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Is it worth putting Cape Sundews outside? Mine always seem to suffer horrifically in Georgia

Posted: Sun May 14, 2023 10:09 pm
by Nikson
Hey all,

I've had this cape sundew for years now, and last year it turned into an ugly stump when I put it outside for some reason. I moved it back inside under my Yescom 225 and it grew back into several plants and looked nice again.

This year I slowly moved it outside during the spring and acclimated it, and it looked nice, but once again now that summer weather is hitting it's starting to look awful again. Acclimation woes, or is my deck just not the right place to keep it?

Should I just keep it inside from now on? It's a shame if I have to because it catches so much bugs outside.

I've got a second cape sundew as well that I've only ever grown indoors, and for some reason it's ALSO turned into a stump for no reason. Looks exactly like what my previous sundew looked like when it was outside, only this time only grown inside. It's still green and making weird growth, but just looks horrid.

Conditions: Georgia, 7b zone, grown outside on my south facing deck, constantly in the 76-80 f range lately. LFSM, white plastic pot, bottom watered with distilled water.

Outdoor Sundew:
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Indoor Sundew:
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Re: Is it worth putting Cape Sundews outside? Mine always seem to suffer horrifically in Georgia

Posted: Sun May 14, 2023 10:18 pm
by ChefDean
I'm your neighbor to the north, and I have the same issue.
In my experience, they do fine outside until it gets ~85°F and up consistently during the day, then they decline.
Inside on a windowsill, they do OK, but they never seem to get to their full potential.
Over winter, on the windowsill, they pretty much die back to the roots, but mostly come back starting about the end of March.

Re: Is it worth putting Cape Sundews outside? Mine always seem to suffer horrifically in Georgia

Posted: Sun May 14, 2023 11:44 pm
by optique
the seeds that pop up in my Neps. seem to do ok in just morning sun. the ones inside look better.

Re: Is it worth putting Cape Sundews outside? Mine always seem to suffer horrifically in Georgia

Posted: Mon May 15, 2023 12:17 am
by Gary
FWIW, I had very good results with placing my Capes in the AZ summer sunshine. Usual temps in July and August run around high 80s/low 90s with varying humidity (monsoon season) and all the plants thrived. I was worried at first but the Capes loved it.

Re: Is it worth putting Cape Sundews outside? Mine always seem to suffer horrifically in Georgia

Posted: Mon May 15, 2023 12:27 am
by Nikson
Hmmmm sounds good. I guess I'll try leaving it outside all summer long and see what happens.

The one that confuses me the most is the one I keep inside that's turned into a stump. It's literally inside in comfortable humid temperature under a growlight and yet it's a stump. I'm so confused with my sundews honestly.