Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 03:02:22 +0000 From: Peter Cole <carnivor@flytrap.demon.co.uk> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg934$foo@default> Subject: Re: Flowering Carniverous Plants in the UK
Paul Scully <pscully@mcmail.com> writes:
...
> I'm quite a newbie to this group, hence apologise if my question has
> been asked before.
Welcome - always nice to see a new face (as it were.)
...
> The VFT was very happy through last summer, producing a pretty flower at
> the end of a long stalk. At the end of flowering, it the flower died
> back, going black, towards the soil until I cut it off. Is this normal?
Yes - nothing to worry about.
> Did I do the right thing. Should I have done something with the black
As you have surmised, these were most probably seeds if glossy black
and hard. If crumbly and matt black, then probably only wizened
petals/sepals/stamens etc. The seeds are easily sown on a pot of
1:1 peat:sand, but are slow-growing (expect them to take 3-4 years
to reach flowering size.)
> seed-like things that fell from it? The VFT then died back to basics
> through the winter and is now growing back quite nicely.
>
> The Sarracenia looked incredibly healthy last year, but some of the
> pitchers, near to the flap and the entrance, have gone brown and
> wrinkly. Is this normal? Should I cut these back to the soil? Now the
This is natural - last year's pitchers will tend to die back to be
replaced by this year's. Trim off any brown bits as they appear and
it'll be fine. I tend to leave the green bits lower down - even if
they can't trap insects, they can still photosynthesise which will
carry on benefitting the plant.
> Sarracenia has grown a tall stalk with this alien like thing on the end
> (a flower in closure or seed pod?) What should I do with it when it
> opens?
Yes, it's a flower (or will be.) If you let the bees at it, it may
get pollinated and produce a few hundred brown seeds similar in size
to the VFT's. Alternatively you can help ot along with a fine brush
- gather up some of the pollen that will collect on the inside
surface of the umbrella-shaped thing in the middle (ooh - there's
technical! :-) Brush this onto the little bumps on the tip of each
spoke of the umbrella. For best results, so this daily while the
flower is open (it never does close, but the petals drop off after a
couple of weeks, and you can stop then.)
Enjoy it, but if it's got a lot of S.flava in it's parentage it may
smell a bit feline - you can put it outdoors for a week or two if
it's bothersome.
> I'd be grateful for a bit of guidance on the above as I've got this far,
> and don't fancy bringing any harm to them now!
Sounds like you're doing the right thing then - if you were going to
harm them, they'd have let you know by now.
Happy growing,
Peter
+++ Peter Cole, 17 Wimmerfield Cr.,Killay,SWANSEA SA27BU,WALES,UK +++
mailto:carnivor@flytrap.demon.co.uk - http://www.flytrap.demon.co.uk/
++++ Carnivorous Plants, seeds and tissue culture kits for sale ++++
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