What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Leaf tips turning brown... why?

juliethegr8t

Instant Addict
I've only had my cape sundews for a couple months, and heck I thought these were the easiest. :) They (one narrow leaf and one red) have been doing what I thought was great until recently. The tips of some leaves are starting to go brown and then dry. This is even affecting leaves that haven't fully opened. Dew production is also down compared to what they were producing a week ago. The plants look fine otherwise - the narrow leaf is ready to flower any day. I even thought maybe that had something to do with it, but the red leaf isn't mature so flowering isn't a factor there.

They're both in standing, distilled water. They are directly under appropriate CFL lighting for about 16 hours a day.

What could be causing this? Now that I took a close look, it appears to be affecting most of the new leaves, so I'm worried. Should I remove the damaged leaves as soon as they show any signs of this happening, or does that not matter? I haven't removed any yet.

Thanks for helping me save my "weeds"! (I love em anyway, they were my first sundew.)
 
They should be outside in full sun, and it's hard to say without knowing more. A picture would be nice.
 
Was there a significant change in their conditions? Have they recently been moved? That would cause a reaction. Other than that, perhaps a recent watering may have been contaminated? I would make sure the water you have, as well as the soil, are clean by flushing the pot. And then I wouldn't make any other changes, as that could set it over the edge. BTW, should it die, myself and I'm sure many others would love to unload.... I mean provide a suitable replacement.
 
Mine did that for a while after they came from hawaii they are not doing it anymore just nice dewy leafs :)
 
I had the same problem when I put it in direct sunlight but all the new leaves that are made aren't turning brown so I think my new leaves have adapted to the more sunlight
 
They could be old leaves, too. All leaves will eventually die.

xvart.
 
Thanks everyone for your thoughts so far, though I'm still at a loss. ??? I got these plants at the very beginning of May. They took about a week or two to recover from shipping but seemed to be doing great with lots of dew and color after that. They haven't had any change in environment since they arrived.

I took a few pics...

IMG_5673.jpg

See the leaf on the far left (about 1/2 brown) and on the right (about 1/5 brown).

IMG_5675.jpg

The tip of the leaf with 1/5 dead. Note that the lighting washed out the colors.

IMG_5677.jpg

And one of my newer leaves that hasn't even finished uncurling yet, and is going brown... This is happening to several.:-(
 
I can't see the one that's going brown before it uncurls, but just looks like old dieing growth to me.

That plant needs more light. Your little energy saver bulbs aren't cutting it I'm afraid.
 
Yeah I think you need more light.
what kind of bulb are you using right now?
 
  • #10
I can't see the one that's going brown before it uncurls, but just looks like old dieing growth to me.

That plant needs more light. Your little energy saver bulbs aren't cutting it I'm afraid.


Hey, there's Bob!

LOL!

Love it!
 
  • #11
It looks like one of older leaves, while newer ones do look fine. While they like light, they do well at window sills. These pics were from 1/4" thick window sills:

D_capensis_Albino_001.jpg


Drosera_capensis.jpg


Drosera_capensis_all_red.jpg


You can try a combination of window and fluorescent light.
 
Back
Top