FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hey I have had a some stunted growth with my Drosera Capensis recently.
I have had it for several months now. However, some time after moving to a better grow light and tray watering it suddenly started putting out these stunted growths with little to no hairs.

Prior to the new light it had an aborted flower stalk which was trimmed. The substrate is ~60% LFSM and ~40% Pearlite. The substrate greenery was just as green and alive before the change in lighting and watering. I mist it everyday and humidity + temperature has been the same since I have had it.

Is it just adjusting to the new light? It is overwatering? Is it something else? Any and all advice would be extremely welcome here.

I'd stop misting it, sundews don't tend to like that. What temperatures is the plant experiencing? And what type of light are you using?

Full spectrum LED grow light (Root Farm brand). It's about 20-24C (68-75F) daily.

As for the misting thing, I was under the impression they like it. My dichotoma definitely does .

stanley1O1 wrote:Full spectrum LED grow light (Root Farm brand). It's about 20-24C (68-75F) daily.

As for the misting thing, I was under the impression they like it. My dichotoma definitely does .

Well those conditions sound fine. Sundews generally don't like their leaves being wet though. It dilutes the dew and interferes with them trapping insects.

But would that lead to it stunting it's growth in such a way? Especially since it was all at once.

Mine do that when they get too hot.
I had them outside for some fresh air when it decided to jump up to above 80°F one day, then 85°F the next. It cooled back down a little, but that heat got 'em. Once I noticed the misshapen leaves I brought them back inside for a steady 75°F and sunny windowsill. They're about halfway recovered, putting out normal leaves again.

ChefDean wrote:Mine do that when they get too hot.
I had them outside for some fresh air when it decided to jump up to above 80°F one day, then 85°F the next. It cooled back down a little, but that heat got 'em. Once I noticed the misshapen leaves I brought them back inside for a steady 75°F and sunny windowsill. They're about halfway recovered, putting out normal leaves again.

That's wild! I've never found capensis to be anywhere near that sensitive. I have volunteers outdoors that endure the full summer heat every year and never really notice any stress, even when it hits 100 degrees - granted nights not dropping below 70 are quite uncommon here. They certainly can't handle the heat for long periods of time though.

The statements about the capes not liking 85F and up temperatures have me a little concerned. We have 3-4 months of 90'ish temperatures in the summer. I'm getting a Cape and hopefully will have some growing from seed in a few weeks. Looks like they'll be inside plants for a few months!

nimbulan wrote: ↑Tue May 24, 2022 2:53 amThat's wild! I've never found capensis to be anywhere near that sensitive. I have volunteers outdoors that endure the full summer heat every year and never really notice any stress, even when it hits 100 degrees - granted nights not dropping below 70 are quite uncommon here. They certainly can't handle the heat for long periods of time though.

I guess I should have elaborated that the daytime temps stayed above 85°F fo about a week, sometimes dropping to the 50's at night. But even with a gradual increase, one that they should be able to adapt to, my Capes have always hated the heat. Probably something to do with my local environment, humidity doesn't really become a problem until June-ish.
Maybe I just got snowflakes for Capes.

ChefDean wrote: ↑Tue May 24, 2022 2:19 am Mine do that when they get too hot.
I had them outside for some fresh air when it decided to jump up to above 80°F one day, then 85°F the next. It cooled back down a little, but that heat got 'em. Once I noticed the misshapen leaves I brought them back inside for a steady 75°F and sunny windowsill. They're about halfway recovered, putting out normal leaves again.

The problem is is that they are inside, and it rarely even gets to 75F, nevermind 80F.

Panman wrote: ↑Tue May 24, 2022 2:08 am What kind of soil is it in, how deep is the pot, and how much water sits in the tray?

LSFM mixed with pearlite. 3 inch high pot, never more than half an inch of water, but on average about a quarter of an inch. Just to make sure the LSFM stays nice and moist.

ChefDean wrote:I guess I should have elaborated that the daytime temps stayed above 85°F fo about a week, sometimes dropping to the 50's at night. But even with a gradual increase, one that they should be able to adapt to, my Capes have always hated the heat. Probably something to do with my local environment, humidity doesn't really become a problem until June-ish.
Maybe I just got snowflakes for Capes.

It certainly could be that your capes are more sensitive than is typical. It is quite a variable species after all.

Back to the original topic though, I am a bit confused by the OP's problem. It could a result of changing the light, or some other significant source of stress that we can't see. I'm still going to recommend stopping misting for all sundews though. At best, the plants don't care about it, at worst, it could be contributing to this problem.