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I noticed tonight that there is a dark purple colored nub starting to grow out of the base of my D. Capensis. Anyone maybe have any insight as to what could be going on? I know my D. Tonkanensis grew a root from towards the top of the plant and it looked to have started like that...hopefully my plant isn't dying...

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Earthy wrote:I noticed tonight that there is a dark purple colored nub starting to grow out of the base of my D. Capensis. Anyone maybe have any insight as to what could be going on? I know my D. Tonkanensis grew a root from towards the top of the plant and it looked to have started like that...hopefully my plant isn't dying...

Is a flower stalk.

roarke wrote:Is a flower stalk.

I don't think it's a flower stalk; it's coming out of the bottom by where the roots are. I'll post a pic here in a few seconds...

okay, here it is. you can see a dark-colored nub starting to pop out of the reddish area at the base by where the roots are that is normally below the medium (right below the cut-off old leaf where it looks "ripped open" down by the level of the medium) I'm thinking it may be the start of a new root? I've seen some pretty beefy-looking roots pop out on sundews that look like clubs! the plant itself is still putting out leaves, so I don't think it's anything bad, but any input would be appreciated...

Probably a root, but from your pic it's hard to say, I can't really see much but it looks like a root is pushing through the "outer skin" of the 'rhizome' (do sundews have a real rhizome?) to burrow down into the soil. Does it look rotten or feel mushy, or is it firm?

edit; also mine has put out 2 plantlets down at the base of the stalk, so maybe it's reproducing that way. I haven't ever taken my little plantlets off to see if they have their own roots. Sorry in advance for the state of this poor plant, it's been through a lot lately:

Earthy wrote:okay, here it is. you can see a dark-colored nub starting to pop out of the reddish area at the base by where the roots are that is normally below the medium (right below the cut-off old leaf where it looks "ripped open" down by the level of the medium) I'm thinking it may be the start of a new root? I've seen some pretty beefy-looking roots pop out on sundews that look like clubs! the plant itself is still putting out leaves, so I don't think it's anything bad, but any input would be appreciated...

I understand now. You have a red root for stabilizing the plant.

roarke wrote: I understand now. You have a red root for stabilizing the plant.

is that what it's doing? growing a main root? I figured that probably was what it is; it's not mushy but firm. cause like I said it's main root system was looking kinda weak...I noticed the plant was sitting a teeny bit off-center, and then I saw it lol...good to know it's nothing bad

Aye, that's healthy new young pink colored root. They usually don't mind if they get their roots like that exposed to air and continue growing. After a while, the plant looks like it would have a trunk with anchor roots like this on the bottom where the stem meets the soil.

Okay cool....didn't know they grew roots that thick lol...like I said my Venusta had 2 roots that were thicker than the plant base itself lol...like 1/8" thick!!! I'll keep an eye on it though

First time in the past when i saw a red root, i told my brother *$$#%*& is that ? And i poke it and put isopropyl alcohol on it, because it was first like a knob resembling a bug. The root didn't bother to care