Sarracenia questions

Barry Meyers-Rice (barry@as.arizona.edu)
Thu, 24 Feb 94 20:56:39 MST

Matt: I'll handle a couple of your _Sarracenia_ questions.

>if the light intensity (or specific spectra) isn't great enough, coloration
>might not be as great (as in _Dionaea_). So my question is, what kind of
>effect would this have on a _Sarr. purpurea purpurea_? Would there be much of

In less than ideal light, any _Sarracenia_ will be etiolated. That is,
it will tend to lack red colouration, it will be taller and lankier, and
the pitcher will be constructed of less sturdy material. For all but
purps and psittacina, this means pitchers very prone to toppling over and
generally being quite untidy. Your purps will tend to produce less red
colouration, perhaps only some red venation will develop. The pitchers
produced will also tend to be less inflated and globose, and will rather be
less dramatic. The ala will be exaggerated too.

>the deep purple/red color or would it remain green? If a purpurea shaped plant
>is green with light red venation, does that mean it is definitely _Sarr. purp.
>heterophylla_?

I'm not sure what you mean by this question. If there is any red colouration,
any at all, it is not _S.purp purp heterophylla_. This form of purp purp is
genetically fixed, and is not dependent on light intensity. Even in strong
light it, and its flowers, will be green. No red.

>The second question about _S. pur. pur._ is, how old does a plant need to be
>(or how large/developed) to be separated into two plants. The one I am

Uh, this is hard to say over email, and comes really from experience. I guess
what I think you should look at is the rhizome. For a plant to be separable,
each crown (rosette of leaves) should have its own separate bit of rhizome
which is serviced by its own roots. If a division will not have roots, you
are asking for a lot from the plant. That's not to say it can't be done, but
you should know what you're doing. I never use hormones etc, and think that
the *best* way to treat a new cutting is to plant it in a pot of live green
_Sphagnum_. I know, it's hard to come by, but that's the best. If you
don't have that, dead stuff will do fine.

Bazza