Re: Re: URGENT Sarracenia Problem
dave evans (T442119@RUTADMIN.RUTGERS.EDU)
Thu, 09 Nov 95 20:34 EST
> From: "Edmund Lee Jon Deoon" <phcelee@LEONIS.NUS.SG>
>
> > Terry, It sounds like something happened with the soil. Seems like
> > the plants have been sitting in stagant water and so the roots
> > died from a lack of O2. Maybe stagant water isn't the problem but
> > it really sounds like something has killed the roots. I have seen
> > symptoms like these before from root damage. The real bad part is
> > by the time you start seeing the symptoms the roots and often alot
> > of rhizome are already gone. All I can think of to help save some
> > stuff would be to transplant those still living rhizomes and while
> > doing so cut away as much dead material as possible.
> >
>
> I have a couple of sarracenias which in recent days has been yellowing
> and I have had to trim off the fairly young leaves. I'm not sure what you
> mean by stagnant water. Aren't the pots all sitting on saucers of water?
> I have mine ina fairly broad flat pot sitting in a tray of rain water.
> Only problem is that when I transplanted them I forgot to mix the
> sphagnum moss with sand or clay. Could this be a problem?
Edmund, you should not have to remove newer growth on your plants...
How many leaves, both healthy and not, do your Sarrs have?
Yes the roots need to have very wet conditions, the easiest way to
get this is to set the pots in trays of water. Here's the problem:
The water will stagnate if it is left in the peat for too long. Things
in the soil like roots and bacteria will use up the O2 (oxygen) and
it can't be replaced unless new water can flow through the soil.
In the wild the water is constantly being churned and mixed up. This
is why bog CPs are able to grow even when they have been flooded for
a while atleast. Alot of people will let their pots dry out *some*
before watering again. This helps to keep the soil airated, so does
added sand or (even better) perlite. I don't think adding clay could
help but might hurt instead, even though I have seen S.leucophylla and
S.rubra subsp. wherryi growing in clay/sand, but that's outside. If
I would have dug one of those plants out and carefully potted it up
while leaving all the original soil around the roots, I would soon
have a dead plant on my hands.
Dave Evans