Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 4/19/2010

Question
Hello,

I bought a D. capensis from your online store a few months ago, and it has been doing great! Lately though, I have noticed something that has concerned me a bit. When I first got it, my house had a lot of fungus gnats, so naturally, the plant ate very well when it got here. I would say it had upwards of 30 flies on it. After some period, it stopped secreting the digestive droplets all together.

I removed the bulk of the flies, thinking that it may have gotten "full," which I cant imagine is a good thing. I didn't want the insects decaying on the plant. Is it normal for the plants to quit secreting the droplets, or is my honeydew getting stressed out because of something else?

I am using nanopure water from a laboratory (0.00 ppm salt), keeping it wet at all times. It is still in the pot which I received it in (same substrate), under a fairly weak fluorescent light for 12 hours a day.

Thanks for your time!

~Tyler

Answer
Hi Tyler,

Thank you for providing information about your growing conditions.  This helped me pinpoint where the problem is.  The primary reason why your plant is no longer producing dew is because of lack of lighting.  You mentioned using a "fairly week fluorescent light."  Instead, you need to use a fairly STRONG fluorescent light.

Plants need energy to produce their dew, and they get their dew from sunlight.  No sunlight, no dew.  The amount of insects the plant captures isn't related to dew production.  

The fluorescent light needs to be about 40 watts in actual output and kept about 8 inches above the plant.  Twelve hours of daylight is sufficient.  After increasing the light intensity, your plant will recover within a month, though the older leaves may not produce dew again.  Look for new growth with dew.

I also recommend watching our DVD, Grow Carnivorous Plants Volume 2.  We actually show you how to grow Drosera capensis and other tropical sundews in your home, including under fluorescent lights.  There is also a video on the DVD in which I discuss common problems with sundews.

http://www.cobraplant.com/DVD

Good growing!
Jacob Farin