Question
At first i read a few sites about Drosera Adelaes and it was written that they can live in water logged environments.  When i read Sarracenia Northwest's care page it was said to leave it in standing water to keep it wet at all times.  I use 1part perlite and 1part peat moss.  The first week i wasnt sure what i was doing so it was living in a waterlogged environment to the point where water was showing on the surface. This i think stunted 2 of my sundew plant's growth.  The other smaller sundews are doing fine.  I think its because the plant was small so the water didnt reach its roots.  The other 2 sundews stopped unfurling and the other leaves began to turn brown and stiff.  Is there any way  to revive these 2 sundews?  If they die, will it spawn more little sundews to take its place?

Answer
Hello Matt,

When a plant is said to live in a waterlogged environment it generally means that the plants live in a bog or fen that has large areas of standing water with peat moss and live sphagnum growing on top. What occurs is that the moss creates a perfect land mass for plants to grow atop with plenty of drainage and air reaching the roots and constant water absorbed from below. When we talk about waterlogging plants in pots, that means that the plant cannot get air to its roots due to a small, closed environment with too great a level of standing water. Best bet with many bog plants is to use a large tray with about 1 inch of water in it and pot the plants in 4-6 inch pots. That keeps the moss moist all the time while allowing air to seep down to the plant's roots and the plants will send longer roots down to seek more water if they need it. For example, my Drosera adelae are in a 6 inch pot with about 1 to 1 1/2 inch of water in a large tray under them. Their moss never dries out, but never gets water seepage on top either. Their roots grow down a surprising depth, some over a foot, seeking water.

What you will have to do is correct the watering problem and wait. If the plants' roots are not completely asphyxiated they will likely grow back and/or grow new plantlets. If the roots died off, you at least have another plant to work with. Once you get the environment right you will have dozens of plants within a year. If their is still greenery on some of the plant leaves, you might try to repot them in fresh mix to get some air to their roots. If they are still salvageable they will be revitalized by air reaching their roots.

In any event, the older sundews might also be at the end of their life cycles. Drosera adelae only live a couple of years and then die back, creating dozens of clones from their roots as they do so. Sometimes the adults will survive, clinging to life at all costs and eventually revitalizing themselves, but most report that the plants die off. In my case I have an adult that flowered and cloned itself, then started dying off slowly, but then after repotting sprung back and started growing again. When I repotted it I noticed it had a large mass of roots, so I removed most of them and I think this might have caused a spontaneous regeneration of the adult. Cutting back the adult growth points all the way to the ground also forces greater regrowth. In any case, do not worry overmuch about the adult plants if they have died off. Those young clones will be adults within 6 months.

Christopher