> Hy,
> does enybody has some experience with Sarracenia in cold contitions?
>
> It's known that S.purpurea ssp purpurea is absolute winterresistant
> (-30 C). But for the other there is no exact informations. In most
> books you can find the information that the temperature must stay
> over 0 C.
I am growing all my Sarras outdoors in South Wales. The lowest
night temp. so far was -9C for several consecutive nights at
Christmas, and last year -11C. All my Sarras are in open pots
in water trays, and when they freeze, they freeze hard. The only
ones I protect at all are minor and it's hybrids, which I put in
a cold frame on very cold nights, and sometimes wrap the pots in
bubblewrap. They still freeze though, and get blasted by gales
with quite a windchill.
The plants die back a lot, but grow again each year (though they
seem to start much later than everyone else's - March or so.)
They certainly flower well, which I would put down to the hard
winters (they were never so good when I kept some indoors.)
This seems OK for - alata, flava, leucophylla, oreophila, purpurea
sspp. purpurea, venosa, heterophylla, riplicola and all their hybrids.
(I put the leucophylla and oreophila in the middle of the trays,
surrounded by the others to protect them from the wind - I still
worry a bit as they die back the most, but they keep coming back.)
It wouldn't hurt to protect them a bit (except I have no space left
under cover,) but it doesn't kill them not to.
Darlingtonia loves it this cold - it's summers like last year I have
trouble with!
> I live in germany and have a small artificial bog in my garden.
> The avarage statistic january temperature is 0 C
> The min. temperature of the ground in 5cm is 0 C
In a bog, they will be considerably protected compared to pots -
this should compensate for the slightly lower average temperature
you have (it's usually 5C-ish here, but this year is warmer, while
December was colder.) If you're worried, horticultural fleece
pegged across the bog from December to February should do it (or
bubblewrap, but they'll rot if you leave it down permanently.)
> This year I put a two year old S.purpurea ssp venosa in my bog.
> For since X-mas the max.temperatue was less than 0 C ,the lowest
> temperature was -10 C. But the plant is still locking fine!
>
> Has enybody experience with s.flava, s.rubra or darlingtnonia in this
> conditions?
flava and Darlingtonia are fully hardy to at least -10C for me.
I haven't got rubra, but Xreadii and other hybrids are likewise,
so I would expect it to be. I keep Sarra seedlings in a coldframe
for their first winter, but after year two, they're on their own.
Darlingtonia always dies if I bring it indoors, so I sow, sprout
and grow entirely outdoors and exposed.
> Has enybody experence with heating an artifical bog?
You could use a soil-warming cable if you really want warm soil,
or build a mini bog in a polystyrene box. I got a nice one from
my local fishmonger - approx 60cm * 100cm *60cm - the kind fresh
fish are transported in, though I have seen similar in camping shops
as thermos type foodboxes. The walls are 3cm thick polystyrene, and
it has a lid that fits snuggly for cold nights. It didn't stay
completely frost-free over Christmas, but enough for my P.*Weser
to survive so far (though it did freeze solid for a couple of days,
to a min -4C when it was -9C outside.) I think this is pushing it
a bit far with Mexican Pings - I actually snapped a leaf off like an
icicle on Boxing Day, and the rosette is now rather small, but it
thawed out OK and it's still green.
Happy growing,
Peter