FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hello everyone.

My Drosera was growing very vigorously and healthily but it had a bad case of aphids. A couple of wb sites I visited (I didn't come to this one sadly!) suggested cutting it back and soaking it in water for a couple of days.

Well I did that and it definitely got ride of the aphids, but nothing is happening at all with the plant. It's been 3 or 4 weeks since it's dunking and nothing is sprouting or anything.

I keep it on a windowsill so it receives a fair bit of light, and I water it only with rainwater.

Have I killed it?

It is a Drosera capensis Broad Leaf.

Thanks

Samo

I assume their is no green left. There may be some sprouts that come from the roots, however, it can take a few months.

Yes you're right, all the green has gone.

I had expected some sprouts fairly quickly.. I guess I'm being impatient.

Bearing all this in mind how would you suggest I care for it until it "wakes up"

Thanks

From my (very small)experience, capes are pretty hard to kill. if there's no green left, there's still a very good chance that the roots will make small plants. i just suggest that chef dean said, to keep it moist. maybe treat it with a bit of hydrogen peroxide(add about a tsp during the next time you water it). pictures would be helpful though

samo wrote: ↑Tue Mar 30, 2021 4:31 pm Bearing all this in mind how would you suggest I care for it until it "wakes up"

Well, you could dig up the roots, chop them into one inch pieces, put them on a bed of soggy peat (or Sphag), with high humidity, lots of bright light and warm temps, and in a few weeks you will have more capensis than you know what to do with, but ChefDean's plan will probably leave you with more capensis than you know what to do with anyway, it's easier, not as scary, and a lot less messy soooo...

Hi
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you all.

This is what it looks like now...

I'll keep it warm and light for a while longer and see what happens.

Possibly it wasn't light enough here (I'm in London and it's only just come into spring). I had it on a window ledge next to a venus flytrap that was coming out of hibernation, and that's growing without traps due to the lack of sunlight,

I've put them both under a florescent light in a propagator so fingers crossed..

I should say btw that I'm not very good at keeping plants alive. I've been trying for years to overwinter venus flytraps and they've all died within a few weeks of coming out of hibernation. So, it's probably best if the drosera can sort itself out without my help.

I've seen worse-looking capes that revived with shoots after a month or so. Just keep waiting and don't slack on care, and you've got a good chance of recovery.

The biggest danger you have with trying to get it back from that condition is rot. When the plant is not actively growing and using the water, the roots can become saturated and rot. You want to keep the soil damp but not wet. I would recommend getting the soil to the proper moisture level and then bagging it to help maintain it.