Return to the Carnivorous Plants Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
Seeking experts' advice for sarracenia
| | |
Posted by haxuan Vietnam (My Page) on Thu, Nov 5, 09 at 0:05
I got a sarracenia pitcher plant from a friend but have no clues on how to care for it. I would appreciate your advice on how to care for this sarracenia.
Right now, the plant is being kept outside where temperature is about 87oC outside. It receives full sun for about 2 hrs at mid-day and dappled sun the rest of the afternoon. I place the pot in a basin of rain water.
But I can provide a cooler climate for it in my temperate garden on the highland, should it be necessary.
Here's a photo of its current state.
Thank you very much for your kind help.
Xuan
|
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Seeking experts' advice for sarracenia
| | |
Hi
Am certainly no expert lol but do have experience with "subtropical" These plants grow naturally in the southern US even ranging to to northern florida The areas are characterized by mild short winters but do experience frost and even hard freezes. IME in south florida it's easy to see they would benefit from a very cool season for sure. They tend to "waste " away for me some more slowly than others.
Have no experience with highland conditions where it would be cool year around. Would be an interesting experiment. I suspect results would be similar a seasonal change being essential long term.
can you move them between the locations?? Would provide a distinct seasonal change for sure .. Good luck gary |
RE: Seeking experts' advice for sarracenia
| | |
| Hi Gary, I'm glad you dropped by. So, you suggested I move it up to my highland garden? Should I move it up now and leave it there, say, up to February? During this time, do I need to winterize it in the fridge? Oh, I'm so new to this. Please give me all the advice you can. Thank you very much. Xuan |
RE: Seeking experts' advice for sarracenia
| | |
| What is your temperature range, especially for the winter? Sarracenias, in general, come from America's Southeast, characterized by hot and humid summers (~30-35 C) and winters that do experience some freezing, but generally not hard freezes. |
RE: Seeking experts' advice for sarracenia
| | |
| By the way Jim, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! |
RE: Seeking experts' advice for sarracenia
| | |
Hi
Can only give you my personal experience and even that is limited to SUB tropical as all of florida even the keys
experience a distict "winter" season.
I think what I'd do is keep them where they are until you note a general decline in growth. Then move them to the cooler clime. Obviously others in your area must be growing them?? What are they doing??
i don't think they require the cold of say a VFT nor for as long duration but as a guess I'd say at least under 40 for a month?? I suspect if you kept them cool continuously you'd experience the opposite problem.
have seen them growing wild in zone 8 florida and the UDA would give you some guidelines of annual average temps as well as duration. The BIG difference in the 4 zones is mostly winter lows. Summers are almost the same.
How wonderful to have a choice!!!
Hope you're not being affected by the flooding??
I'm always interested in true tropical climes. Especially high altitude. have always wanted to have a "cool house." being poor that's not going to happen though lol Good luck and keep us informed this plants CAN be grown in the tropics but requires a different approach |
RE: Seeking experts' advice for sarracenia
| | |
RE: Seeking experts' advice for sarracenia
| | |
Thank you very much everyone.
Gary, not many other Vietnamese are growing this species here so I have no one to look to :-o(
From what I've gathered here, I thought that I will just leave the plant here (in Saigon) until I notice some decline. Then maybe I will put it in the fridge for a month to sleep.
Or maybe I will split the plant, take one half up the mountains and leave the other half here, to see which fares better.
Again, thanks for all the advice. Xuan |
RE: Seeking experts' advice for sarracenia
| | |
Hi
Sounds like a plan.!!! What I found most difficult about the "Fridge " method was the wife wanted to use the fridge to store vegetables in lol!! I keep telling her that's NOT why God invented themLol
I don't find many people that grow them in my area either while not 150 miles from me they are growing in the ditches lol
As an aside what are the MT's like there any high enough to have snow or permanent frost??. |
RE: Seeking experts' advice for sarracenia
| | |
| Having spent time in your country, the lowlands are too warm year round for good pitcher growth, and the highlands aren't cold enough. As the growing season for american pitcher plants is from approximately March to October, at the end of October, I would shorten the pitchers and place the pot and plant into the fridge. During the time its in the fridge, you will need to check on it and make sure it stays moist and free of mold. Around February, I would take it out of the fridge gradually until in March it can come out to stay. Also during the growing season, for best color and growth, it needs to stay outdoors in full sun for at least 8 plus hours a day and needs to be kept wet. Any other questions, please feel free to contact me. |
RE: Seeking experts' advice for sarracenia
| | |
| Oh, thank you very much, turtleman, for your detailed instructions. So, you think it's time now to shorten the pitchers and put the pot into the fridge? But there are new growths on the plant at the moment. Do you think I still can put it to sleep? Gary, some places on the mountains in North Vietnam do have frost, and even snow, for a short period of time. But Dalat is mild year round, it's only 1800 meters above sea level. Xuan |
RE: Seeking experts' advice for sarracenia
| | |
| If the majority of the pitchers are brown, then I would trim the pitchers back to approximately 3 inches from the rhizome and place the pot in the fridge. The problem with not hibernating american pitcher plants is that they will last but a short time without a period of cold. Your area is more conducive to nepenthes or the asian pitcher plants. |
RE: Seeking experts' advice for sarracenia
| | |
| Hi Xuan, If you have access to an area with frost then it will be cold enough for sarracenia to hibernate. I live in a north Florida county where Sarracenia grow wild. The roof of my house was covered in frost Wednesday night. But turtleman1's advice to set the sarracenia in the fridge is a good idea. That way you could watch over it (don't know how often you go to your highlands land.) Five of my sarracenias still have productive pitchers. It will probably be December before we get our first freeze. In my region we really only have three months of cold weather (December-Februay.) Frost occurs anytime after October and before May. |
RE: Seeking experts' advice for sarracenia
| | |
| "Around February, I would take it out of the fridge gradually until in March it can come out to stay" How do you gradually take it out for a month? This gradual change is not necessary for coming out of dormancy but the idea could be applied to induce dormancy. Give it some sun in the day and put it in the frige at night until it stops actively growing. Then leave it in the frige until march. |
RE: Seeking experts' advice for sarracenia
| | |
Hi
Turtleman
So what would happen to them if they never warmed such as in a mountain location?? I suspect they would decline in the same way as not having a chill??
Heliamphora might be a good choice in his higher location?? I know they hate heat for sure lol How about Cobra lily?? Having both a higher altitude garden would allow him to grow the two major types of Nepenthes.
Funny how when we neophytes think "Tropical" we automaticly think heat. Not realizing how drasticly the climate changes going up!! gary |
RE: Seeking experts' advice for sarracenia
| | |
Gary,
Like I told Xuan, I've been to her country. In the highlands, it can get to 100 during the day and drops to 40 even 50 at nite in certain parts. Thats the difference between that and the lowlands where there is no drastic change. She's also right that further north, there may be frost, however she doesn't live that far( she lives in Saigon and Dalat is not that high up ). Chances are, the plant would do better in the highlands, however she lives in the lowlands and from her missive wants the plant there, so the advice was for a lowland location. And yes, if the plants never went into hibernation so to speak, they would slowly decline. A good example would be Oreaphila vs. Minor. When I moved to Central Florida, my Oreaphila did fine during the summer, however they started declining when I kept them out all winter. It wasn't cold enough. My Minor from Lake Okeechobee however not only thrived but they flower twice a year as they are used to the temp being hot damn near all year round. |
RE: Seeking experts' advice for sarracenia
| | |
| taz: I think your approach is very "do-able" for me - I'll leave it outside during the day and place it in the fridge during the night, from now on until it stop growing. Then it will stay inside the fridge all the time. I will start tonight and will report the changes later. Many thanks for all the advice given. I really appreciate them all. Xuan |
RE: Seeking experts' advice for sarracenia
| | |
Here is a link that might be useful: Article here
|
|
|
|
