Dew?

[LOs Angels Traphole]

Hello everyone,

Every time I see a pic of a sundew, the plants have big globs of dew. Is that because the pictures are extreme close-ups or is that just the norm? The only time my capensis and spatulata look "dewy" is when I mist them otherwise my plants look pretty "dry". How can I make my sundews look more like the ones in the pics?

 

[schloaty]

Try raising the humidity a tad. The air may be too dry for them to produce good dew.

 

[FlytrapGurl]

Also, you should never mist dews. That washes off all the dew. I learned that the hard way...

Good luck!
FTG

 

[Teraphage]

I too have often heard to never mist sundews. However, this obviously contrasts with the fact that all sundews get rained on from time to time. When this occurs, if the sundews are in appropriate conditions they rapidly recreate the dew. I tend to mist mine occasionally since it probably has some positive benefits such as rinsing away the remains of past victims. Although I don't know the molecular composition of the dew created by sundews, I would guess it consists of proteins or sugars that might denature or break down with age causing the dew to be less effective as an adhesive. So just to be safe I mist occasionally and let the plant naturally replenish the dew. If anyone (Tamlin, etc.) happens to have any references concerning dew composition or effectiveness of dew over time, I'd love to see them.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

I, also have heard that you shouldn't mist dews.  However, I have misted my dews on many occasions.  The only time it has caused a problem was when I used a mist spray to clean gnats from their leaves.  They never did dew back up as well as the surrounding leaves did.  Light misting doesn't seem to bother them though.

 

[LOs Angels Traphole]

Oh no, I mist the spatulata and capensis I have at least once a day. I have not read anywhere that it's not good to mist sundews. I figured since it's so dry here in S. Cali and I keep them in full sun for many hours the plant need the mist because of their high humidity requirement. So I guess I'll stop misting my sundews, hope they start making more dew with the new treatment.


Oh, I keep my plants outside and place them under a metal tray, I fill the tray with cold water from my sink so the metal does not over heat. I'm careful not to let the tap water get into the pots or watering trays under the pots. Will the water in the metal generate enough humidity to help my dry sundew problem?

Thanx for the information!

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Growing Drosera outdoors is optimal. Most will do fine with humidity around 50%. Dew production is influenced by light factors as well as humidity.

A common cause for loss of dew is a fungal infection thet first attacks the tentacles, often causing the rosette to turn a pink color. This happens most often when plants are in high humidity and low light conditions. The condition can be treated with a fungicide like Cleary's, although it will resolve eventually on its own if air circulation is increased.

The use of tap water is STRONGLY suspect. Drosera do not tolerate mineral salts, even in small quantities. Call your Water Authority and ask them for a PPM analysis of your tap water. Unless it is well below 100 PPM, I think you may look to this as a source for your problems. I suggest that you flush the pots from the top by pouring at least 2 pints of distilled water slowly through the medium.

Best wishes for a sticky future!

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Teraphage,

A very technical discussion regarding the composition of Drosera dew may be found in:

The Carnivorous Plants
Juniper, B.E., et al
ISBN 0-12-392170-8
1989 Academic Press.

 

[RamPuppy]

Tamlin,

I think Traphole was saying that he sets the pots, and their water tray inside another water tray, using the larger one as nothing but ahumidity generator..

As long as the tap is kept out of the distilled it should be OK right? I don't think that evaporation could pull a considerable amount of mineral salt out of the water, if any at all.

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Oops. Gotta get new glasses. This use of tap water is fine other than the conditions might be a little over humid if air circulation is not provided. I hope this helps. I would tend to suspect a fungal problem if the plant will not produce dew.

 

[LOs Angels Traphole]

Hi everyone,

I'd like to thank all of you that replied to this post. It has been several days since I have stopped misting my sundews and now they have been producing lots of dew drops, just like I always wanted. I guess it does pay to listen to the information given by experts. The people in this discussion forum are so nice and smart! Thanx, L.A. Trap

 

[FlytrapGurl]

Awwwwww tanks! Me is smart!