FlyTrapCare Forums

Evening everyone.

I recieved a mature cape sundew (giant form) a couple of days ago and it was in pretty bad shape. The leaves had all turned black at the traps and the stems were yellow. Some of them were still green, the sundew had just recently flowered as the flower stalk was in tact when I removed the packaging and planted it into my 'Carnivorous Plant Repotting Mix (from the garden centre).

I also made the mistake of burying the crown, which I rectified by brushing off the soil using a clean paintbrush. However, to add to my horror the stem had snapped, leaving the roots in place, so I planted the roots into another pot hoping to get 2 plants (I hope the top part would grow new roots and the other bit to sprout new leaves).

Anyway, I have trimmed all the leaves off the existing crown as they all shrivelled up. Will the crown develop new roots/new leaves or is the plant dead?

I'm not sure as Cape Sundews are apparently unkillable

Hi Wood, I'm sorry I didn't see your responses in the other thread. I don't frequent this forum much. For plant questions, you'll get more eyes by posting in the "Sundew" forum rather than the Introduction forum : - )

I am not sure if that crown will sprout! It's a good question! You could float it in water instead, as the leaves can also sprout plantlets.

Cape sundews are known to regenerate from roots for sure, so hopefully you'll regrow at least one plant and maybe two !

Thanks.

I also have some very tiny cape sundew seedlings (they are smaller than a pinhead).

How long should I leave the crown in water as I'm still a beginner when it comes to cape sundews?

For the seedlings, feeding them at least every 2 weeks will speed them on their way : - ) Sounds like you're going to have a nice crop of sundews soon!

For the crown, you're leaving it in water until it forms roots or new leaves or new plantlets. Whatever happens. I saved a clear plastic cup from some event (pre-COVID) and use that; I put in distilled water, cover with clear plastic, and just peek at it now and again. It does need light, and keep in mind when you plastic-wrap things they are more sensitive to heat.

Did you see that ChefDean is looking for volunteers for sending seeds internationally? It's in the Seed Bank part of the site.

Hi Adriana.

I think I have caused a disaster in the seedling pot as I sprinkled some crushed 'Bug Bites'fish food (its made of dried insect larvae) powder all over the soil as the seedlings are so small the tiniest speck of food overwhelms them.

Wiil my seedlings survive and if not, how do I rectify this to prevent mould?

I don’t know much about this but I wouldn’t feed them till they get bigger

I would scrape it off the soil. You can use the edge of a cardboard or something, cut it to the shape you need. Otherwise the food will likely get moldy.

It's ok to wait until they are bigger to feed them, they will just grow more slowly. If you're interested in feeding them you'll need a loupe or magnifying glass and a pin/toothpick/needle-tip tweezers.

Thanks.
I shall try scraping of the food but I'm afraid of killing the seedlings by accident as they are nearly microscopic (look like tiny red/green specks) unintentionally scraping the seedlings may damage them.

Hmmm they really shouldn't be that small, are you sure it's not moss or algae growing? You should see two primary leaves on each. Do you have a loupe or magnifying glass?

They are sundew seedlings because they have two noncarnivorous leaves and one leaf with red tentacles.

Ok good! Well scrape away what you feel you can safely scrape without disturbing them. You can also use tweezers and remove media that has food glommed on, if it's not too close to the seedlings.

Hi.

I have a couple of questions that's been bugging me for a while now.

What happens if you accidentally break the roots/rhizome of a cape sundew?
Will the rhizome regrow new roots as mine appears to have developed new roots after I unintentionally snapped it while looking for root rot?

I broke the rhisome about half an inch from the crown and the rest of the old rhizome is in another pot which I'm hoping will develop new growth in a week or so.

I'm starting to doubt the 'unkillable' cape sundew theory that I keep reading about.

Many thanks

Wood1988 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 01, 2020 6:06 pm Hi.

I have a couple of questions that's been bugging me for a while now.

What happens if you accidentally break the roots/rhizome of a cape sundew?
Will the rhizome regrow new roots as mine appears to have developed new roots after I unintentionally snapped it while looking for root rot?

I broke the rhisome about half an inch from the crown and the rest of the old rhizome is in another pot which I'm hoping will develop new growth in a week or so.

I'm starting to doubt the 'unkillable' cape sundew theory that I keep reading about.

Many thanks

If the plant has a ton of roots I wouldn’t worry about the plants health. The rhizome should give you a whole new plant

The difficulty for me is working out the difference between roots and rhizome as they are both black in colour and are long and 'stringy'.

Wood1988 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 01, 2020 6:13 pm The difficulty for me is working out the difference between roots and rhizome as they are both black in colour and are long and 'stringy'.

Um the only advice I can give about that is that the rhizome will be near the leave. You probably already new that though