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xxlapollolxx

Amount of light for sundews?

xxlapollolxx
15 years ago

I recently became very interested in CP's and soon I'll have my second attempt at growing them...hopefully this time it will be successful. I decided to grow one species of Sundew and I've narrowed my choices down to 2 types, Drosera capensis (Cape Sundew), and Drosera adelae, (Lance-leaf Sundew)...I know what kind of media-moisture they need, I know their thriving temperatures and the media they need. I just wanted to know about how many hours of artificial light each species needs. I will use 75 watt fluorescent light bulbs. Also, kind of off my topic but can Drosera adelae be grown in peat moss with perlite?

Comments (7)

  • tommyr_gw Zone 6
    15 years ago

    Yes they can grow in peat moss and perlite. That's the most used medium actually. Adelaes are profuse baby makers I have found! Try Adelae first. Bright indirect light is fine. If using a light I'd say maybe about 8-10 hours a day but they will do great in a window. These are VERY easy plants!

  • mcantrell
    15 years ago

    Wikipedia has some good info:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_sundew
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drosera_adelae

    Cape Sundew is a tropical plant but is almost a weed -- it'll grow in just about any conditions. I have 3 growing in my windowsill that stays around 60 degrees right now, and gets direct sun from 1 PM to around 4 PM.

    I've killed every Adelae I've bought, but have another one coming for yet another try. I hear they are pretty easy to grow, but the first one I got was in a Lowes Deathcube, and the second I got did not survive the trip from the old house to the new apartment.

    I believe I was giving them too much sun, but I am not sure.

    Are you aware of Sundews' rather strict water requirements (distilled only)?

  • xxlapollolxx
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Yes i am aware that most CP's need distilled or rain water.

    The thing I'm afraid of is the blazing summers here in Phoenix. I do plan to grow them in a terrarium but being inside is still relatively warm for the plants...AC is kept usually at 85-87 degrees in the summer.

    I've actually decided that i might also grow a vft as well. I know a terrarium isn't the best growing spot for a trap but i believe the plant would actually do better in a terrarium due to the summer temps and very strong sun here.
    If i were to grow one with artificial light should it receive about the same amount of light as the sundews? Also, to help with its winter dormancy could i possibly put an icepack against the terrarium glass on the side of the trap and let the soil cool to help it?

  • mcantrell
    15 years ago

    VFTs don't do super well in Terrariums, due to the dormancy stuff. They could probably survive outside in your area, but I'm not 100% sure.

    I would put them in the fridge for dormancy, to be honest, an icepack probably wouldn't do it.

  • dashman
    15 years ago

    PS: If you have an extra 20 bucks. I would recommend buying the ebook from www.cobraplant.com.

    It is a very non technical read and gives you a good foundation for caring for just about any kind of carnivorous plant. It also busts alot of myths out there surrounding CPs. Like high humidity and terrariums.

    There are actually very few CPs that require these conditions.

  • petiolaris
    15 years ago

    Neither D. capensis nor D. adelae go through a dormancy and each would be fine, even at 30 C. They grow well at window sills or under artificial lighting, with their pots resting plastic containers of distilled water. A terrarium isn't necessary nor encouraged. That's more for tropical or Equatorial plants.

  • florida_guy_26
    13 years ago

    I grow my sundews with a few nights a week in the fridge and a few nights in the terrarium hitting down to about 48F in the front room. I grow my VFT's the same way and although the venus flytraps are not red or pink like they should be because of all the snow here lately, they get about 9 hours of light from the sun, or from the led grow lights I have above them in the terrarium. I take the plants out of the fridge every morning to get as much light as possible, and then either stay in the tank or go back in the fridge if needed. I do not think it is good to just throw any cp's in the fridge to sit for 3-4 months in total darkness and not have any daylight. I have the glow panels over my orchids and cp's about 6-8" and they get direct sun if the sun is out. They seem to do fine as light is the trigger for dormancy and I feel all plants need it. They all get 9 hours of light for now and no less, but in spring and early summer I will bump it up to 14- 16 hours to maximize growth and reproduction. I plant to get seeds from whatever puts them out and grow them in the sphagnum moss that is growing in the pots or the re-wetted sphagnum they are in. I will just sow all seeds in re-wetted sphagnum moss and see if they grow, anything that does not germinate will get stratification or germination triggers and then I will go from there. I grow cp's in sphagnum moss because it seems the venus flytraps do better in sphagnum than in anything else. I had some that were growing in vermiculite and peat but the pot fell over and some of the venus flytraps had leaves that broke off so I put them in moist sphagnum moss and repotted the plants in dead sphagnum moss. I saw the vermiculite had produced many blackened roots without growing ends and very small leaves and corms, but I repotted into sphagnum and the plants immediately started to grow vigorously and doubled in size after being in sphagnum moss instead of vermiculite. I think most cp's grow in moist sphagnum -type conditions normally although some do grow in deserts and arid areas with little rainfall. So far, all the cp's I have are doing better in moist sphagnum including the sundews. I hope this helps although things are different for everyone.

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