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Carnivorous Plants/lance leaf sundew

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Expert: - 9/4/2010


Question

two carnivorous plants
Hi i have heard that you can cut lance leaf sundews down to the ground if they where sold in death cubes from Lowe's so i have a picture of it and so should i cut it down all the way and is September a good time to do it and can you tell me what type of carnivorous plant this is thanks.

Answer
Hello Ian,

1.  The Lance Leaf Sundew can be cut back to the ground at any time basically. It is considered a biennial tropical. It will live about two years, then die off, but can easily be reproduced through root cuttings and the method of cutting the entire plant down to the ground. The roots react like weed roots and regrow a number of new plants constantly as the adult is cut back or repotted. It would be a good idea to cut the plant back as it is growing in an elongated phototropic position as it has been light deprived. The terrarium does not help either. You can cut the plant back and remove the terrarium, then let the new plantlets grow out from the roots. The new plantlets would be adapted to your local humidity that way. D. adelae, as it is termed, is an indirect to partial sun plant. Grow it in a bright window where it can get morning sun for a few hours a day and plenty of indirect light all day. It will burn in full sunlight. Other than a little less sunlight, its care is virtually the same as Cape Sundews.

2.  The other plant is hard to see through the death cube, but it looks like a Butterwort of some type, possibly Pinguicula moranensis or similar species. You will need to slowly adapt it to your local humidity over a couple of weeks by punching about half a dozen 1/8 to 1/4 inch holes in the death cube (punch another 3 or four holes in the cube every three days after that if you use this method) or by lifting and bracing the sides of the death cube, one side at a time, a fraction of an inch every three days. First you would lift one side about 1/4 inch and hold it up with a pencil or some object. In three days, lift the opposing side and brace it up similarly. Every three days, keep lifting and bracing each side about a quarter inch until the humidity is no longer held in and the terrarium/death cube can be removed. This plant needs the same kind of light as the Lance Leaf. Give it less water, only about 1/4 inch in a tray, and water it every few days just enough to keep its soil moist. Let the tray dry out betwen waterings. Too much standing water under the pot can induce root rot in Pinguicula.

Christopher

Christopher Littrell

Expertise

I am capable of answering questions about the most common carnivorous plants found in cultivation. I have no personal experience with Byblis, Drosophyllum, Aldrovanda, and Heliamphora. I have not cultivated gemmae forming pygmy sundews nor tuberous sundews. For information regarding those aforementioned species, I would suggest contacting other experts. I can answer questions regarding most species of Nepenthes, tropical and temperate Drosera, Mexican Pinguicula, Sarracenias, and Dionaea. I have some limited experience with growing Utricularia, Cephalotus, and Darlingtonia.

Experience

I have grown carnivorous plants off and on for about 27 years. I have made the same mistakes and suffered the same mishaps that many growers make as they attempt to separate the myths from the realities of growing these plants. Currently, I am successfully growing a variety of tropical sundews, a Nepenthes, several Venus Flytraps of varying ages, and Sarracenias. I have been successful in stratifying Sarracenia seeds and providing artificial dormancy requirements for my temperate plants when needed.

Education/Credentials
I hold a Master's degree in Educational Psychology. Over my lifetime, I have constantly read books involving the growing conditions of carnivorous plants. I hope to incorporate the educational aspects involved in psychology with teaching other people how to cultivate carnivorous plants.

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