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Drosera Adelae Observation

Swagalotus

Swagalotus

A few months ago I got a giant drosera adelae from a friend of mine ( not the giant variety, simply a big plant). The plant was easily 5 inches across if not more. As soon as I got it I repotted into 100% lfsm. I saw the roots and they were thinner than I expected. A few months pass and suddenly these massive thick roots start creeping along the surface of the soil generating huge plantlets all over the place. The main plant has shrunken down to almost nothing and is almost dead, but there must be at least 15 plantlets popping up all over the pot. Has anyone else experienced this? The roots are so thick they remind of binata. The main plant exhausts itself producing new plantlets that are pretty big but the mother plant dies. I am guessing a peat based mix doesn't permit for such thick roots to grow which prevents so many plantlets from forming, permitting the mother plant to get larger. The surprising thing is how vigorous the plantlets are, they grow ultra quick, most likely becuase they are killing the main plant. The pot the plant is in is probably around 6 inches across and almost 7 inches deep and the roots are coming out all over the place. I can't imagine what the pot would look like if I unpotted the plant.

Has anyone experimented with different mixes for adelae and how they impact plantlet production/ plant size?
 
I kept a pretty big one going for a while in 1:1 LFS/perlite for a while, but then I repotted it in a clear pot and it died before splitting into a small forest of offshoots.
 
My adelae just keep growing even when they're in pure LFS, though the roots are huge. I have most of mine in peat/perlite pots that are in a tray, and the unused parts of the tray have LFS growing in them for aesthetic reasons. The adelae send roots out the drainage holes in their pots and into the LFS, which then turn into plantlets. Not all of their plantlets even grow in a medium, such as several that were on open air roots that were hanging over the edge of the tray or climbed up the side of the pot. These ones stay alive just fine, as long as they have thicker roots to get them the water they need.
 
I dont have them anymore, but when I was a child, I had a 20 gallon tank filled 1/4 the way with peat, and we let it sit for years.
The Adelae did exactly what you described yours doing, in 100% peat.
I Remember the largest plants dying back, then a forest of mini dews ensued and ruled half the tank later on.
 
D. adelae for me goes through waves from one side of the pot to the other forming moderately sized plants, and then dying back and sprouting waves of plants in that side while the other end of the pot gets big. It's known to sometimes be picky about being moved or having conditions change any amount and will often react in said manner (meaning it does it all the time here in my ever-shifting seasons). Because it propagates mainly via the roots I assume it's probably an inherent part of its ensuring further survival, but the details of why it does this in particular escape me.
 
I have a D. adelae, I believe I got it from hcarlton^ actually, and I grew it in 1:1 peat and sand and it looked terrible and showed hardly any growth at all. After I put it in favorable conditions ( slight supplemental humidity, 100% lfs) it doubled in size and produced two root plantlets almost immediately. Now that you say it, the plantlets do seem to be growing faster than the mother plant...
 
If they react like that based on climate, that would explain why mine don't do it. The terrarium is pretty constant there.
 
Cruzzfish said:
If they react like that based on climate, that would explain why mine don't do it. The terrarium is pretty constant there.
Click to expand...

But that isnt true of mine. I had a terrarium setup with adelaes in a closed terrarium for 12 years.
The conditions never changed, but the dews did.
 
All these are very interesting observations. I find drosera adelae to be one of the coolest plants. Can get pretty huge and it resembles regia, very adaptable humidity and lightwise (at least in my case), and it can be propagated from any part of the plant, and it propagates itself with absolutely zero work. Not much else you can ask for. I’m trying to get a jungle of adelae ( right now I have a pot with around 8 plantlets) and I’ll do some experiments regarding media. Might even try 100% sand, that would be interesting to see.
 
  • #10
Swagalotus said:
All these are very interesting observations. I find drosera adelae to be one of the coolest plants. Can get pretty huge and it resembles regia, very adaptable humidity and lightwise (at least in my case), and it can be propagated from any part of the plant, and it propagates itself with absolutely zero work. Not much else you can ask for. I’m trying to get a jungle of adelae ( right now I have a pot with around 8 plantlets) and I’ll do some experiments regarding media. Might even try 100% sand, that would be interesting to see.
Click to expand...

For me one of the best things that happens here on TF involves growers trying different methods and conditions to see what works, what doesn't and what needs more experimentation. Of course it helps if they post their results for the rest of us to read!
 
  • #11
Any pictures, this sounds like quite a sight!
 
  • #12
I've found my D. adelae to be be extremely poorly adaptable to different lighting conditions. I've never had any other plant burn so easily when exposed to slightly brighter light, or lose dew so fast with slightly dimmer light. It took me months to get it adapted to sit on the very edge of my lights, where the closest leaves are half red, and leaves an inch further away are solid green and more than twice as long.

I've been wondering how much that may have to do with humidity, but I have no way of elevating it to test right now.
 
  • #13
nimbulan said:
I've found my D. adelae to be be extremely poorly adaptable to different lighting conditions. I've never had any other plant burn so easily when exposed to slightly brighter light, or lose dew so fast with slightly dimmer light. It took me months to get it adapted to sit on the very edge of my lights, where the closest leaves are half red, and leaves an inch further away are solid green and more than twice as long.

I've been wondering how much that may have to do with humidity, but I have no way of elevating it to test right now.
Click to expand...

That sounds very interesting. Any chance of a photo?
 
  • #14
I grew one on top of a running air conditioner under a very bright lamp supplemented with sunlight from the window, and it didn't seem to mind one bit (aside from turning quite red). It was in LFS though - I think this species tends to be more adaptable in LFS than peat mixes.
 
  • #15
This was my very first CP:
peGjUhy.jpg


It was in peat for about 2 years and I switched it over to LFS finally. The plant's been doing much better since then but it's still nowhere near the size of a lot of D. adelaes I've seen.
 
  • #17
My first D. adelae was my most successful plant, as a total novice. But for reasons I cannot explain, it went into a funk and died. I have no fool proof way of bringing them out of a funk. i have had them flower, as a window sill plant. I have had one in a terrarium. Right now, though, i can't keep them alive.

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  • #18
Great pics everyone! Should we just turn this into an adelae info thread where people post their pictures and experiences?
 
  • #19
It's my favorite Sundew!

'Tray of Adalae'

 
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  • #20
I find it really strange how everybody has had such varied success/failures with this plant. :scratch:
 
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