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By h3r0
Posts:  22
Joined:  Fri Sep 10, 2021 7:17 pm
#391104
Absolute amateur however I am growing my cape sundews quite well.

What is it do I look for in a healthy vs unhealthy plant? Symptoms of improper watering or sunlight?

I'm a little concerned for these guys as I think they may be a little water stressed but have now idea. Some of the new sprouts that got bigger started closing and look stressed. I am getting new sprouts but they don't seem all that great. I grow them indoors with artificial lighting (12hr schedule). The same lights are used with the successful sundews.

I messed up originally when I repotted so I want to fix it but am afraid these guys are already stressed as is so doing a move seems risky.
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By h3r0
Posts:  22
Joined:  Fri Sep 10, 2021 7:17 pm
#391109
Panman wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:55 pm They're looking fine. Definitely stressed from the repot. How long have you had them?
Sept 4th. About a month and a half? I had them delivered on the mentioned day. About two weeks later I repotted them. 2-3 weeks after that I moved to a new apartment. So the 'stress' would have been for about a month. There is about 5in of peat/perlite moss in that pot.

I will mention that when I repotted them I did accidentally tear off a chunk (second largest) root off on the bigger plant, Yes, that is two plants in the pot. I don't know if the shop I ordered from gave me two plants that were mingled together or if it was one plant and I accidentally tore it into two separate parts during the repotting. Yes, it was a bit of a crap show. Regardless, I do wanna give them separate pots but I figured winter is about to come and the smaller plant has a much smaller root system so I can afford to wait.
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By Panman
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Posts:  6324
Joined:  Wed Mar 04, 2020 8:41 pm
#391110
They look okay for the time that you have had them and the stress that they have been under. I think it is a good thing that some of the new growth is showing pink. That "should" indicate that they are getting enough light. I would keep a close eye on their condition. It should steadily improve. If it starts to deteriorate then you need to make an adjustment.
By h3r0
Posts:  22
Joined:  Fri Sep 10, 2021 7:17 pm
#391111
Panman wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:08 pm They look okay for the time that you have had them and the stress that they have been under. I think it is a good thing that some of the new growth is showing pink. That "should" indicate that they are getting enough light. I would keep a close eye on their condition. It should steadily improve. If it starts to deteriorate then you need to make an adjustment.
I appreciate your response easing me. I'm guessing the only thing I can do, assuming the condition worsens, is to repot it with clean medium?

Edit: I am also using distilled water
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By Panman
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Posts:  6324
Joined:  Wed Mar 04, 2020 8:41 pm
#391113
Not necessarily. You haven't had them long enough without stress to determine if your watering and light levels are okay. From what I can see, I would expect that they are. If they start to deteriorate, then we would get some updated pictures and see if we can figure out what is going on. How much/often are you watering them, and are they sitting in a tray of water? You want the soil to be damp at all times and never soggy for an extended period of time. Also, if the pot is much less than 6 inches tall (to the soil surface) you will want to let any watering tray dry out before refilling. Flytrap roots get to be about 5 inches long and the absolutely HATE sitting in water. Even very wet soil.
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By Cross
Posts:  1849
Joined:  Fri Oct 26, 2018 11:25 pm
#391115
I agree with panman. They look stressed lol. But the new growth, which in my opinion is the important part, is looking good. Keep an eye on them. On a side note, unless there's something wrong with the soil, I can't remember if you mentioned if there was, don't repot any time soon after you get a plant. They go through stress and shock and feel the effects for a bit. It's generally just not worth their shock for a repot, atleast for a while.

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By h3r0
Posts:  22
Joined:  Fri Sep 10, 2021 7:17 pm
#391123
I water them every other day. If I let them sit in the tray of water then the soil gets soggy. So I just pour the water, wait for 4-6hrs for the soil to pull up as much water as it needs then I swap out the water tray with my other plants that can use the water. Temp in the apartment is about 75-79F. The soil isn't waterlogged I dont think.

Speaking of which, how does one tell when the soil is soggy/waterlogged? I know for dryness I can just look at the soil since it is peat moss it will turn brown when dry. But I never got a good answer on what 'moist' is.

I water every other day cause I noticed with the current soil amount the plant did NOT like it when I forgot to water for two days and noticed the top layer was somewhat dry. A lot of the traps closed up when I checked up on it too :/. This happened last week so I'm guessing I'm still seeing stress now.
By h3r0
Posts:  22
Joined:  Fri Sep 10, 2021 7:17 pm
#391128
I have also heard that generally you don't want to repot until you are done with the dormancy phase hence why I have been hesitant in moving it. I guess I expected a faster recovery and didn't know what to do :p
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By Panman
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Posts:  6324
Joined:  Wed Mar 04, 2020 8:41 pm
#391132
Soggy soil is when you pick up the pot and water drips out. Or, if you see noticeable moisture on the surface. Your watering method sounds fine. The way I see if soil I'd moist is to press my finger onto the surface of the soil. Of I get water on the tip of my finger, that is about perfect. If I have sphagnum on top, I check under the moss. It the pot is all sphagnum I use the drip test and judge by the weight. When it feels noticeably lighter then I water it. My pots are all over 6 inches tall so I leave then in a shallow tray of water and top water when the tray dries out.
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