Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 5/16/2011

Question
QUESTION: I purchased a small D. Regia from you at one of last year's open houses.  I have it under some fluorescent lights and it also gets some sunlight from a south-facing window.  The plant was doing very well until recently.  Now I notice that it is producing very short, stunted leaves.  A little research shows that I may have been keeping this plant too wet, sitting in too deep a tray of water.  I will change that.  Is there anything else to do to reverse the decline?  I do not want to lose this one.  Thank you.

ANSWER: Thank you for uploading the photograph.  That helps me out a lot.  There are a couple factors that could cause stunted growth.  The first and foremost is lack of nutrients, particularly nitrogen.  Based on your photo, the plant isn't getting a whole lot of bugs.  This is a common problem with tropical plants during the winter months when the house is usually closed up and insect populations naturally decline.  I recommend giving your plant a small bug weekly until you see longer leaves.  

If you can't find any bugs to give your plant, mist the leaves weekly with a weak concentration of fertilizer, 1/4 teaspoon per gallon.  Orchid fertilizer is good, but at this concentration, almost any fertilizer will also do the job.  A few spritz is all that you need.  If you get some in the soil, simply flush the soil with distilled water.

Another common factor is root crowding.  This species tends to produce a long tap root.  If the root doesn't have room to grow, the plant responds by producing shorter leaves.  If you see roots coming out of the bottom of the pot, you should repot it into a larger pot, such as a 5-inch pot.

After making these changes, you should see normal growth within 2-3 weeks.  Sundews tend to respond quickly.  If the symptom persists, write back with more information about your lighting, temperature and type of water you're using.  

Good growing!
Jacob Farin

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Would it be a good idea to repot?  I have not done so since I bought the plant, and was planning to do so, but now wonder if it might be weakened and if repotting might be too stressful.

ANSWER: Since the plant is in a 3-inch pot and you've had it for almost a year, it definitely could use a dose of fresh soil and a larger pot.  Keep in mind that if the roots are over crowded or if the soil had gone bad, you would do more harm by not repotting.  The procedure is very straight forward, and we demonstrate it in Volume 2 of the Grow Carnivorous Plants DVD series.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well three weeks have passed and I thought I'd provide an update: I repotted into a larger pot two weeks ago.  I've been feeding the plant weekly with a spritz of half-strength orchid fertilizer (the same mix that I use on my nepenthes and butterworts) as well as some freeze-dried blood worms.  It seems to have responded positively--I see copious new leaf production.  The new leaves have the normal aspect ratio; they are not short and stunted.  But they are not as large as the leaves that the plant was putting out previously--it's clearly not fully back to where it was, but perhaps is on the path to recovery.  In addition to repotting, I moved the plant to a position closer to the window sill (south facing) in order to try to give it more light (It also gets light from some fluorescent bulbs).  I also thought that it might experience a little more of a nighttime temperature dip being closer to the window, which D. regia requires, according to what I read.  I have always used only distilled water for all of my carnivorous plants.  A new picture is attached.  Any suggestions or comments?

Answer
You're already seeing an improvement in growth, so we know nutrition was a factor.  At this point, it's just a matter of time.  It'll take a while more for larger leaves to appear, but normal growth is occurring.  It's hard to predict when those larger leaves will appear since a lot has to do with the severity of the nutritional deficiency.  However, you got good growth coming forth, so you're on the right path.  Keep up with the feeding until you are satisfied with the growth.  Just don't over do it.  Time and patience are your allies from this point on.