FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I got some D. Spatulata for Christmas, and they aren't dead, but they don't seem very enthusiastic about the conditions. They're in front of a South-facing window (which gets constant light during the day because Texas), but not so close that it's cold, and they're being tray-watered, so they haven't dried out. They aren't dead, they're slightly sticky, and they've been growing very, very slowly, but they don't seem to be thriving.

I'm guessing the carpet moss might be the issue. That stuff's pretty deep, I'd imagine they don't like having it around their roots. And, I'd admit, I'd like to sort them out and figure out exactly how many I have. Would repotting them without any of the moss (and with more space between) potentially help, or would it just make them mad?
Those two/three that don't have unfurled tentacles are the ones closest to the window, but they're slightly more unfurled than they were when I got them. They've had about the same level of growth as the others, they just started smaller.
Do Spatulata just take a month or so to perk up after being shipped? They were shipped in their pot, not bare-root, so I'd think they would have settled in by now. Everything else has.
Or are they just way slower-growing than I expected?

On some of the specimens I see a buildup of a black substance. This could be a build up of humic acids in the plants tissues or vicinity. I would suggest thoroughly flushing the media or repotting. The plants also look to be in a low light situation for the winter. That is not to say that the plants are light-starved, but simply that they are going through a slower growing phase.

The plants don't look like they're on the verge of death, but could benefit from extra care. I would also suggest trying to feed the little Drosera spatulata(s). "Fraser island" are slightly slower growing. In my care a month might be a lot, but sundews are often growing slow or looking like crap. It's an unfortunate fact of life.

Hope this helps,

David.

I'll definitely rinse and repot them, and I think I'm going to take all the moss out if I can. I don't think it's going to hurt them, but I doubt it's helping.
The picture was taken on a cloudy day, but, yes, they're probably getting less light than they'd really prefer. I'm assuming that any light source that's bright enough to double several D. Capensis' size in a month is enough to keep Spatulata at least moderately happy, though.
I can definitely feed them. The Capensis and a nearby Nep seem to be snagging all the gnats, but I can put these guys (in their pot) in a large terrarium full of fungus gnats for a day or two so they can snag themselves a bunch of treats. I don't think I want to keep them in there long-term, they'll probably grow fungus, but they'll get all kinds of tasty bugs in a day or two of trapping.

Any suggestions on the exact ratio of peat to perlite I should use when repotting them?
Also, how much water do they like? I have their pot, which is about 2" tall, in a tray that usually has around 3/4" of water in it. The Capensis are happy in there, but they're in bigger pots. So could the Spatulatas be a bit too damp?

I doubt at this stage that they'll be too damp. If the water level is always that high, I'd go for a 50:50 peat:perlite or a 40:60 peat: perlite, just to be sure the roots are also getting plenty of air.

Fungus nats are good, but also crushed up fish food is fine.

best,

David.

I went ahead and repotted them, and I took every bit of the moss off of them. I also counted- seven roughly dime-sized (~12mm) plants, three about half that size, and one >2mm baby that I put in with my other sundew seedlings instead of in the pot with the adults.
They're now in roughly a 55/45 perlite/peat mix, topped with a thin (rinsed) layer of the soil they were in. I added their previous soil because I'm hoping that'll lessen the stress of being moved and having all the moss around them peeled off.

i would say that it's humic acid accumulation as well, for some reason it seems to happen more often to small, "round" sundews in my experience. You can actually lay a moist paper towel on top of the blackened growth points, and often turn them green again by leaching out the accumulated crud.

w03 wrote:i would say that it's humic acid accumulation as well, for some reason it seems to happen more often to small, "round" sundews in my experience. You can actually lay a moist paper towel on top of the blackened growth points, and often turn them green again by leaching out the accumulated crud.

I like your solution! That just might be better than waterlogging the rosettes of plants, especially those more sensitive species like the South Americans.