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Drosera adelae lighting

I am new to growing CP, and I bought a D. adelae and I don't have any windows that get any sun fot more than an hour or so. But I found a old reptile light (I think UV) That was kind of bright. the good thing about this light is it had two normal light fixtures. I put two 23 watt full spectrum compact florescent bulb in it. The bulbs only put out 1600 lumens each. Is this ok or do I have to have shop lights? ( I will have to do some serious rearranging of furniture to fit a 4 foot shop light in my house)
 
the CFL bulbs are fine. i used to use them. however expect a little die back as D. adelae dosent like too much light. but with patience you can adjust it very well.
Alex
 
My concern was it wasn't getting enough light so i put the two lights in. they arnt as bright as the other bulbs. they wouldn't be able to light a whole room.
 
as long as they are within 12in from the plant (for starting out) they are fine. over the next few weeks you can move them closer and closer to your sundew

Alex
 
Anyone have a lux meter and can tell me/us what the lux reading is at the plant? Lumens doesn't really help when we are talking about how far to move the lights and stuff. Also, i hear more light the better, then i hear they don't like too much. So how about just a number here with a lux meter. Right now with my 18 watt light about 2 inches from my plant i get a reading of about 4000 lux.

Just for reference, sunlight on a normal day can range from 32000 to 100000 lux.
 
there are only 3 CPs that i know of that dont like high light.
D. adelae
D. prolifera
D. schizandra

all other love the light. ive adjusted my D. adelae to higher lighth levels. mine has a great coloration...though it dosent keep its leaves for long
IMG_1435.jpg


Alex
 
They also do well under artificial lighting. They flower and produce plantlets under both conditions.
 
Of the three species mentioned, Drosera adelae can color up nicely with strong artificial light, or even strong San Diego, California sunlight. They become a dark, almost blood red with a hint of orange:
d_adelae%20004_sml.jpg

They seem to be a magnet for spider mites, which can quickly devastate the above-ground parts of the plant. After a bad spider mite attack this species often returns, in-force, from its root system.
 
Wow I didn't know you could expose Adelae to that amount light.
 
  • #10
Wow I didn't know you could expose Adelae to that amount light.

I think that what we read in the books and regurgitate on the discussion forum is that D. adelae and the like can tolerate lower light and still be healthy, as opposed to many other plants that just plain need more light to be healthy - like VFT's.
 
  • #11
High light levels are appreciated by just about every species of Drosera, but this process needs to be done gradually, in stages, similar to you getting a deep tan. Too much too soon and the chloroplasts die and so goes the leaf (or plant if the center meristem dies). As mentioned previously the "Queensland Sisters" are the most ammenable to lower light culture, and such conditions will produce monsterously large specimens. With Drosera adelae I guess it all depends on which coloration you prefer as to how you'll provide light for them. Once the plant is happy it will provide many offsets that you can experiment with. LOL, and I remember when this plant was a rarity in the U.S. and took months to import from Australia. Glad to see times have changed, now if we could only have a similar success story for Drosera chrysolepsis, hey?
 
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