VFT - Packing a Sad

[matt]

I am hardly a seasoned grower of Dionaea, but thought I was doing rather well with my two pots. I kept them alive during their dormancy and as spring arrived they resumed growth and started to look great. I thought I was doing everything correctly, good cold dormancy (check the climate for Christchurch, New Zealand), grown outdoors in full sun (around eight hours direct) and the water I was using is about as pure as you can get, direct from an aquifer! They were producing new leaves at quite a rate and produced their flower stalks a few weeks back, which I removed with Jedi like reflex. I considered myself very well read, being a student of Barry Rice's FAQ, The Savage Garden etc. All in all I was rather pleased with myself, I thought I had perfect growing conditions!

But within a four week period, I have noticed traps becoming deformed and recently noticed older leaves turning black at a much greater rate than last year. No new leaves are apparent from the center of the plant. Thinking it was a pest problem I finally lost patience today and decided to have a look
(it is spring here so thought I could use the opportunity to re-pot). No pest could be found anywhere.

My immediate thought was rot (over watering), but the rhizome still appears white but was a little brownish around the outside, where older leaves were present. That doesn't really make sense, as the plants had been growing happily for a few weeks in spring conditions prior to packing a sad. So I think that can be eliminated, as winter or early spring when watering was increased would have been the most likely time.

So all in all I have to say I feel a little dis-hearted. Do Dionaea show growth spurts? i.e. will they go through a phase in spring and summer were they form no new leaves? After producing the flower stalk maybe? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[jj1109]

you say direct from an aquifer: is this "pure" water like distilled water? if it's coming from the ground it may have a quite high mineral content which would damage your plants (i think)

i'd think that's the problem - but i'm no expert

[Aidan]

Once plants get into growth in spring, it should be pretty much continuous until autumn, with new leaves growing and older ones dieing-back. Flowering may interrupt growth for a few weeks and plants can look quite rough at this time.

Deformed growth is almost always attributable to sap-sucking insects like aphids. They can be very difficult to detect, hiding deep in the crown where new growth emerges.

As jj has pointed out, water could be an issue. My water comes from an aquifer too - a chalk aquifer. It comes out of the tap loaded with minerals and just this side of solid! ;D

Repotting into fresh media will have dealt with any potential mineral build-up. Treatment with an insecticide will make sure there is not an insect problem. Other than that, be certain of your water quality and wait and see. The plants will take a few weeks to recover from repotting.

[Brian Barnes]

Hi,
I agree with Aidan. Twisted, deformed growth is usually a sign of pests of some sort attacking new growth, both emergent and pre-emergent...but most importantly, if you are using water from a natural, underground source, you can bet your boot-straps that it's loaded with calcium and other minerals, in which CP do detest greatly. Keep in mind, that most natural aquifers are composed of limestone.

Best of luck,
Brian.

[matt]

Thank you for your comments and advice. I know of a number of growers and they almost exclusively use water from the tap (i.e. direct from the ground). I do work for an engineering company, so I will check with our Hydrogeologists and Water Chemists on the nature of the water (dissolved salts). The aquifer is within a sand and gravel layer, not a calcareous rock.

Why would only one pot of Dionaea show a problem if it was the water? Would my other plants (Sarracenia, Ping's, Drosera and Nepenthes) not show similar problems if it were the water?

Could a cold night during spring deform and stop growth? The reason I ask is that last week we had a night down to -3 degrees (27 F). They had temperatures colder than that during dormancy, but were better protected and obviously not in active growth.

Thank you for the advice, I know it is rather tough to diagnose problems from a distance. I will get back later with our water chemistry for your interest.

[matt]

This is what I found on the internet, but will check with people in the know.

pH 7.8
pH after aeration 8.2 g/m?
Acidity to pH 8.3 (as CO3) 1 g/m?
Total Alkalinity to pH 4.5 as HCO3 52 g/m?
Turbidity (NTU) Less than 1
Nitrate Nitrogen 1 g/m?
Sulphate 5.0 g/m?
Chloride 5.0 g/m?
Calcium 12.0 g/m?
Fluoride Less than 0.1 g/m?
Magnesium 1.5 g/m?
Potassium 1 g/m?
Sodium 6.1 g/m?
Reactive Silica (as SO2) 16.0 g/m?
Total Hardness (as CaCO3) 45 g/m?
Conductivity at 20?C (mS/m) 10

[mmlr38]

Aidan pretty much said it all. I would start with looking at the water and then try some insecticides. You really need to get a TDS measurement on any water that you're using that isn't distilled or doesn't come from a reverse osmosis unit. You can purchase a TDS meter for around $10 USD.

With regards to your other plants not showing similar problems with the water, that is a good question. A couple of explanations that sprung to mind are that perhaps you've been watering the VFT longer with the water? Or you haven't repotted it in a while.

Also, if you're using a clay pot for the VFT and not of the other plants, the clay pot could be seeping minerals into the soil.

I'm really just shooting in the dark here.

That cold spell that you recently had could definitely be the cause for stunted growth. I honestly don't know how Dionaea would respond to weather that cold during their growing season, but I wouldn't think it would be good.

[matt]

If you are wondering about the units for the make-up of the water, the unit is g/m³. My maths tells me 1 g/m³ = 1 mg/L = 1 ppm. So I would have thought that the dissolved salt levels are way below that recommended for Dionaea and CP's.

I have had the plant for around 1.5 years, it is in a plastic pot (drained), peat moss/sand (pumice) mix.

After re potting certainly looks awful, lets wait and see what happens. I will post again in a couple of weeks in case people are interested how it goes.

Thanks all.

[ieatflys]

I also agree with aiden I had spider mites on mine and they did he same thing.

[Aidan]

A sudden cold snap when plants are not "expecting" it could well have an adverse effect on growth. If this is cause, the plants will soon recover.

For now I think you just have to play the waiting game.

[Alexis]

There's probably no harm in spraying them with an insecticide in the mean time, just in case.

[mb01]

Matt-I had some similar problems with some of my Dioneas. The large mother plant came down with some of the same symptoms as yours (leaves blackening at an alarming rate) and I took the plant out of the pot, and saw alot of white stringy looking material. I think this was some kind of fungus growing on the bulbs and killing the leaves. When I cleaned up what was left of the plant, and re-potted in clean media the problem disappeared. I try not to keep a "huge" plant bulb anymore and when the plants get more that 10 to 12 leaves, I split the plant. It seems the larger plants harbor more "things". Good luck with your plants!

[italoamericano]

Matt,
What I use is Ortho Orentex. It is a systemic insecticide and will not hurt your Dionaea at all. I spray my plants once every three months and ever since I did this, all the deformed growth stopped. For me it was spider mites feeding on my plants.
I hope this helps!
Giovanni