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I feel like a Newb again.

Kate

Far too old to grow up now.
2 years is longer than it seems! It is even long enough to forget EVERYTHING I once knew about CP and make D. capensis challenging again.

Well okay maybe not everything. I knew it was a "Cape sundew" when I saw the poor neglected little dew sitting in a tray of calcium encrusted tap water in the driest commercial greenhouse I have ever been in, wedged in the back behind a slew of half dead VFT, dried up leuco hybrids and an unknown pitcherless Nep marked simply as "Tropical pitcher plant". I had to rescue the little guy, really I did!

Once I got it home though... yeah... that was a lesson in newbdom all over again. No dew, that's bad, but what do I do about it? Twisted deformed leaves also bad, but what is it caused by? (Still not sure on that one I am guessing the water/dry/lack of light).

I am so glad you guys are here! Several hours of reading, an east facing window where I know humidity is not a problem (My windows cry constantly with condensation) a little more supplemental light to be added in the next few weeks via a window sill extension and Compact Florescent lighting and I am happy to report that the sad little D. capensis has droplets of dew just starting to form on several leaves, a few I had written off as being long past the point of dew producing. :boogie:

Here is a pic of the newly rescued hopefully soon to be weed partially so I can keep track of it's progress but also so if I do something horribly wrong you guys know where I started from.. and I remember the stick poking for lack of pics!

dcapensis1.jpg
 
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Heh, my nursery sells D.adelae and D. Capensis as "Octopus Plants" (whistle-y hypnosis sound not included). I check in every few weeks to see if there are any plants worth saving. I wish they'd get some Nepenthes, but they never do.
 
Sound like you may have some aphid action going on there....I use the "safer" pesticides {pyrethrin} on my sundews with no ill effect. I would suggest looking to see if you can see any pests in the center crown. A little more light too!
 
Leaves will normally brown and wither away with age. The lowest, outermost leaves are the oldest.
 
No aphids, not a total newb, just been over 3 (almost 4) years since I had to give up my entire collection (stupid international borders! The botanical gardens appreciated the donation though so not all bad I guess) and haven't been in a situation to keep anything requiring more than a window and some tap water alive long term indoors since then. Haven't even tried in the last 2 years.

The window is the best I can provide for light at the moment. It's not fully east, more of a east southeast direction, it gets full sun from sun rise until around noon then bright light until around 3 pm. Considering it is dark by 5:30pm recently though, supplemental lighting is definitely going to be needed. That is going to require something of a construction project to provide and with the ornamental seeds due to be planted, the cactus house construction currently in the works and still needing to finish winterizing the herb gardens (all of these being my lively hood and what I do to support my daughter) the window extension and more light is going to have to wait a few weeks :(

I am consoling myself with knowing it is in much better conditions than it was, and certainly enough to sustain it if not fully thrive while improvements are on the way. Now if I can just ignore the urge to "rescue" the rest of the CP that nursery had I will be okay. So far so good on that front, there is a trip planned to go back and "have a look" this afternoon :rolleyes:
 
Hi Kate! I know whatcha mean when it comes to wanting to "rescue" CP from Home Depots, garden centers, etc....Actually, i've found and rescued D. adelae, P. gypsicola, S. purpurea venosa and countless flytraps from the above mentioned places...They really get popular around Halloween! :-))
 
I never see anything but vft here ;
Id rescue adelea and other things but vfts have no apeal to me.
Maybe because I have so many with steve doonan giveaways or something.
Well youll get back to growing :D
I killed capensis in hawaii a few times so don't feel bad :)
 
Hi Kate! I know whatcha mean when it comes to wanting to "rescue" CP from Home Depots, garden centers, etc....Actually, i've found and rescued D. adelae, P. gypsicola, S. purpurea venosa and countless flytraps from the above mentioned places...They really get popular around Halloween! :-))


Gypsicola from a Home Depot or garden center? :0o: That's a find.
 
That capensis looks like it got shocked by a significant change of conditions. I did that once, taking a plant into work, when it went from like 21 C to -15 C to 21 C within a half hour. Nearly every leaf withered, but about a week later a new one emerged... and then another... and... 6 months later it looked like this:
Drosera_capensis.jpg


and then it flowered in July.
 
  • #10
Flowered..... the full extent of that word has just struck me... a flowering cape... :eek:

I am seeing images of being lost in a sticky writhing forest... the horror... and yet next on my to-do list is dig through my closet for the grow lights... maybe I will follow that up with a quick check in with the mental health professionals... yes that would be a good idea. but I will wait till after the forest sprouts. Take them each a plant.. yes, yes.. that is a good idea, thin the horde!
 
  • #11
Conditions update

No new miraculous health improvement to report, though I am keeping my hopes up! After further consideration though I did some schedule rearranging and took 15 minutes (thanks for your help Matt!) and installed a small grow light for supplemental lighting on the as yet unexpanded windowsill.

window.jpg


As you can see the light is really only needed to extend photoperiod as this is about as dim as this window gets in the afternoons until the sun starts to set. The light is not fixed in position so I can raise and lower as conditions need, was thinking to go a little lower actually.

While setting the Cape back on the windowsill I did make another discovery.

hitchhiker.jpg


This was a first for me. All previous attempts at getting sundew seeds to sprout failed in a blaze of mold. This is the first Drosera seedling I have ever seen in person! I got all giggly and excited. It is so cute!

So there it is, an update on the status of my rescue and re-newbdom.

If I was this fussy and nervous the first time it is a wonder anyone managed to put up with me at all!
 
  • #12
Gypsicola from a Home Depot or garden center? :0o: That's a find.
Yes, It is! At first, i thought it was a D. capensis "alba" from a distance. Upon closer inspection, it was P. gypsicola with it's winter rosette halfway formed, with just a few straggly leaves left...sooooo....i purchased it immediately! The media was sopping wet and i dried the soil, but lost it anyways due to Botrytis mold...:crap:
Kate, might i suggest keeping your D. capensis a little bit drier, due to your growing conditions. At least until the plant has acclimated fully and is producing new leaves consistently...Your moss looks a little too wet. Just my two-shillings worth! :beer: Bri.
 
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