wilted sarrs

Barry Meyers-Rice (barry@as.arizona.edu)
Thu, 25 May 1995 16:48:43 -0700

>leaves on my rubra forms (and one alata) seem to wilt
>from the lid of the pitcher down. They don't get crunchy or dry, they
>just seem to loose all their moisture. After time, the whole upper
>portion of the leaf seems to get all thin and limp.

Hey Carl,

I read your little posting above and thought to myself, Hmm. Sounds like
the humidity is low and the temperatures high. Indeed---when I'm working
on my plants and take them out of the greenhouse they start wilting within
minutes of being exposed to the Arizona desert.

And as a gentle contributor noted...

>Again, just my experience here in the South, but I would say that
>30-40% humidity for Sarrs. is very low. Here in Tampa, at the
>southern fringes of Sarr. country - with breezes off the ocean- 60-70%
>humidity is low for any time of the year. The southern US where Sarrs.
>grow has high humidity all year round (80+ easy). High heat with low
>humidity I would say is very risky.

HOWEVER, I know that you are an established and experienced _Sarracenia_
grower and are probably not talking about plants new to your collection.
I grow all my _Sarracenia_ (an exhaustive list, as you know) in 30--40%
humidity and temperatures as high as 110 F. If a plant fresh from the
east coast found itself in my greenhouse it would no doubt wilt, but my
plants have acclimated themselves nicely. Furthermore, since _S.rubra_
occurs in a wide variety of environments---having an impressive
distribution in the SE US, I would suspect it is particularly adaptable.
So I DO NOT think this is a problem from the humidity and temperature
alone (since it is only affecting a few of your plants) unless your
growing arrangement has a few relatively severe micro-environments.

I suspect some sort of problem in the water uptake in your plants. Did the
pathology lab look at the roots? Is the root system healthy or for some
reason anemic?

BAMR