My Sarracenia Leucophylla seeds

[sarracenialover]

I got about 20 of them from the mail. Can I just drop them into my small bog garden for the winter and wait for them to sprout when it is spring?

[ICPS-bob]

That would depend on where you live and what competition the little seedlings will face when they germinate. If you add your location in your profile, you might get a bit more helpful replies.

[sarracenialover]

I am growing it in my backyard in Sanjose, California. Pretty temperate conditions i should say, but occasionally there are those storms with tons of rain and wind. I'm sure this could damage the seeds...

[Brian Barnes]

In my opinion, Central Fl. weather is kind of like your weather as far as supplying a steady, constant cold temperature required to stratify Sarracenia seed. I always store mine in the fridge for 4 to 6 wks before sowing them. I prefer to roll them up in a slightly damp piece of paper towel and put them in a small zip lock-style plastic bag. Then, just chill and serve! {i mean, plant!} Germination usually occurs in 3 or 4 wks. Brian.

[Not a Number]

Compare your winter temperatures with those of prime leucophylla areas.

Weather data:
www.intellicast.com/Local/History.aspx?location=USCA0993
(enter in a different city, zip code into the Enter location box at top to find data for another area). If your seeds have location data you may be able to narrow the search.

Distribution map (drill down by clicking on for more detail):
plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SALE4

The seeds should probably be protected from rain and local flooding as they could get washed away or buried under the soil.

[Alexis]

The seeds won't be damaged, but are designed to float in water for dispersal purposes. So if it does rain heavily, they'll get washed away unless they're in pots with rims.

[DroseraBug]

I'm trying this method with some of my seeds. After stratifying in the refrigerator you could find some cheap gallon plastic pots and sow with the tent method used by Meadowview Biological Station. This method is simple enough and should provide rain protection. You can buy the drain tile socks at Lowes in the plumbing section at a low price. You could always start them like this and transplant to bog after a one summers growth or so.
See this website.

www.pitcherplant.org/propagation.html

Victor

[sarracenialover]

can't they just start growing in a bog?

[ICPS-bob]

Sure they can be started outdoors in your bog. The only problem is that it will take several years before they get to a decent size and it is very likely that they will get lost and shaded out amongst your other plants and weeds. I need to weed my outdoor artificial bog several times a month otherwise it would be taken over by all kinds of weeds. If I were to plant Sarracenia seeds, I would probably pull them up with the weeds. That is why most people sow seeds in pots and then transplant them once they get to a reasonable size.

[sarracenialover]

my bog only has a baby VFT

[Brian Barnes]

I totally agree with Bob as far as planting in a pot and getting some size on those babies first! Might i suggest some lovely D. filiformis, D. filiformis tracyi, D. intermedia and D. capillaris as well? There's nothing like waking up early in the morning and seeing them glowing in the sun in your bog.
Keep in mind though, that the first three mentioned above will be in hibernacula now(winter resting bud) unless you have a tropical variant of D. intermedia, of course...Might be best to wait until Spring on those, so they don't rot. The ICPS seedbank is a GREAT place to get seed also, if you are a member. Good Growing, Brian.

[sarracenialover]

gotchya