D. spatulata don't become dormant & it has several oborted traps.

I don't see any mildew on the plant. The hairs on the plant is not mildew but pubescent hairs normal for these plants.

The way its stringing up like that seem more like a case of lacking sunlight more then anything else, if it's a D. spatulata. Plants that string up like that are searching for bright light. Add that the media seems on the dry side.

I would suggest you bury the stem deeper into the soil since the lower portion seem already dead, place it next to a window or under a bright florescent light and keep the soil moist by sitting it in a water dish.

I don't think it's D. spatulata. Looks more like a D. scorpioides that is making gemmae. If you harvest the gemmae on top when ripe you can raise many more plants from them. I'm attaching a link for a neat tool for extracting gemmae.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gemmae Vacuum.

What Taz said...

I agree with taz it is a scorpioides I have the same thing on my plant the brown stringy thing you see are the very ends of the leafs after they die and you cut off. It looks like it's not getting enough sun :( Or it could be cold... When the temperatures drop dew production will slowwwwww down when the temperatures rises and the plant feels comfortable dew production will go CRAZY!!! It does look like you have gemea but take it from me you may think, oh well it's hard to grow CPs from seeds but please those things are like rabbits....

Hey thanks guys, I'm going to contact the vendor.

I'm pretty sure it's dormant tho. When I set the timer to winter my digitalis went dormant too. My binata I had to put in the basement.

This "spatulata" had a very beautiful flower soon after it came. And the leaves are shaped like spoons. Those bumps at the top are now unfolding into leaves it seems. Should I repot it deeper into media?

The white filaments most certainly do not turn into leaves, and under the scope do not look like plant material.

Don't worry about the pubescent hairs covering the stem, almost all sundews have these hairs covering the stems. These hairs are called leaf stipules, it's a covering protecting the emerging leaf buds.

But I have to agree, does look like D. scorpioides. D. scorpioides are known not to go dormant if they remain groing unders constent air temperature & light. Pygmy sundew grow during the wet winter months but go dormant during the Australian hot dry summer months. Basically these little plants grow in a desert. So if the growing tip forms a tight shiny stipule bud, then it's dormant.

But your plant looks more like it does needs more light and one indication is the few aborted traps on the end of the petioles.

Heres this link that may help you, hope this helps growing pygmys.

http://www.bestcarnivorousplants.com/cultivation_pygmies.htm

Oh wow thanks for the link!

And thanks all of you. I will get some more light on it.

This is the only one I have with those stipules. But my adelae (death cube) has fuzzy stuff in the center that disappears as it unfurls.

Thanks again. I am hoping the vendor will fess up and send me a spatulata. Although my wife loves the flower on this plant.

So I just had a weird email exchange with the merchant. I asked for the spatulata I ordered a year ago, and he asked to see a picture to make sure it is a scorpiodes.

Well I guess he forgot what I had requested, because he got back to me and said it was indeed a scorpiodes so I got what i ordered. woops!

is it permissible to post the name of the vendor so people can avoid?

I pointed out I ordered a spatulata, and he responded that actually he had made a mistake, it's a spatulata.

here it is now, close up

{{gwi:549138}}

Pick those gemmae off with a moist toothpick or something else. Normally rain will knock them off. They are like seeds but germinate much better. They will choke the plant if they start growing there. Hold the stem loosely with something as you do it to keep from damaging it.

oh wow thanks. can they be stored?

I think they can be stored for a short while in the frige but I would sow them ASAP.