Expert: Christopher Littrell - 7/16/2008

Question
Hello Weiss .I was curious about .I'm growing Drosera Filliformis Traci .I receive my from a canadian grower on June 26th . Solves the hassles of goverment perments and exchange rates and all that . It's three adult leaves are shriveling befor they finish unfurrling . The some of the basle leaves just emeging blacken at the tips . Yet 2 bew leaves are sprouting ok as the first three . Does this sound like it's reaching a flowering stage ? or slower to adjusting to new growing condition's then it;s heathier African and austrailian cousin's ? Flowering caused some weakening growth shorter leaves. Now tith the stalks removed .they are rapidly shooting up new leaves .  3 Binata's and capensis are flurishing .And all plants have dew .Even the filliformis Tracia . Could it be that this plant require's more shader condition's ? And could be getting heat scorching ? ty good luck and happy growing /ps all my pl;ants are in the proper growing conditions and watered with RO pure water / morning and very late afternoon sun exposure .

Answer
Hello Scott,

I am not Weiss, but I will try to help out if I can.

It sounds like your conditions are greatly different than the conditions the plant was in before it was sold to you. It sounds like it is drying from low humidity and might be trying to adjust to higher levels of light (this can occur when plants are grown in controlled conditions in a greenhouse then placed in an open pot outside all of a sudden). You could cover the plant with a clear plastic bag or dome and slowly open the cover a little every three days until the cover is completely off in two weeks. Keep the plant in indirect or partial sun until the cover is off to keep the plant from being steamed to death. Next, place the plant in successively brighter areas over two or three weeks until it is back out in direct sun. That will give the plant time to develop resistance to low humidity and high light levels. Drosera filiformis is a full sun plant that can tolerate fairly high levels of heat up to 90-100 degrees. If your other sundews are growing fine then Drosera filiformis should grow for you as well. It is just a question of getting it adapted.

You might also want to check the base of the plant for pests as aphids, mealybugs, and scale insects can eat carnivorous plants too. They cause leaf damage. If you find any bugs chewing on the plant you can use neem oil based or pyrethrin based insecticides to kill them (make sure you follow the directions on the bottle as it is easy to overdo it). You can slwo submerge the plant under water in a bucket for a couple days to drown the insects.

Christopher