Too MUCH light?

[menschenjaeger]

Hi, gang - long time reader, first time poster.

I've kept some 'dews over the years and a recent addition to my small collection contained some Utricularia bisquamata. Cute, I thought. I never really gave any thought to terrestrial utrics, but bisquamata got me reading up on them (don't worry, no need to warn me about the crabgrass of the carnivorous plant world ) and I decided to add some others.

Here's the thing - I've had a small plug of U. sandersonii for a couple of weeks, and while it's alive, I've been around the block enough to know I'm not looking at a happy plant. Very light green leaves, no new leaves to speak of, and the leaves are just laying on the soil. A U. dichotoma plug purchased at the same time has nice GREEN leaves and the leaves seem a lot more turgid. This plug is growing under identical conditions, just inches away from the sandersonii. What's different? They are under 6 32 W t8 tubes, about 8-9" from the lights. The sandersonii pot is about an inch higher than the dichotoma, so...too much light? Does sandersonii just take longer to recover from a trip through the mail? Thoughts?

Thanks, and hello to you all.

[hcarlton]

U. sandersonii, the typical form, often is a little bit slow to recover, but is a fairly easy species. After being repotted mine may sit and do nothing for a month or two, before growing up from underground stolons. This species can do very well in bright shade to nearly full sun, and likes a lot of water (I flood mine). It's typical for leaves to often lay against the soil surface, so it could be you just need some more patience. Once it gets going, it's a hardy species.

[menschenjaeger]

Thanks for the reply. That puts my mind at ease a bit.

[menschenjaeger]

Interestingly, the plug in question is now flowering almost violently, yet another plug that I bought less than two weeks later as insurance is barely doing anything. This newer plug still looks "nearly dead" despite being grown under the same lights.