I have been growing a D. capensis with much success since mid-January. Now, however, I seem to have a problem. The tips of the leaves stop maturing and turn brown. It is now affecting 2 of 3 plants. I keep the terrarium at or around 95-100% humidity at all times. Light is more than ample. Any clues?
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I have not found humidity to be necessary or even at all beneficial for d. capensis. I have had this species flourish outdoors in full sun here in arid southern California, whereas those transfered to humidity generally languish and develop problems. One thing that d. capensis is picky about is conditions changes - it does not like being moved from indoors to outdoors, high light to low light, etc., and this is when I've seen black tips the most.
You say light is more than ample... what kind of light are we talking about? They don't like shade much (unless, of course, that was the light condition they have been raised in), but do well in very bright light, directly under lights or in partial-full sun.
hope this helps some.
-noah
You say light is more than ample... what kind of light are we talking about? They don't like shade much (unless, of course, that was the light condition they have been raised in), but do well in very bright light, directly under lights or in partial-full sun.
hope this helps some.
-noah
Hey Noah,
Arid southern Cal?
You must live near the Nevada Border because while I was down in Southern Cal the humidity was on average above 50%. That was closer to the coastal side though, not the Nevada side. If you want arid, try my Utah 25% or less on average!
I agree with Noah that Capensis can live fine with low humidity, but when My capensis are in 40% average humidity or lower, they will have dew if they are healthy but the dew are very weak and don't hold a fly very strong. When in higher than 50% humidity they do VERY well and have healthy globs of dew. So, if you want your Capensis to have loads of dew, be sure that they will be in something higher than 50% humidity.
Arid southern Cal?
I agree with Noah that Capensis can live fine with low humidity, but when My capensis are in 40% average humidity or lower, they will have dew if they are healthy but the dew are very weak and don't hold a fly very strong. When in higher than 50% humidity they do VERY well and have healthy globs of dew. So, if you want your Capensis to have loads of dew, be sure that they will be in something higher than 50% humidity.
Noah,
I am using a 20 gallon terrarium with a Tropic Aire humidity pump. It is covered with two panes of glass and is lit with 2 Panasonic EFA23E50S 23 watt compact fluorescents at 1400 lumens touching the glass lid on swing-arm lamps. The lights are 5000K and the tank is covered on three sides with aluminum foil. The plants have never been moved since they were put in the tank in mid-January.
I am using a 20 gallon terrarium with a Tropic Aire humidity pump. It is covered with two panes of glass and is lit with 2 Panasonic EFA23E50S 23 watt compact fluorescents at 1400 lumens touching the glass lid on swing-arm lamps. The lights are 5000K and the tank is covered on three sides with aluminum foil. The plants have never been moved since they were put in the tank in mid-January.
What am I looking for? Are they readily visible? Could you recommend a course of action that would be CP-friendly?[b said:Quote[/b] (PinguiculaMan @ April 04 2004,10:15)]<span style='font-size:12pt;line-height:100%'>Not to sound too redundant, but if I were you I would check for spidermites.
Not the nicest pest, but the one I find most often to be the cause of the issue you describe.</span>
You can try swabbing the undersides of the petiole and lamina with a moist q-tip. If you note small specks of brown or red, or if you can discern any web building activity about the leaf axils, you likely have spidermite.
For this problem, I add several drops of cinnamon essential oil in a spray bottle, and lightly mist the plants, repeating every day until the problem is removed.
If they are present, check your other plants.
For this problem, I add several drops of cinnamon essential oil in a spray bottle, and lightly mist the plants, repeating every day until the problem is removed.
If they are present, check your other plants.
The plants appear to be free of parasites. The newly developing leaves seem a little weird. The tips of all the new growth are slightly curled and narrower than the rest of the leaf. On the other leaves when this was seen, the tips turned black. Are there any other causes of this annoying black tip syndrome?
Lack of proper lamina formation can be caused by many stress factors, so it is difficult to say. It may be some form of mineralization in your substrate. Is your water pure?
I am a little suspicious of the humidity pump: these plants are not really high humidity lovers in my estimation.
Generally, the South African species like a nightime drop in temperature for the best growth, high light, and good air circulation. If your planting medium is clean (no algae and mosses), and your water is pure, I would look to bettering these conditions.
If your planting medium is al all suspect, I would repot the plant, which can often remedy any problems with the TDS (total dissolved solids) present in it. Salts accumulate over time, and removal of the old mix also removes them.
I am a little suspicious of the humidity pump: these plants are not really high humidity lovers in my estimation.
Generally, the South African species like a nightime drop in temperature for the best growth, high light, and good air circulation. If your planting medium is clean (no algae and mosses), and your water is pure, I would look to bettering these conditions.
If your planting medium is al all suspect, I would repot the plant, which can often remedy any problems with the TDS (total dissolved solids) present in it. Salts accumulate over time, and removal of the old mix also removes them.
T.D.
The water I use is strictly D.I. (deionized). It is the cleanest water you can get. However, I do have slime mold (algae) in all of my pots. Sphagnum moss is also starting to grow in small patches. I have also used Cleary's 336 as a fungicide in an adjacent pot. I have confirmed the presence of spidermites in my Juniper Bonsai. It is separated from the rest of my plants and I can not find any sign of them in my CP's.
The water I use is strictly D.I. (deionized). It is the cleanest water you can get. However, I do have slime mold (algae) in all of my pots. Sphagnum moss is also starting to grow in small patches. I have also used Cleary's 336 as a fungicide in an adjacent pot. I have confirmed the presence of spidermites in my Juniper Bonsai. It is separated from the rest of my plants and I can not find any sign of them in my CP's.
