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Carnivorous Plants/D. Adelae: Sphagnum moss.

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Expert: - 2/9/2011


Question

D. Adelae
I recently got my first CP 3 weeks ago. It was given to me in a 2 inch pot with 100% sphagnum moss as its soil. I put this little guy in my room and haven't repotted it since. I got it as dewy as it can but it stops all of a sudden and now, only the new leaves have dews.

My D. Adelae now sits at the window facing east with a table lamp at ready. However, I blast my ceiling fan at day and my air cond at night with the D. Adelae exposed to the elements. I wanted my adelae to produce lots of mucilage so what should I do?

My adelae also grew a deformed leaf... The leaf is a newly-sprouted one but it looks really out of shape. Why is that so?

Answer
Hello Cheng,

Repotting the plant to a larger pot would not hurt as it looks like it hardly has any medium in the pot it is in. Use half perlite and half sphagnum peat moss that is unfertilized. Never use miracle gro moss or perlite with carnivorous plants as it has fertilizer. You can order some premixed soil for carnivorous plants of most kinds at cobraplant.com.

The Sundew may have been kept in higher humidity and the air conditioning is not helping the situation as air conditioning actually dries the air out. The reduction in dew and the deformed leaf may be due to low humidity. You can place a clear plastic bag over the plant and simply punch half a dozen 1/4 inch holes in the bag to start with. Every three days, punch a couple more holes in the bag until it is full of holes after 2-3 weeks, then remove the bag. The plant should be better adapted to low humidity by then. Keep the plant away from the air conditioner to reduce water loss through the leaves.

Increase the amount of light the plant receives so that it gets at least 4 hours of morning sun, like through that East window, and indirect, but strong, light the rest of the day. Direct sun can burn their leaves, but D. adelae likes strong indirect or partial morning sunlight. Good light will increase dew production and cause the leaves to grow narrower and more vivid in coloration. If the window does not get the job done, provide a strong 100-150 watt equivalent florescent spiral bulb about 1 foot from the plant for 12 hours a day in winter and 16 hours a day in the growing season.

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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