Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 9/8/2010

Question
Why is my sundew not producing dew?  I purchased 4 Dyosera Spathulata plants full of dewy leaves and have been using distilled water keeping the plastic pots the plants were in water and not letting them dry out.  Since I have fruit flies, I have moved the pots to the kitchen area to catch the flies and have a lot of plants, but within two weeks the dew had dried up on the leaves.  what can I do?

Answer
Hi Lynn,

I noticed in your description of how you're growing plants you made no mention of the single most important factor in successful carnivorous plant culture, light.  When sundews won't produce mucilage it's almost always because the light levels are too low.  Your plants should be getting at least 4 hours of direct sun.  Usually this means a west or south window if you're in the northern hemisphere.  Also, make sure your water is either distilled or rainwater unless you know your tapwater is low in minerals.  For more information on growing tropical sundews visit our caresheet pages at: http://cobraplant.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=26

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com