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Carnivorous Plants/care of the cape sundew

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Expert: - 5/25/2007


Question
I hav got 2 Qs, 1)i have my plant in a styrofoam bowl with 1 in. of water and a large plastic cup covering it, it that ok? 2)What do I do about brown or black leaves?

Answer
Hello William,

1.  As long as the container gives the roots plenty of room, about 4-6 inches deep, and the water is a mineral free source, like distilled, fresh rain, or reverse osmosis water, the setup is fine.

2.  You do not need a humidity dome over the plant. Cape sundews can adapt to low humidity very well and grow like weeds. You can punch a few holes in the dome every 3 days and enlarge the holes gradually over the course of two weeks, then just take it off. That will give the plant a slow adaptation to lower humidity so that it will not be shocked by a sudden change. Adapting the plant to low humidity will increase it's health and decrease the chance that mold will affect it.

3.  You can clip off any dead leaves. Doing so not only improves the plant's appearance, but keeps mold and infection from setting in.

Keep up the good care and your plant will thrive.

Christopher

Carnivorous Plants

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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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