Sar. minor- young pitchers went limp and died

[amy]

I got my Sar minor about 10 months ago from Fred Meyer. I repotted it and got it acclimated out of its cube. The plant did great and as the time came, got a good long, cool dormancy period during the winter. Now, about a month or so ago, or maybe longer, the young pitchers (there was no mature growth yet) started getting limp and falling over. Now all that is left is a brown stump, with no indicators of new growth. The plant was getting plenty of light and enough water, and the water I used for it was the same water I used for my other CPs, who weren't affected. Does anyone have an idea of what happend here?
I dug the plant up out of its pot and checked the roots, which still seem to be healthy and viable. I repotted it with new media just in case. Any tips, anything? Will it start growing again or is it done for? No pests have been noticed either.

[unstuckintime]

Had it been growing outside prior to you? I have a little S. flava seedling in my terrarium that i sprouted late this past winter, and I am not going to put it out in the sun until... probably next year! I can't really tell you why, but I just feel like such a shock like that would kill anything, especially when its still young as yours was. Maybe someone with more experience than i at such matters will clue you in more accurately.

CJ

[Not a Number]

Quite a few people, some very experienced growers in the LACPS, report difficulty in growing this species. I croaked one myself. The second year I had it it started out of dormancy fine but as the summer went on the new pitchers got smaller and smaller and finally would wither away just before or after opening. I repotted it to no avail. The consensus is that drier conditions work best. There was some discussion on this previously but I haven't been able to find it with the search engine. Plants from Okechobee, FL have been mentioned as ones that particularly need less water.

Others treat them as any other Sarracenia. So it could depend on the particular clone or your climate or dozens of other factors.

I've stumbled across from recent readings that Sarracenia minor var okeefenensis (aka 'Okee Giant') is typically found on floating Sphagnum mats and as such probably likes wetter conditions.

I'm currently growing three S. minor - one is an 'Okee Giant', another seed grown. The seed grown plant is going into its fourth growing season - keeping my fingers crossed.

[peterhewitt]

Sarracenia are sometimes prone to rotting if kept too wet, too soon in the growing season. How much light is enough light? If growing on the tray method, only full sun will do. Otherwise rotting can occur. keep your plant only slightly damp while it tries to recover, if you see no new growth in about two weeks, i think its time to say goodbye

[brokken]

Too cold a snap maybe? This is S. minor (the southernmost sarracenia) after all.

[Aidan]

May 11, 2010 0:59:20 GMT amy said:

I dug the plant up out of its pot and checked the roots, which still seem to be healthy and viable.

It sounds as though the rhizome may have rotted and when this happens, it is not uncommon for roots to maintain a healthy appearance for some time afterward.

[amy]

One of the pitchers was very near maturity, and the plant wasn't exactly young either, a couple years I'm guessing. The plant was getting full sun outside during the day and inside at night. I kept the media moist but not soaked through, and I the only times I did really soak it through was on warm days were the media would dry a little again before nighttime. They were doing great for a couple of weeks, maybe even a month before the pitchers went limp.

[curlaub]

this is interesting since im having the same problem and am treating my S. Minor the same way you describe. It was said earlier that the consensus is that S. Minor like to be a little drier. How dry should they be?

Also, have you figured out what the specific problem is killing your plants?

[Dave Evans]

There might be a specific bacteria or fungus that is responsible... A disease which is rather similar to damp off in that it attacks the plants at ground level; leaving the leaves and roots to die later on. Heliamphora can suffer rather similar symptoms...

[Alexis]

this is interesting since im having the same problem and am treating my S. Minor the same way you describe. It was said earlier that the consensus is that S. Minor like to be a little drier. How dry should they be?

Everybody in the UK seems to just keep it like any other sarracenia - permanently sat in a few centimetres of water during the growing season.

[petmantis]

The first pitcher of the season for my S. minor last year was pretty big last year - over a foot tall, but it then went into shock for 2-3 months, and resumed normal growth in July, putting out smaller (8" or 20cm) pitchers fast.

I kept it in a tray with all my other Sarracenia - and it seemed to do fine (hehe, even up here in Canada) but I still don't know why it went into that period of shock.

[Adammmm]

Did the pitchers inflate while they were limp? That happened to me a few times.

[Aidan]

May 11, 2010 14:36:27 GMT Not a Number said:

The consensus is that drier conditions work best...

So that's what I've been doing wrong...

[petmantis]

May 30, 2010 17:48:10 GMT Aidan said:

May 11, 2010 14:36:27 GMT Not a Number said:

The consensus is that drier conditions work best...

So that's what I've been doing wrong...

Solid proof that they can and DO grow in a lot of water What a stunning collection of S. minor, Aidan!

*That is, of course, unless he just put every single plant in the pool of water for this photo ;D

[zhilin]

Good discussion. When you guys mentioned "full sun", I think it is better to mention the ratio of sunny days to cloudy/rainy days. In some cities, there are few sunny days, and most days are cloudy. So in these cities, even the plants are growing outside and enjoy "full sun", they actually receive less direct sunlight than those growing outside in other cities (eg. San Diego, where almost all the days are sunny in the whole year). So, even under the same growing conditions (e.g. outdoor, the tray method with the same water level), the same species may die in the former case while thrive in the later case.

So, maybe Aidan's city has more sunny days than the cities of those who find the S.minor needs drier growing condition?