Date: Wed, 01 Jul 98 19:24 EDT From: dave evans <T442119@RUTADMIN.RUTGERS.EDU> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2210$foo@default> Subject: Re: Sarracenia Questions
Dear Peter,
> I have a question for members who are growing S.purpurea.purpurea and
> S.minor. I have been grow these two plants for about a year now, they
> don't seem to be growing too much. My question is the following:
>
> How deep is the rhizome suppose to be planted from the surface?
These two species are fairly different. S. purpurea likes very wet
conditions and Sphagnum can often be found forming a deep carpet around
the purple pitcher plant. Most of the time, Sphagnum moss covers the
rhizome and the lower parts of the pitchers, but the developing pitchers
tend to push the Sphagnum and exposing their apical meristem (growth
point) to the light.
S. minor like somewhat drier (but never, ever, really dry!) soil and
the rhizome enjoys being under ground but still mostly horizontal with
the surface of the soil, only the growing point shows through the soil.
> How deep and wide should the container be? Drained or undrained
Use a soil very high in peatmoss for the S. purp, this will keep the
plant wetter. The S.minor should get more sand in it's soil for better
drainage (2:1, peatmoss:sand). You could get away with six to eight
inch pots for the S.minor, but the S.purpurea likes to spread out and
will need more like ten inches and up for adult plants. Your pots
should be drained, but keep them in a tray of water that can be filled
a couple inches deep. This way, air and fresh water can flow through
the pots and the extra water in the tray will keep the Sarracenia from
drying out (very easy to do w/o tray).
Also, the soil level in the pot should be 1.5-2" deep, the wider the
pot the deeper the soil level can be. This helps to create a micro-
environment around the plant is almost constantly more humid than the
surrounding air. VFT and Drosera seem to benefit more from this as they
are smaller, but Sarracenia enjoy the deeper soil level too.
Good Luck,
Dave Evans
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