Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 2/4/2012

Question
Hello, thank you for giving us the opportunity to contact you.

I have a D. capensis that used to be beautiful and big, from two months to now it began to deteriorate without reason. The plant is indoors in front of a window that gives bright light half of the day and sun the other half.

The leaves started to dry out as soon as they sprout, now is barely alive and the other plants that are near the capensis are just fine (other Drosera, Pinguicula, Nepenthes etc..)

I use bottled water, the soil is 50/50 peat moss/perlite. I live in Mexico and is winter now, no air flows touch the plan and the house is not that cold.

I send you a photo. The white spots are sulphur fungicide.
Than you very much.

Answer
Hi Yamil,

This looks very much like hard water damage.  What kind of bottled water are you using?  Many bottled drinking water brands often add minerals to the water to "sweeten" it, and the minerals are beneficial to us, but build-up and kill carnivorous plants over time, especially sundews and flytraps.  Nepenthes and Mexican Pinguicula are not as sensitive since some of them grow in more alkaline conditions.  If you buy water it should only be steam-distilled water, or water purified by reverse osmosis.  Any kind of "spring water" is going to have minerals in it.

To save your plant, transplant it into fresh peat media, and start using distilled water on it.  When you have it out of the soil inspect the roots to make sure you don't have any bugs under the soil eating them.  Sometimes cutworms or Cranefly larve will attack Cape Sundews, but your symptoms look more like hard water damage.

Good Growing!

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