FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I was trying to propagate sundews by cutting off some leafs (5) and cutting them as low down as possible to the stalk as I could and putting them in cold normal water in a fairly sealed plastic container. Was I meant to use distilled water?

Here is a picture of what it looks like:

Tap water could be fine depending on the TDS and the content of minerals in the water. However, distilled is always good.
I recommend putting the cuttings on the media, pressing them down lightly, then covering about 50% of them with media, and keeping them moist. Then, whatever strikes you get will already be accustomed to ambient conditions. Striking them in water can be more productive, but you now have to acclimate them from beyond 100% humidity to your ambient conditions. Where you're asking and re-asking the same questions over and over, I don't think you're ready for the acclimation process. It's really not hard, but you need patience, and you've already demonstrated that patience is not your forté

Yes, I’m sorry that I keep on asking questions. I just always wanted to successfully grow a sundew from a seed and see it pop up above the surface for the first time. People are now saying that carnivorous plant soil is bad for plants and this soil is bad etc. I just need to know a simple and easy way to grow a sundew. I won’t ask anymore questions from now on unless I really need to. Could I just leave the leafs in the normal uk tap water and see if any roots or more leaves show and then plant them in the soil in a pot and just keep the light on at day?

TobysCarnivores13 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2024 3:54 pm Yes, I’m sorry that I keep on asking questions. I just always wanted to successfully grow a sundew from a seed and see it pop up above the surface for the first time.

Ask questions, please. But when they've been asked and answered, maybe take that advice or not without asking again, only worded differently. You need patience, these plants rarely give instant gratification or quick results.

TobysCarnivores13 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2024 3:54 pmPeople are now saying that carnivorous plant soil is bad for plants and this soil is bad etc.

Most commercially sold carnivorous plant medias have nutrients, minerals, and/or fertilizers in them because they're made and sold by people who do not understand the basic needs of these plants.

TobysCarnivores13 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2024 3:54 pmI just need to know a simple and easy way to grow a sundew.

Asked and mostly answered, but you haven't said what your conditions are. Zero nutrient media (typically peat and perlite or sand), low mineral water, sunlight or strong artificial lighting, and warmish temperatures are the basic needs for the plants you're trying to grow.

TobysCarnivores13 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2024 3:54 pmI won’t ask anymore questions from now on unless I really need to.

Ask if you have a question, we're happy to help. But, again, you're pretty much asking the same questions without exploring the advice given.

TobysCarnivores13 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2024 3:54 pmCould I just leave the leafs in the normal uk tap water and see if any roots or more leaves show and then plant them in the soil in a pot and just keep the light on at day?

Again, asked and answered, but with further questions. What's the TDS and mineral content of your water?
You can propagate them in water, then transfer them to media, and then patiently acclimate them to ambient conditions. There is, in my opinion, a much easier way.

Ok thank you for telling me a clear and understandable answer. I don’t know what the TFS of our water is and what it means. Sorry I have very little knowledge!

TobysCarnivores13 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2024 3:54 pm People are now saying that carnivorous plant soil is bad for plants and this soil is bad etc.

Where did you get your soil? Does it have a brand name, or do you know who made it? Do you know what it is composed of?

Where did you buy the seeds? Name of company/e-bay seller might be useful.

TobysCarnivores13 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2024 4:33 pm Ok thank you for telling me a clear and understandable answer. I don’t know what the TFS of our water is and what it means. Sorry I have very little knowledge!

Where are you located? I found a list for Scotland (I think it was) water quality reports for lots of towns a while back. Use distilled water for the leaf cuttings, whether you're floating the leaves in water or laying them down on a soggy seedbed and watering them. Rain water could be used in a pinch, but for leaf cuttings it may have bacteria or spores in it that could affect things...distilled water is pure, clean water.

I've found that leaf cuttings seem (for me) to work better either in water or in sphagnum moss (live moss preferred). Your tap water may be okay, but I would not be using it without knowing for a fact that it is okay. If it's in your budget a basic TDS meter ($15usd on Amazon) will tell you if your tap water is good. The meter is good for other things, too.

Here's the PDF with the water hardness data. Use the third column for the TDS levels.
https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/-/media ... ta2022.pdf

Get a tds meter amazon sells them for about $15. Absolutely necessary.

Ok thank you! There seems to be a lot of moss developing on my sundew plant, what should I do?

TobysCarnivores13 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 21, 2024 6:09 pm Ok thank you! There seems to be a lot of moss developing on my sundew plant, what should I do?

On the media or the plant itself? Mine had moss on the media when I purchased it. Does fine and I like the looks.

Is has grey weird moss on the actual plant and they keep getting on the leafs when I fed the plant

That looks more like the food on the paddle is molding.

I agree with Chef. What are you feeding them? You really don't *have* to feed them, they get all the food they need from photosynthesis...just make sure they have sufficient light and they'll be healthy.

"Food" is fertilizer to them, whether it's fish food or bugs. It *will* make them grower faster and larger, to a degree, but overfeeding can do bad things. Give them too big of a piece of food and they can't digest all of the digestible parts of it before it starts molding...too big of a piece can literally kill the leaf at times (don't ask me how I know that! ). The smaller blob on the leaf is about as large as I would want to feed a sundew.

There will most always be some residue left from bugs...the exoskeleton, for example. Sometimes there will be a juicy part of a bug that the plant can't get to to digest, out of it's tentacles' reach. But, that part is usually isolated from the plant by the part of the exoskeleton that has had all the "juicy goodness" digested from it so any mold or "rot" doesn't directly touch the plant...usually.

Not saying a large bug can't cause problems, but they're a natural fertilizer that the sundews have worked out a way to handle...most of the time. You can always use some tweezers to pick the old food off the leaves. In my limited experience, molding food that's left on a leaf usually doesn't end well, either leaving a dead spot on the leaf or outright killing the leaf. YMMV