Well, with the leaves turning brown from the tip first, that sounds like overwatering to me. But on a sundew? So I can't be sure, because they like a lot of water. I had one of mine do the same thing, and someone suggested it might be because it was about to flower. It never did and still doesn't look as healthy as it was before. It was doing so well up until this point and I like it where it is, but I'm thinking about moving it so that it can hopefully get healthier somewhere else. I have some sundews (unknown type) that are flowering right now and they didn't lose thier dew. What you said about the cold window might be more like it. It is cold up next to that glass! Would it be possible for you to get a lamp and light bulb? At Wal-Mart they have these big silver clamp lamps near the lightbulb section. the silver is good because it helps reflect the light back to the plants. And you can pick up a compact flourescent light and then you could move them to another location until the weather warms back up. Just a thought. Keep me posted, I'd like to know what finally works for the plants.

Over watering is extremely unlikley. I've had mine nearly submerged for weeks at a time wihtout harm. As for light they like a lot of it, but can do (and dew) with only an hour or two of direct light a day.

My bet, having had capes continuously for over six years and having made a lot of mistakes, is they are adjusting to their new enviroment. If a dew of any type gets moved to a new location it tends to dry up a bit as it aclimates. The fact that they are turning brown so quickly makes me think they are getting a strong (cold) draft from some where. If it's from a leaky window or windowsill then it's prssible the got frosted on one of those very cold nights. It's happened to mine on a very cold Iowa night when the wind is howling. And mine are kept on a windowsill in my kitchen where it's always above 65 F. If that's the problem they'll snap out of it very quickly.

If they Die let me know I have 100 flower heads on mine right now and would be happy to send you a few thousand seeds. :)

Clay, I would like some seeds if the offer is open to just anybody.

Kristi

I would also like some seeds, I have a D. spathulata w/ 2 flower heads so as soon as it seeds, I'll have some to trade.

Skumboss you don't have an email listed.

I do, Contact me. :)

Hey Jon

Over watering does not seem likely, is there anything that could have got into the soil mix that could be killing the plant? (or in the water).
If you are really worried the plant is going to die, you can always pull it up, and start cutting off roots, cut these roots into 2.5-5 cm pieces, put in wet Sphagnum Peat (I have a very shallow bowl that I put the roots in, just covered up and I keep it constantly wet and under light, you should notice growth).

Otherwise you can leave the plant and see how it does, the plant does come back from the roots, so if its dieing from the top it can still recover.
If unsure of the soil you could repot iy with fresh mix (like 50/50 Perlite/Sphanum Peat).

Cheers n goodluck

Sheldon

I can't say for sure what is causing the problem, but I'm with those who are saying that it isn't over-watering. I don't think it is aphids, because you can see them and are unlikely to have any inside on a sill. On the subject of aphids and over-watering, I completely submerse any plant that had contracted aphids for several days (capensis, spatulata, adealae) and while the aphids died and the plants looked like death warmed over for awhile - all of them recovered. I'm thinking what you have is peculiar to that pot, possibly an accidental poisoning. I would recommend removong the plant completely, rinsing off the old media, and re-potting with fresh media. I would also cover the plant in the moist pot and keep out of direct sun for a couple days. It is or will be in shocka needs to be coddled for a bit. Gradually open by daytime and close by night, over this coming week and move closer to the sunlight. A capensis is a light lover, by nature and it can take temps into the 40's, easily. So I don't think temperature is an issue, either. Remove all dead leaves as well.

Sheldon/Petiolaris,

Thanks for your replies. I just noticed them now.

Out of my 4 Cape Sundews, 3 of them died rapid catastrophic deaths back in February. They went from very healthy to almost totally brown in about 2 days, and then died thoroughly shortly after that. After cutting away the entire leaf and stem structures (they were totally dead above the soil), I have continued to keep the media of two of them wet by maintaining their water trays, but nothing has regrown.

My fourth Cape Sundew is a bit more healthy now that Spring is here (it is on a window sill), but I still would not describe it as thriving. I have just about decided that I can successfully grow all Carnivorous plants except specifically Cape Sundews.

Your comments about potential poisoning through something in the water are interesting. My source of water is from my basement dehumidifier. The basement was repainted a couple of months ago, and some of the dehumidifier water that I discarded smelled like paint fumes. Perhaps a more mild version of that problem killed the plants. However, during that time, my spatula and Alicia sundews have done excellently with beautiful growth and dew, despite being watered by the same water supply. But one difference is that my spatula and Alicia sundews are top watered and don't sit in water trays, but my Capensis sit in water trays. My Drosera Adelade which also sits in a water tray has turned browner over the months (another problem), so perhaps it is the water. My flytraps, Sarracenia, Nepenthes, Cephalotus, etc. have had no problem during that period.

I had been thinking that the dramatic demise of my Cape sundews was from cold windowsill drafts during the winter months.

Maybe I'll never know.

I loved the Cape sundews for the prior months when they had been thriving, so I do wonder how to deal with it next time I try it again.

Clay: By the way, thanks for the Sundew seeds. They never came up, but I'm still keeping them watered and hoping they'll grow.

Thanks.

Jon

Later on in the season my currently flowering cpe sundews will have ripened seeds if you are interested.

Interesting Jon,

I sent back2eight some seed from the same batch. Maybe they just weren't any good. That would be a first though. Let me see if back2eight had any luck so we can figure out what went wrong. If we get things sorted out we can try again I'll have more seed in a few weeks. Most of it is spoken for (haven't forgotten about you skumboss and spycspider) but I'm sure I'll have enough.

Well crapola... back2eight's didn't sprout either. Must have been a bad batch of seed. I'll have some in a few weeks, we'll try again.

Clay: I appreciate your sending the seeds. I actually did wait a couple of weeks before putting your seeds on media, so maybe that was part of the problem. Next time, I would apply them immediately to minimize the chances of them going bad.

WildBill: I would be interested in receiving some of your Cape Sundew ripened seeds once you have them. Thanks.

Jon

I did plant mine right away, and kept them watered and with good light, so I don't think that keeping them for two weeks before planting them was the problem, Jon. It just wasn't a good batch of seeds. Thats okay, it happens!

Kristi

Hey Clay,

I've been religiously maintaining water in the water trays below the pots in which I sprinkled your Sundew seeds last February. I had assumed it wasn't going anywhere. But I now see a number of small plantlets all coming up. Under a magnifying glass, I can see the characteristic "fingers" that come off of leaves of sundews.

Thanks. I wish I had planted more of them. These are the first CP seeds I've ever tried planting.

Kristi: Did you keep yours with sun and water? If so, you may want to give them a look.

Jon

Oustanding! Good to hear they are growing for you. It takes a while to get them growing but once they take off they really are weeds. No worries about not planting enough. Keep them happy and well fed and you'll have more seed than you know what to do with. My plants have a ton of flowers on them right now.

Mine usually sprout in about 6-8 weeks. But I keep them on a windowsill in my kitchen that is in full sun all day so they are pretty warm even in winter. If you keep them cooler it might take longer. I am a little surprised it took 3- 3 1/2 months.

I have ripened seeds now!

Wildbill,
What kind of plant are your ripened seeds from?
Jon

Wildbill is a guy in Connecticut. My name is Jim. anyways, I have D. capensis (Albino) ripening. Soon the red form will be.