Re: CP's at U. S. Botanic

Ruth A. Salomon (RS6111A@american.edu)
Tue, 12 Apr 94 16:37:38 EDT

Unfotunately, I still cannnot incorporate old text. Tim Stark recently
wrote about the CP collection at the US Botanical Garden in Washington, DC and
inquired about VFTs surviving in this climate. To this Perry responded about
having success with VFTs and about Rob Sacilotto's success with Sarracenia.

I have been growing CP here in Wahington for 2 years and have had fairly
decent survival of Sarracenia, even over this past winter. Mine are
outdoors in an artificial bog garden. I kept the substrate very wet,
even during the winter, which many people advise against during
dormancy. I also provided a layer of sphagnum, several inches thick.
The combination of snow and the frozen substra te(at 32C) protected the
rhzomes from the much colder sub-freezing air and wind and I suffered
minimal casualties. My VFTs were not so fortunate.

Incidentally, The Gardens have far more than 2 species of pitchers.
When I last visited in late fall, they had representatives of all the
major species of Sarracennia including S.Oreophila, S.alabamensis and S.
jonesii. They also had VFTs, and most of the different North American
Sundews and Butterworts. I'd encourage anyone to come see the
collection as it is attractive and tastefully done. Undoubtedly, many
people out there have more extensive collections, but it is still worth
seeing.
-alex