered why people claim that misting is not good for sundews. Although I don't mist mine, I would assume that most of them recieve a fair amount of rain in their natural habitats. I leave some of mine outside to the open elements and they get rained on quite frequently. It does wash the dew away, but it usually reapears the next morning, it also washes the carcases of consumed insects away, which probably is not a bad thing.

JJ
 
I think it's just that most sundews are accustomed to seasons where rains are punctuated by consistently dry periods. They also get brighter light outdoors than your typical CPer terrarium. My cape sundew does fine out here in the NW coastal rain, and starts to get sticky just hours after it begins to dry, but when it lived in a tank briefly with my first Nepenthes, where I would mist every morning for the Nep, it did horribly. I think it just exhausts them... I would guess that making the goo takes a fair amount of sugar, so replenishing the supply every day would leave little energy left for other needs.
~Joe
 
SO, would it be better, for protection and lighting level sake, should i create a second terrarium for sundews that i let humidy fluctuate lower than my main tank

~jeff
 
  • #10
COB,

Never had a problem with dews and cats.....Now sars, helis and neps, on the other hand, need to be kept out of reach. I'd say you can safely take the dews out of the tank.
 
  • #11
Actually, i did have a problem once with a sendew and a feline. I had a d. spatulata clump on a windowsill. One day i was watching tv when my housemates cat jumped up on the couch with me carrying the entire clump by a flower stem. He had ripped it out of the pot. Luckally, i was able to repot the plant and its doing fine now. ACtually, while im here, let me ask a question. I have just recently gotten a P. Primuliflora. How will that do in the conditions of my terrarium? SHould it be misted? Overhead watered? Or just tray method with no overhead?

~jeff
 
  • #12
Hmm, I am growing N. rafflesiana, D. capensis, H. heterodoxa x minor, and more in a 10g tank with humidity that fluctuates between 40% to 80% (usually around 45-50%). I never mist any of these plants, and have 2 80mm fans blowing over the tank.

All the plants are doing great, the D. capensis is spreading like a weed and the N. rafflesiana is growing so quickly that I will need to move it soon.

Do you keep the sundews in consistently wet conditions? What soil mix do you use? If you have your own RO filter, have you tested it to make sure it is functioning properly?

-Ben
 
  • #13
The sundews are in a constantly wet condition. I keep them on the tray method, adding about an inch or so of water everytime the water level is below 1/4 inch. I dont use a fan, so maybe the problem is air circulation. I use a one part Canadian Sphagnum peat to one part sand, though i dont know if the sand is lime free. I get my water from a local supermarket's RO unit. I dont think its the water, because that would have killed off my other plants that i have had alot longer. It might be the sand. It might be air circulation, a situation that might be resolving itself soon now that its actually warm enough where i live to be able to open the windows during the day, and the terrarium is right by the windows. I have moved two of the sundews in question out of the terrarium and onto my desk by the window and suplimented by a shop lamp with a grow bulb in it.

The funiest thing about this whole set up is my housemates cat (an animal that i would love to throw on a bbq). On the rare occations that i allow him in my room, he likes to chase flys around. The fly's looking for a safe spot, usually wander into my terrarium. Much to the dismay of the cat, who's loud , whinning complaints usually get him thrown out of my room at great velocity. The cool think is, one the fly is in there, i can close the lid all the way, take off the front cover so that i can see inside, and take bets on what plant the fly will land to its doom. Its called, "CP roulete" Its great, i suggest you try it.

~jeff
 
  • #14
Oh yeah Ben,
If the d. capensis is a weed... and you feel the need to get rid of some... but you dont want to throw it in the trash... i could always try again...

~wishful thinking
Jeff
 
  • #16
Did you wash the sand with pure water before potting the plant in it?  I have seen lots of advice about doing this.  You may want to just try a peat-only mix on a few sundews so you can find out of this is the problem.

If you need better circulation, you can install an 80mm computer fan or one of those really small AC fans available at some stores (I have only seen them at Fred Meyer here, I don't know if they are available where you are).  The computer fans usually require wiring, and also need a transformer if they are DC.  You can usually find a suitable transformer for $1 at Value Village and a fan at a computer store from $4-$5.

As for D. capensis, its weedlike qualities are one of the things that make it so cool.  If you don't believe me, check this out, it used to be a single plant:
cape1.jpg


I may be able to give you some if you don't mind them being small.  PM me if you're interested.

Edit: I forgot to ask if you made sure that the water machine at the store does not add any sodium. Although it seems OK since your other plants are doing OK, some plants may be more susceptible to minerals/salt than others. I know Nepenthes are supposed to be less susceptible.

-Ben
 
  • #17
Ben
that is a beutiful pot. Thye cape sundews are some of my favorites, which is why i keep trying. I havnt been washing the sand. so next time i have to transplant or pot any plants ill try that first. I was also thinking about trying a one part peat to one part perlite and seeing if that works. Or maybe trying long fibered sphagnum and perlite. As for air ciculation, i think the two open windows behind the terrarium (North facing) get a nice breeze through that goes right over the tank. It has only been warm enough here to do this consistantly over the last week. I think this might give me the circulation i need... as well as blow a tank full of insect attractants through the house. I posted a picture of my terrarium (with some younger plants that im waiting for to get bigger before i rearange the tank for looks, rather than easy of use) under the terrarium picture topic. Let me know what you think.
 
  • #18
aclimate everything except for the nep and heliamphora and put it outside. they will fluorish. you can keep the nepenthes and heliamphora in the terrarium and use the extra space for more plants (woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!)


you can grow the heliamphora outside if your careful about it. be sure to respect the dormancy requirements of the sarracenia.
 
  • #19
Eh, outside where i am isnt a great idea. The nights still go down below 55 consitantly. Sudden thunderstorms during the day are unpredictable, and you never know when the wind is going to pick up a pot and toss it around. In addition, the wild animals here are hungry. maybe ill try putting them outside when i get back to my home state (delaware.... weee) but thats not for another week.

Jeff
 
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