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Post by armagedon48 on Sept 7, 2007 17:03:54 GMT
i bought my pitcher from home depot. the soil was dry when i bought it. paid 10$ for it, so im not complaining. now, half a week later, two of the pitchers have dried out and are dieing. a new pitcher that was growing started wilting, and bent over in half; today it is healthy again, but pinched where it was leaning over. the plant looks good overall, but the dieing pitchers has me concerned. also, question time. do the pitchers fill up with water themselves, or is it filled only with rain water (RO water for the captive plants). so in other words, should i be filling the pitchers with water or do they do it themselves. i filled them with water but they fell over and the water poured out... it seems my pitcher is going through shock from the new conditions and the shock of drying out at home depot. should i put the pitcher plant into a freezer at 30 degrees for a few months? simulate its dormant stage. here are some pictures. if i can get an identification on the species, that would be awesome. and just another purchase i made yesterday,
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Post by Not a Number on Sept 7, 2007 17:35:18 GMT
This looks like a Sarracenia 'Judith Hindle'. There is no need to fill the pitchers with water. www.carnivorousplants.org/cpn/Species/v22n1p38.html#judithThe plant looks healthy enough despite the less than ideal conditions at Home Depot. Give it plenty of full sunlight and keep it watered and it should do well. The plant is preparing for dormancy on its own as evidenced by the formation of phyllodia, the curved pitcher-less leaves. It's normal for leaves to start browning and dying off at this time of year. With the Sarracenia purpurea in this hybrid, some pitchers may remain fresh looking through dormancy.
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Post by Alexis on Sept 7, 2007 17:49:47 GMT
Old pitchers will naturally die off over time. Trim off brown material if you want to tidy the plant up.
Keep both in a tray of distilled or rainwater (never tap water).
The lid of the pitchers is designed to keep rain out, so no need to fill with water as you've discovered! When prey has been caught, it will secrete digestive juices, although but you won't see the small amount of liquid from above.
Save dormancy for the end of November by the way.
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Post by armagedon48 on Sept 8, 2007 4:14:00 GMT
for dormancy, should i put it out in the garage and leave it for two months? it gets -20 here in MN or colder at times. the garage area should buffer the intense cold.
otherwise i may be able to take up the spare freezer and set it at a certain temp, and leave it for a certain amount of time.
advise is eagerly welcomed! pitcher plants are new to me. i have kept flytraps and sundews in the past, but never pitchers.
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Post by Hikenyura on Sept 8, 2007 5:09:41 GMT
I would first noter if you grow your VFT's and they are alive for a few years give your sarracenia the same condtions and it'll be fine. In most places just leave it outside all year. If you live past zone 5 you can grow them outside all year but you live in minnesota, gets real cold there (zone 3 and 4). So first does it frequently freeze and dry(temperature fluntuates? Does it freeze for more than a week at a time. Is there constant freezing and thawing. Is it's one of those reasons you should winterize your plants. You can use your unheated garage as long as you have as much light as possible (like 4-6 hours) and it doesnt freeze for more than weeks at a time. My recomendation is your refridgerator. IMPORTANT: NOT FREEZER, THE THING THAT GOES UNDER FREEZING TEMPS, IN YOUR REFRIGERATOR. First you gotta unpot your plants and cut off any dead leaves. Spray fungicide on it, It's very difficult to treat it. Wrap your plants in paper towel and moisten it but dont make it dripping wet. Put it in the REFRIGERATOR. Check it once a week or something for fungal infections. All this info i got was from cobraplants.com (sarracenia northwest) e-book and barry rices FAQ www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2462.html. The e-book has other ways to winterize your plants.
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Post by Hikenyura on Sept 8, 2007 5:37:13 GMT
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Post by Alexis on Sept 8, 2007 13:06:47 GMT
Wrap the pot in bubble wrap or fleece and it will be able to survive cold temperatures. Your garage would be a good place as it is sheltered. Stop watering mid October so the peat is just damp, not wet when the first frosts arrive.
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Post by Aidan on Sept 8, 2007 13:27:38 GMT
-20F? Very cold and at the extreme end of the range for the hardiest species, S. purpurea ssp. purpurea. I doubt that your plant would survive that kind of temperature for long periods.
If you have a windowsill or similar where the temperature will be 50F or lower, that would be ideal.
The fridge is a last resort.
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Post by armagedon48 on Sept 10, 2007 6:36:17 GMT
if the plant is dormant, and the leaves die off, why does it still need 5-6 hours of light? i have seen a picture on blackjungle.com that showed a bog garden covered in 5"+ of snow with the pitcher plants showing just the tops (dead leaves).
i can easily overwinter my plants in the garage, only if they dont need lighting. otherwise i need to find a different way.
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Clint
Full Member
Posts: 808
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Post by Clint on Sept 10, 2007 13:08:30 GMT
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Post by Alexis on Sept 10, 2007 17:50:07 GMT
The theory is that photosynthesis can't take place at very low temperatures, so it doesn't matter whether it's light or dark.
The snow in the photos you've seen might only have been around for a few days by the way.
The plants are naturally tuned to experience 5 months of 6 to 12C, with occasional jumps to 20C and occasional dips to -10C.
Anything deviating from that is always going to be risky and there are no guarantees.
You can only really know from experience. Why not buy another sarracenia and try one in the garage and one on a windowsill. Then you'll know for next time. We can give you advice, but only you know your exact condistions and climate.
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Post by catbert89 on Sept 12, 2007 3:03:04 GMT
your plants look excellent considering its from home depot. Mine only gets these in rarely, but like walmart, they hide them in the darkest part of the store.
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Post by armagedon48 on Sept 12, 2007 3:50:27 GMT
more leaves are dieing dieing/drying out. perhaps instead of going through dormancy during the dead of winter, how about leave it out in the fall. could i let it experience a few frosty nights then take it inside to regrow? will 6 weeks of 60 degree highs, 40 degree nights, ocassional frost, up till the ground freezes be my best option?
im going to setup a bog garden in my room, a large bowl of some kind. my window is a south facing window that gets alot of sun. im going to collect spag moss this weekend from a bog on my great grandma's property.
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Post by pinglover on Sept 12, 2007 4:50:45 GMT
You might want to repot that VFT into fresh medium to try to get rid of the liverwort or at least keep it at bay. Liverwort competes with plants for nutrients as well as water and is a breeding site for fungus gnats.
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wadave
Full Member
He don't know me vewy well do he?
Posts: 283
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Post by wadave on Sept 15, 2007 15:33:06 GMT
That liverwort has got brood bodies that are ready to spread to other pots. You can see little craters on the leaves that have tiny little balls sitting in them.
Pull the liverwort out carfully, you will see if any of the brood bodies have fallen back into the pot, and pick them out.
The next time a new liverwort plant starts to grow paint some ordinary vinegar on its leaves with an artists brush and it will very quickly die.
It's easy to get rid of if you don't let it spread early on.
Dave.
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