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Not sure about my Alice

Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2020 11:45 am
by quistes
I just received a Drosera Aliciae for my birthday, but I have very modest knowledge about plants caring. I'm worried because it came with some black tips, and I don't really know what to do about it. Also, I plan to put it in this piece of furniture (second pic) but I don't know if this light is enough for the plant. The person who gave it to me said it is enough, and that it is enough to have it well hydrated for it to grow well.

Please, help me, I really really like this plant and I want it to grow healthy.

Re: Not sure about my Alice

Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2020 12:22 pm
by ChefDean
A couple of things come to mind.
First, welcome to the forum! You're in the right place to get some help.
Next, you say you just received Alice for your birthday, so I'm assuming it was pretty recent. Most plants go into shock due to shipping and repotting, how severe depends on many factors, and it looks like yours is just in shock. No worries there.
It appears you have it in peat or a peat mix, and in water. Both good.
However, it appears you have it sitting by a wall in a terra cotta dish. Both not so good.
These plants need low to no mineral water, and terra cotta will leach minerals into the water, which will harm Alice. Try to find a plastic, glass, or glazed clay dish to hold the water, and put her on a sunny windowsill. If you have an east facing window, perfect. She'll get good, direct morning sunlight when it isn't as intense, and indirect the rest of the day.
With a different tray and a sunny windowsill, Alice will recover from her shock and be a beautiful little plant, or a trio of plants, in a month or so.

Re: Not sure about my Alice

Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2020 1:09 pm
by quistes
Thank you so so so much, I was quite worried. I think this is the start of a hobby, I'm pretty excited about it. I've read that I can feed it crushed bloodworms, but that's not a great idea at the moment, right? When it gets recovered from the stress could I try to? Maybe that can compensate the lack of sun?

Re: Not sure about my Alice

Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2020 1:23 pm
by ChefDean
Don't feed Alice until the tentacles are nice and dewy, but sundews need good light in order to produce and maintain that dewy state. You'll find yourself in a catch 22 if you think you can feed them into dewiness.
They need light to produce dew, they cannot properly process their prey without it. No light = no dew. No dew, and they can't hold their prey or derive nutrients from it. No dew = no prey.
Carnivorous plants do not need to eat bugs, they only need good light. That light requirement varies from species to species, but they all need it to photosynthesize. With bugs they grow faster, but they are unnecessary. Light is necessary. No light = no photosynthesis = no dew = no prey = no nutrients = no Alice eventually.
You can get indoor grow lights to compensate for lack of sun, you just can't feed them to compensate. They need light first.
If this is the beginning of a hobby, take it slow and easy. A sunny windowsill is free, grow lights and electricity are not.
Just my thoughts.

Re: Not sure about my Alice

Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2020 1:26 pm
by quistes
Got it! Thank you so much, you've just made my day

Re: Not sure about my Alice

Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2020 4:03 pm
by quistes
So, time for a little update. I moved the plant to a window where it gets a few hours of morning direct sunlight and indirect light for the rest of the day and here it is. The change is unbelievable, thank you so much for the tips!

Also, when should I start feeding it?

Re: Not sure about my Alice

Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2020 4:55 pm
by Panman
Once it starts dewing up you can feed it.