Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 4/28/2010

Question
Hello Jeff,

I have the sundew in your peat and perlite mix and I have it on a west facing window that gets great light all day with a few hours of direct.  Also, I have two 26 watt florescent bulbs above the plants that run until three in the afternoon for supplemental lighting.  I have hen and chick sundew there at it's growing great.  Here is my original question below.

Thanks,
Jason

Hello, I was wondering what's happening to my Cape Sundew. I transplanted it and it had dew and it had the dew for a couple weeks and now it barley has any if none at all.  Light and watering never changed.  It's still green and red tentacles but no dew.  What's up?

Answer
Hi Jason,

There are two reasons why sundews stop producing dew.  One is transplanting and the other is poor lighting.  Generally sundews recover quickly after repotting, usually within 1-2 weeks.  In your case, I suspect that the supplemental lighting isn't sufficient enough to help the plant recover quickly.  Ideally the light should be 40 watts, even as a supplemental light to natural sunlight.  In a west window in spring, your plant won't get natural sunlight until mid afternoon.  So the fluorescent lighting up to that point needs to be fairly strong up to that point.  Move the lamp closer to your plant.  Keep it about 2-4 inches above the top of the plant.  With the wattage you're using, that's usually the distance required to maintain optimal lighting.  With stronger wattage, 40 watts or more, you can move the light farther away.  

With this change, you may or may not see dew production on the older leaves.  Given the time frame for the lack of dew, you may need to wait until you see new growth.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin