Hi all,
Decided to get myself my first carnivorous plant a few weeks ago and settled on a drosera capensis as most places seemed to identify it as a common beginner plant.
First couple of weeks were very smooth and it kept sprouting new growth. Things started going south about a week ago, as it hardly produces dew anymore and leaves are going gray, and I’m pretty sure one of two things might’ve caused it:
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I left it outside for a while on a slightly hot day with probably not enough water. When I brought it back inside, there was a bit of water still in the tray, but not a lot. I’d say it was probably upper 70s low 80s kind of day – not outrageous. I do live in an arid climate (SoCal) however. If this was the cause, I’m surprised it hasn’t bounced back yet, but I’m new to this.
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I fed it one of these (pictured) Betta food pellets. I think either here, in a video, or on a forum I had seen this specific type recommended. I just dropped one pellet on a stem (uncrushed) and it seemed to take to it pretty easily (curled over it and was absorbing by next day). This is my leading candidate for what went wrong as I noticed the ingredients do have a bunch of minerals listed, so although I swear I bought the exact pellets that were recommended, maybe these were the wrong call?
Other info:
– Sphagnum moss potting
– Tray method (probably need to get a deeper one) and keeping at least a quarter inch to half inch of distilled water in there. Also watering regularly (moss is never dry)
– Only giving it distilled water
– 4-6 hours of sunlight a day. My place only faces direct sun for a few hours in the morning, so I’ve taken it up to the rooftop of my place where it gets outdoor direct sun from the afternoon hours into the evening (last photo shows typical sun exposure)
So did I kill this thing? Is it resuscitatable? Or beyond repair? Would greatly appreciate any advice for this amateur!
by JustinTimberlakeFTW
5 Comments
If this is not alba it needs more light
There are several things going on here.
1- Sundews are extremely hardy. However you said you just got this a few weeks ago. If you combine that with the fact that in those few weeks the sundew had to adapt to getting 4-6 hours of sun, different quality sunlight too, as well has being left outside randomly, and *on top* of that it had to try some new food…. all of that in a few weeks would probably make a human feel sick, never yet a tiny plant.
2- 70-80 degrees is perfectly fine for a sundew. That should not be an issue in itself.
3- Never ever let it dry out, and if you put it outside give it extra water just in case. If you ever see these things in the wild, you’ll see they’re literally growing in semi-waterlogged mud, pretty much straight sludge.
4- The number 1 cause of low dew on a sundew is low light. This is the most obvious reason for the no dew issue, specifically. 4-6 hours is not enough. Even with a strong grow light it needs 12-14 hours. I do 16, and your window is not even a fraction as strong as those grow lights I’m talking about. To put it simply, light is way too weak, and hours under light are way too short.
You need to put this in a tray of water somewhere where its getting no less than 8 hours of **super strong** window-light (and even that’s too little, but its better than what you’re doing now) OR under a small grow light for 12-14 hours a day which is honestly the correct solution.
Stop moving it in and out. Stop feeding it random shit. Give it the light it needs to produce dew. Never let it dry. Just leave it under a strong light, full of water, and forget about it. Let the poor thing adapt.
This drosera has ok health. If it’s having trouble producing dew, then the issue is not enough light or maybe wind burn. The beta food didn’t kill it, but is entirely unnecessary.
Why are you carrying back and forth from indoors to outdoors? What hardiness zone are you in, and why can’t you leave it outside?
Drosera are very resilient. It’s hard to understate this.
Capensis will get a little ratty looking sometimes when brought from indoors to outdoors, mine do. Wind, difference in light, etc. Usually new growth will start to look healthy. Pick a bright spot, keep it there for awhile. Feeding don’t worry about now, especially outside.
The plant does need minerals. It evolved in environments where it’s lacking, that is why it evolved carnivory, to get the nutrients some other way.
Plants don’t like to be moved, it adapts to the conditions of one environment. Stuff like getting familiar with the day/night temperature and humidity cycles, but that takes time and a little bit of energy because it creates some stress. So, you need to figure out a permanent home for it and keep it there.