D. binata: many potential problems!

[pappydew]

Long story short (not really) the binata was one of the most vigorous growers before I moved back to school. After that the newest leaves just halted growing and I figured it was just stressed (temps spiked to 90F+ and it was a bumpy ride) so I trimmed them off and assumed it would bounce back with more stable conditions.

The last week or so my terrarium has had some big dips in temp at night, bigger than I would like. Everything except the binata though is still doing well. Still no new growth at all and I am wondering if the huge temp fluctuations were the issue since nothing else has changed. The "newest" leaves still are producing dew. Odd though since the pure tropicals and sub tropicals are still growing strong.

I tried getting a decent pic of where the growth point should be. I'm not exactly sure what a dormant binata is supposed to look like...
View attachment 1553

View attachment 1554

Doesn't look too good. There also seems to be some fungal growth on the media as well as some algae. Do I have a combination of problems here? What should be done to get these guys back on track? Or should I just let them do their thing?

Temps are going to be more stable, hopefully, now that the heat is kicking in at night. I expected more of a die off from the top if it is going dormant but again the leaves are doing well in terms of dew and the worse part is closest to the media. Is a complete media change in order to get rid of the junk growing on top or should I start using a fungicide or let the pot dry out more?

Sorry for sounding so desperate and being long winded. I'm just flustered as to what the main problem here is and why the binata is the plant taking the brunt of this. It was doing so well right after I received it (and it wasn't exactly in the best condition after shipping) so I want to get it back to normal.

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Hi Josh,
It's sort of hard to assess what the problem is for sure but I have had Drosera binata go dormant when exposed to cold, although your conditions don't quite fit what I would expect to trigger the dormancy. This time of year the day length shortens rapidly, and the plants surely feel this even in your terrarium with the additional light. Big changes come this time of year. You can relax a little though I think. Drosera binata are tough Aussie plants, evolved and adapted to survive in the harsh Australian habitats where it grows. This is probably just the plant sensing the less than optimal growing conditions and protecting it's energy investents by going dormant. If there is no new center growth, back off with your watering to maintain a just moist environment. The plant is fully capable of returning from the roots if nothing else provided they don't rot in stagnant conditions. Mine did best outside the terrarium, in fact they did best outdoors, frequently dying back with the onset of cold weather and returning with great vigor when light and warmth entered the equation again. You might want to take some root cuttings now, just in case. This has the added benefit of being able to check the roots for potential problems. D. binata comes very easily from root and leaf cuttings. I feel you should be ok tho. There is no hibernacula during dormancy as with the temperate sundews, the leaves just wither back to their bases, and the center of the plant shows no, or little, growth. If it turns black, it has rotted but the roots will likely regenerate the plant. Hope this helps.

 

[limeslide]

That happened to mine when I exposed it to 100F temperatures. I put it in a much more stable environment and it's slowly growing back. The leaves that formed during the heat looked exactly like that. Not sure about the rhizome as it's covered in sphagnum.

Maybe that's what happens when it doesn't have favorable conditions?

 

[pappydew]

Thanks for the input guys! I thought about the possibility of doing a cutting but I've never done anything like that yet with CPs. At the very least I'm going to check out the roots so long as that doesn't set the plant back any further. I'll get it out of the standing water and maybe that will keep the fungus and algae at bay. I set it in more direct light since I made room in the tank so maybe that will give it the hint that it shouldn't be going dormant LOL. Good to know that they are able to bounce back.

I was thinking about growing this one outdoors next summer. They are cold tolerant to about 50F or so, correct?

 

[CPlantaholic]

Here's a pic of a dormant D. binata, just for the heck of it (should only form when temps drop down to below 40 or so, though):

 

[turkeypig]

'ello.

I feel i can relate somewhat...

as Tamlin said, D. binata is very tough. Attempts to remove it from my collection without uprooting whole pots often fail miserably, due to incredibly durable root systems.

As for the new growth: often, as i've noticed, when D. binata goes through as tough time, eg: disease, physical damage, temperature extremes, etc., it will set back, and the newest growth will almost certainly be long and straggly. In every case, it took about three weeks for the plant to return to a normal physical state, at least for me, even under favorable+ conditions.

Fungus and algae shouldn't be too much of a problem for mature plants, however, fungi in my D. multifida pot nearly destroyed the root system until i was lucky enough to repot it.

I'd say change the soil and you should be fine, after the plant grows up a little more. Fungi shouldn't be too concerning until its later stage.

Good luck with it.

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Checking the roots is always good protocol. As grow the roots, so grows the plant. If you just plop out the whole pot into your hand you can quickly assess any problems and just slip the whole back into the pot. They won't even bat an eyelash.

 

[pappydew]

Do these roots look healthy to you?

The pot was apparently waaaay too small to contain them. I ripped up all the media trying to get them out.

Another problem here?

 

[CPlantaholic]

D. binata can usually handle being grown in smaller pots pretty well. BUT it has the potential to grow much larger if you move it to a larger pot.
Just out of curiosity, what are your growing conditions as far as lighting is concerned?--To have the healthiest D. binata, they need to have as much light as possible.

Also, next time, you may try squeezing the edges of the pot so that the entire cube of media comes out along with the roots. Looks like you didn't tear any portions off, but that's usually what happens to me unless I get the entire media clump with the roots out of the pot before I start trying to dissect it.

 

[pappydew]

Lighting is probably going to be considered inadequate to most at only ~60w of daylight CFL but even the shorter dews are growing strong.

 

[jimscott]

A few years ago we had a "freak" storm in October and for all appearances the plant that I had in a bucket outside died. There was nothing to be seen above the surface. Soon therefater I had my temperate collection in the attic for a proper dormancy. Next spring the presumed dead plant sends up fresh, green leaves. It is indeed a tough species!

 

[CPlantaholic]

hmm..60 watts does seem a bit weak, but I guess if the smaller dews have red tentacles then it should be ok. Veronis uses a 120 watt CFL and it seemed to work well enough, but how large is the terrarium you're using it to light? Do you have pics of your setup? Sorry to pester you- I just want your D. binata and friends to be happy as possible

Jim- Yeah, I was suprised by their hardiness as well. Had a really weak-looking D. binata var. multifida that died from extended low temp exposure and it came back, to my surprise, after the temps warmed up again.

 

[pappydew]

Just a 10g...

View attachment 1558

 

[CPlantaholic]

Is that a recent pic? They have surprisingly good coloration for having the lights so far away/ with such low wattage. If the other dews, like D. adelae, are still that red then I'd say that lighting should suffice.

 

[pappydew]

Yep, that was taken last week. The adelaes even redder now.

 

[jimscott]

D. adelae can look like this:

 

[pappydew]

Thats about what it looks like now. The more mature plant that's about .25" closer to the lighting is 10x redder than the one next to it.

 

[CPlantaholic]

well, in that case, it should recover just fine based on what everyone else said, since light doesn't seem to be a problem.

btw, you should try a 120 watt CFL (if possible) once one of your bulbs dies in a year or 2 and see if you notice a coloration difference.

Happy growing.

 

[pappydew]

I definitely would like an upgrade my only concern is temp since even with just the two CFLs I have right now it sits at about 80F during the day when the ambient temp is only 60ish. If I had the money I would switch to a T5 in a heartbeat, which is what I have running over my pings and pygmies in the 15g.

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Well, since everyone is offering cultivation suggestions (good ones too) I thought I would add some of my own observations. You mentioned the problem with heat build up in your terrarium - it's been my experience that virtually all Drosera don't need to be in a terrarium. I grew mine on racks with much light, and they did fine if the humidity was above 50 per cent. I suppose it's all about how much expense your willing to take on to grow them. I used shop light tubes over my own collection, replacing the tubes every 9 months. Light is the single most important factor (although not the only one) in successfully growing this genus. An added benefit of shelf growing is easy access and visibility. Also note that any layer of plastic or glass drastically reduces the available spectrum these jewels need to really shine! Even a layer of plastic wrap will cut that spectrum. All my plants went outdoors as soon as the weather permitted, nothing is better than real sunlight. I've grown sundews from seed to flowering in a single season this way. Plus, with a rack you have room to expand. Just something to think about if you're growing Drosera in terraria. They are far less fragile than they look!