Drosera Seedlings Dying Under CFL Lights: Heat, Spectrum, and Fixture Upgrade

A grower's D. aliciae, D. rotundifolia, D. binata seedlings germinate then slowly die under compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs in a windowless bathroom. Water: dehumidifier + rainwater. The expert identifies two issues: CFLs run hot, heating soil/leaves locally – sensitive sundews (D. aliciae) suffer. CFLs are "warm white" (orange spectrum) – plants need 6500K "daylight" spectrum. Side-lighting from CFLs causes uneven growth (red on one side, green on other).

Solutions

• Switch to 6500K CFLs (e.g., 26W daylight).
• Better: 4-foot T-12 shoplight with cool-white or daylight tubes, suspended 3–4 inches above plants. Cooler, more even, better coverage.
• Use distilled water only – dehumidifier water may leach copper from coils; roof rainwater may contain zinc.

Follow-up: grower bought 6500K CFL but plants still dying; expert recommends moving D. spatulata outdoors (partial sun acclimation) – it will color up and thrive.