Expert: Christopher Littrell - 2/2/2010

Question
QUESTION: Hi,

I have had my sundew on the windowsill in my kitchen since i planted it from seeds. When i thought  it was getting to big i shifted it to a 5" pot and it flourished. its now quite big. when the cold weather started back in November i noticed that the flies i was dropping on the tentacles weren't being wrapped up and the other tentacles glue was disappearing. the plant has continued to grow with new tentacle sprouting and opening every few days. I have just noticed that these new tentacles have some of the glue on them but the older ones remain dry and a few have began to die (gone brown at the tips) My Question is " what do i do with the older dry tentacles? do i cut the ends of the tentacles off or try to get them off on the stock? will the older ones that have not begun to die get sticky again??

Thanks

ANSWER: Hello Barry,

What kind of Sundew do you have? Some Sundews cannot stand full sun and some can. The reason why I ask is that if your Sundew is a full sun plant it may be large enough that it just might require more light than one kitchen window can provide. Older leaves do die off rather frequently with Sundews. Just clip them off across the browning area and leave any greenery there for as long as it lives. You can just wait for the entire leaf to die back and clip it off at the stock as you wish. It is mostly a matter of esthetics.

Some Sundews are temperate and some are tropical or sub-tropical. Knowing the species and needs of the plant will help you to determine what is occurring with it at this time. If is is a temperate, it might be going dormant. If it is a tropical, it might need more light and warmer, or more humid, conditions.

Once tentacles begin to dry and age, they tend to lose their ability to produce glue from their glands. New tentacles should produce plenty of glue and many sundews produce red coloration on their tentacles and even some purplish or reddish color on their leaves when in bright light.

Try to identify your plant and send me a followup so we can further diagnose the problem. Pictures of Sundews and their names can be found online at sites like cobraplant.com and you can always perform a search for sundew species and you may hit on several sites with pictures and names of plants.

Christopher

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QUESTION: Hi Christopher

Drosera capensis. i have had a look and that is the type i have! the plant has now been moved to my bedroom window where it get the sunlight from Dawn till Dusk. some of the new stocks have  started producing glue again and some of the stocks near the top of the stock have a little glue but the ones near the bottom have no glue and a few of them are dying.

I'm beginning to think its just got to cold in the kitchen so its went dormant! the position its in now is warm as there a radiator under the sill and sunlight all day (when its sunny in Ellon that is)

Thanks

Answer
Hello Barry,

Drosera capensis is a sub or semi-tropical. It can grow quite well in year-round room temperatures so long as it gets plenty of sunlight and clean, mineral free water. It is capable of tolerating warm, full sun conditions. If its tentacles are still not developing enough glue to capture insects, you can add some 40 watt florescent shop lights over the plant. I am currently using six banks of 40 watt lights for a total output of 36000 lumens up to 8 inches from my plants. The Drosera capansis I am growing is directly under 3 of the lights and gets about 18000 lumens plus whatever it can absorb from the window. It has developed very dark red tentacles and plenty of glue. The 3000 lumen cool white tubes provide the best overall light and intensity for the cost and I use twin mount shop lights mounted on chains under a shelf system I built around the plants.

If your region is not always sunny you will likely need to invest in some florescent lights. You can also use several compact florescent bulbs of the energy saver variety that provide an equivalent wattage of 100. They will state that they are 26 watt bulbs that act as 100 watt. Use a couple of those to up the intensity of light your plant receives each day. Keep the lights on for about 14-16 hours a day and up to 6-8 inchers from the leaves. Be cautious of their heat output as the compacts emit more heat than the shop light tubes. Your plant could be burned if it is too close to the lights.

Also remember that there are several varieties of D. capensis. Some produce red coloration in bright light and some do not. Some remain green, but will produce more glue in bright light, some will produce very dark red leaves and stocks in bright light as well as lots of glue. Most are the typical variety that keep green leaves, but red tentacles with clear drops of glue in bright light. The reasoning why your plant needs more light now is that it is bigger. As a plant grows, it needs more coverage and intensity of light to maintain a greater size.

Christopher