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Newb with a Sundew

I believe that I have a descent grasp on taking care of my new sundew that I found at Lowes, but I need help on two things:

1.) How do I let it get sunlight without letting all the beads dry out

2.) How do i feed it!!!!!! I've tried small crickets and flightless fruit flies. They don't even stick to it, they just crawl all over it like it was nothing!

Please help!!!!!!!
 
Lowe's sundews are usually Drosera capensis (longish flat leaves, last 3rd has tentacles), Drosera adelae (long pointy leaves) or Drosera spatulata (spoon shaped leaves). These are all sub-tropical species and you should be able to grow them outdoors at least part of the year or on a bright sunny windowsill almost anywhere in the 48 contiguous states. Drosera spatulata has temperate forms and may need/go dormant.

To answer #1:

a. Make sure it has plenty of water. Use rainwater or water that has been purified by distillation or reverse osmosis with not salt or other minerals added. Your local tap water maybe ok, but unless you know for sure stick with the above. Put the pot in a small tray, deep dish or other container filled with at least a quarter inch of water.
b. Make sure the plant gets at least 3-4 hours of direct full sunlight a day.

Given a & b and the plant is not dormant it should produce dew that does not dry out in the sun.

Depending on what shape the plant is in when you got it, it should start producing dew in a few days. If the plant was dried out or light starved when you got it, it may not produce dew on any of the existing leaves and you have to wait for the next set of new leaves to open this might take a week or two or more. Sometimes it takes a few days for new leaves to produce dew too.

#2

Once the leaves are nice and dewy flightless fruit flies should get trapped easily. Crickets, except for the smallest you can buy, maybe too big or strong to get trapped. You could try putting them in the freezer for a few minutes to slow them down, not kill them, and put a cricket on the a leaf with some tweezers, working it into the dew gently.

You might need to give the plant a little kick start by fertilizing with a small amount of powdered freeze dried blood worms. The same store where you bought your crickets or fruit flies should have the blood worms typically as food for bettas. Take a tiny pinch and crush it finely. Sprinkle the powder onto the plant then mist ever so lightly with a spray bottle.

If the plant is outdoors, it will probably feed itself.

See this thread.
 
Actually, I've never seen anything other than an etioltaed D. adelae. This picture has a D. adelae all the way to the left and a D. capensis all the way to the right:

Strausplants0211.jpg


Both grow very well at window sills, open tray method. Just give them light and an inch or so of water.
 
Jim, you gonna cook those guys?
 
If your leaves are looking a little brown and death-ish you could try the following: cut off the plant at the roots and then wait for tons of little baby plants to regrow in your conditions. I did this with a Lowe's dew and the little square "pot" was overflowing with large dews within 6 months. I've noticed that D. adelae regrows from roots very easily. Of course, you may not want to just hack away at your new plant.

Welcome to Terraforums!

xvart.
 
It must be a regional thing as I've yet to see one of the Cubes of Death at Lowe's or Wal-Mart here in SoCal. Most of the time it's D. spatulata (Gubler's) once in a while it will be D. capensis (Booman's Floral) in pots with a dome or plastic bag cone.

I'm curious to track down the nursery that puts out the cubes.
 
How do I let it get sunlight without letting all the beads dry out

the drops of liquid aren't water. sometimes new growers will spray their sundews with water, thinking that the plant needs extra humidity to form the dew. this isn't so. the drops are actually a sticky/digestive fluid that the plant produces when it's healthy. and the way to keep it healthy is to make sure the soil doesn't dry out, and that the plant gets plenty of light. it seems a little illogical, but the way to keep the beads from drying out is by letting it get lots of sunlight!
 
It must be a regional thing as I've yet to see one of the Cubes of Death at Lowe's or Wal-Mart here in SoCal. Most of the time it's D. spatulata (Gubler's) once in a while it will be D. capensis (Booman's Floral) in pots with a dome or plastic bag cone.

I'm curious to track down the nursery that puts out the cubes.

Wait, those cubes are bad!?
 
Most sundews don't grow in 100% humidity around-the-clock. The cubes just keep the plants alive long enough for a nursery to ship them to a store and have them sit on a dark shelf for a month or so without anyone having to water them. Really, it's an invitation for disease. Sundews need wet soil, not wet air. Without air circulation (and, in most cases, some top watering to circulate water in the soil) the plant can't respirate efficiently, and low air circulation and high humidity also conspire to promote the growth of pests like fungus.
The thing about carnivorous plants is that they approach life as a plant differently than most houseplants. Most CPs come from nutrient-depleted areas, much of the time in areas that are such bad environments for typical plants that the CPs don't really have much competition beside for some low-lying seasonal brush. With lots of water and little or no shade, a plant can produce far more chemical energy (in the form of sugars and such) than it needs to grow and reproduce. Sundews depend on keeping their leaves dewy to catch prey, so you can bet that they're really, really good and taking up water and retaining it.
~Joe
 
  • #10
more light=more dew for the most part........ive noticed after stress some leaves will completely stop producing dew but the new leaves are really dew covered, so dont make a big deal about the current leaves not making dew.....watch for new growth and see if they produce dew. as a newbie i killed more sundews to the high humidity of a terrarium than to any other source. most sundews do not need high humidity. they want lots of light and good air circulation
 
  • #11
Oh also quick temperature changes, like from moderate to very cold makes the dew just fall off, as my binatas saw in the greenhouse.... :(
 
  • #12
Roughly how long should I wait until I expect to see improvement with my sick sundew? I've been sitting it in direct sunlight all day long and then covering it in it's cube at night with a light over it until I go to bed usually between midnight and 2 am. Honestly, it either has been staying the same, or it's been getting worse. I think it's getting worse but I'm worried I might be biased by my anxiety about its condition. I've been doing everything right-- from what I've been told on this forum-- but I haven't seen any improvements and it's already been a week.

The plus is that no more leaves have died, but the dew content has diminished.
 
  • #13
Hmm....what light? Is it getting any out side sunlight? Temps like too hot or cold? Not enough water....?
 
  • #14
Hmm....what light? Is it getting any out side sunlight? Temps like too hot or cold? Not enough water....?

Outside direct sunlight, 75-85 degrees, and enough water to keep the pete moss damp.
 
  • #15
First, throw the top of that cube of death away....Have you repoted? If not go ahead and do so. Second, seems like you are giving it an awful lot of light, plants have to rest to so you might look at cutting back on the hours of light. I give mine around 14 hrs a day. Now far a direct sunlight, I all most cooked mine in direct sun but once I moved it to and area that got indirect and adding fluorescent tubes it stated doing much better.

I also agree humidity plays no part in drew production, mine are growing at around 20% and dewing just fine. It did take some new growth before I started seeing a significant amount of dew.

When I water, I use distilled or the water that comes from the outside Air Conditioner drain pipe. After all, being in the south, I can fill a 5 gallon bucket in a day.. Plants seem to be loving it.

I hope this gives you some ideas as these are the ones my Sundews from Lowes are leaving and eating well by. Keep us posted. Hey do have ant pictures you could show us?

Chris
 
  • #16
I only put on the cube top at night to fend off the cats. I'm using distilled water from the store and they it's getting 6-10 of direct sunlight. It was doing okay before I started giving it all the sunlight people kept suggesting and since I started that routine it's been dieing quicker and quicker. It's even stopped being able to accept the bloodworm I've been feeding it because it's been so unhealthy. This is aggravating to say the least.
 
  • #17
if its adelae that much direct sun will kill it.................adelae and its 2 reletives are the exception to the rule..............do you have a pic? if not look at pictures of D. adelae, D. capensis and D. spatulata and let us know for sure which it is
 
  • #18
it's an adelea for sure, so how much light should I give it then?
 
  • #19
Don't havw adelae but they like lower light levels wait for someone else to give you more info but put it in lower light for now......................
 
  • #20
In nature these grow in areas of partial or dappled sunlight. So either put it on a windowsill where it only gets a few hours (2-4 hours) of morning sun (east or north facing are best). If not, make sure it is partially shaded by other leafy plants or 50% shade cloth for most of the day - a couple of hours of direct sun (morning preferably) would be fine.

Or a plant shelf or terrarium but not within inches of the lights as with most sundews.
 
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