Genus: Sarracenia

Neetabug,
Treat as if they were bog plants. Compost constantly moist so they like heaps of humidity. Should be peat. Remember they use the compost for anchorage only.

BTW Mine went down to MINUS NINE last night and don't appear to have been troubled by it!!!!! (They originate from Florida) Plants are highly resilient things......

I bought one of these plants today. The people at the nursery knew absolutely nothing about it so I'm not sure how to take care of it. I live on Moreton Bay in South East Queensland (Australia) and at present it's very hot and humid but this plant seems to be thriving on it.

The soil is moist and I've put it (in it's pot), on top of a saucer in a shallow bowl of water beside other plants by a northern facing window in my kitchen. I figure it will get plenty of indirect moisture, plenty of light without direct sun, and maybe the odd fruit fly from the fruit bowl.

Am I doing the right thing? Has anyone any hints how I should look after this beautiful plant (sans flower at present) in the sub-tropics?

Any help would be most appreciated.

Wow, what patients you have! Thanks for the terrarium 411 :)

The 'new' old bathtub is not fully set up yet Tastey. Lousy summer in the UK for the last 2 years but it is a must for 2009. The peat/sand/perlite/sphagnum is in as are a few hostas and a small bull-rush but no carnivores yet. They are still in pots. The plug is left in for bogginess.

I did grow them from seed Tastey. Offsets are taken far bigger. The dome is just a trendy and expensive terrarium.

I read a comment about you using a bathtub for your carnivorous plants. Do you have a picture of it? There's an old tub at my old property, thinking about getting it... Do you keep the plug out for drainage? Or is it plugged up for extra soggy bogginess?

Serraceniac- If you didn't grow these from seed...how did you grow them? They're so little.

Funkyfuschia- I saw something in a catalog that you may be intersted in. It's a called a carnivorous creature dome. It's kind of expensive $29.95 US dollars. I thought about buying it, but I don't know, 3 years just to germinate... Have you seen this dome, Sarraceniac? If so what are your thoughts on it?
Here's a link below:
http://www.whatonearthcatalog.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi?randomizer=190442272&action=detail&item=AU0622

Another fantastic shot! This would happen to be that fancy lighting again...would it? I need to get some professional lighting, what a difference it makes. This one is going to my favs along w Sarracenia rubra :)

Don't bother letting me know Patricias. I already know from 20 years experience of growing the things. Have fun.

thank you john for answering my question,on the packet it say's seedlings should appear in 6-8 weeks iv allso got to put them in the fridge for 4 weeks then bring them out put them in a saucer of water in a warm place with plenty of light. i will do what it says and let you know what happens, i have never grown seeds like this, patricia

Hi Patricias. Welcome to GoY.

The best time to plant is in mid winter, starting now. Planting of the seeds is best done in pots. The planting mixture for virtually all North American pitcher plant seeds is an even mixture (by volume) of sharp sand and peat moss. Extra sphagnum moss can be mixed in, or even laid on top, to aid water retention. Add water as you mix and thoroughly hydrate the peat to the point that you can squeeze the soil and see water, but not to the point that you can make the soil a soup. I assume that because you have taken this job on you know never to use tap water or stale rain water. Fresh rain water, as long as you are in the right area, or de-ionised (reverse osmosis) or distilled water is ideal.

I answered a question on sarras just a couple of weeks ago and if you look back you may find it useful. Somebody had been sold a crown and was told by the salesman to just 'stick it in the garden'. Obviously a salesman not a gardener. What does the bank advert say? 'No it doesn't work like that.'

There are a couple of pictures on my home page including one of some babies. If you are going in for growing carnivores you may like to see them.

When you bought the seeds did they tell you that germination can take up to 3 years? (The usual method of propagation is taking offsets but seeds are fun if you have patience and the right conditions). Good luck and keep us informed. If you have never tried sarras before I fully expect more questions. LOL.

John.

OK. You asked for it. This site may help but don't think that everything has to be followed to the letter.

http://www.pitcherplant.org/propagation.html

John.

Hi John, thank for your answer, Well i'm not going anywhere for a day or two so i think i'll give some a try, great challenge,

Hi Funky. I am afraid I have no seed at the moment or I could have sent you some. You do see it on eBay cheaply but do bear in mind that it is VERY slow germinating (up to 3 years) and then another 3 or 4 years of TLC to get to a reasonable size. No wonder they are quite expensive to buy as plants. Don't let me put you off though, if you succeed the sense of satisfaction is enormous.

John.

Hi, S are you growing these from seed, if so where are they available from i would love to have a go, the one i have was bought, but i love it,

Ooooh...., a man after my heart....! I love these unique creatures !

Love it...lol, Looks like you were going green before it was even popular.

Hi Inverglen. Thanks for the PM. I had missed your question.

If that is a photo of your sarracenia then the short answer is 'yes, it needs splitting'. I've never known a sarra to get 'pot-bound' in the traditional sense but they do stop growing and developing and would eventually rot off. The first thing to remember is that their nutrition is obtained purely from the insects that they digest NOT from the soil. In fact a soil rich in nutrients would kill it. NEVER use a fertilizer. I use a mixture of 1:1:1 peat, pearlite (or vermiculite) and sharp sand. I also grow sphagnum moss on the top and some mixed in with the growing medium that helps to retain moisture and add a little acidity.

In summer, the secret is moisture - no, more than moisture - WETNESS. During the growing season they like to be sopping and will be happy being in an inch of water all summer. The least pure water you can use is (as you have already noticed) rain water, but not if your clouds come over an industrial conurbation. The water MUST be pure and many people more expert than me say that even rain water is not pure enough and insist on distilled water or water subjected to reverse osmosis. I've never had any problems with FRESH rain water but our rain round here is pretty clean and slightly acidic.

In winter they must be allowed a period of dormancy so don't put them in heated conditions. They should be kept moist (but not sopping) in a cold greenhouse or cold frame. You might even get away with leaving them outside, where you are, with some severe frost protection. The only trouble is that if you use fleece that can get wet and freeze which doesn't do a lot of good if it is in contact with the plant so a frame would be essential.

There are several good web sites or by all means PM me if you want further info. There are a couple of photos on my 'My photos' a couple of show specimens and one of babies just potted on, plus one of my sarracenia nursery, a dead wheelbarrow lined with polythene and filled with growing medium.

Regards

John.

Hi...I can't help you with this but I know we have a member called Sarraceniac, these plants are among his passions! Sure he could help you. Suggest you leave him a message.

They are my total favourites (or in U.S. speak, favorites) Skippy. I didn't know whether to use the nick Sarraceniac or Cycadpath originally but, although I love cycads as well these are just WOW. And you don't have to wait so long.

Looks like a fancy stained glass vase instead of a flower...beautiful

I posted some pics of my Sarracenia's yesterday. They live in a container that has no drainage at all. It acts as a mini bog garden.

Rain water is best for them. If you live in an area of hard tap water, don't use it or you will kill the sarracenias

I live in Newcastle. Do they need a particular kind of water?

sarrancenias need water.I had a small collection a few years ago,mine were stood in Rain Water permantly.
So depending on where you live they should survive in a pond.

forgot to mention they are the provincial flower emblem of Newfoundland and Labrador. The main difference that I can see is that the pitchers are quite up reaching on this var. but the pitcher plant that is a wild flower in swamps and bogs as far west as Ontario have the pitchers almost horizontal from the base. Not at all the exotica that appears on the wikipedia page... one thing I did see while perrusing was Darlingtonia californica...have you seen that?

I knew when I first saw the picture of the drooped flower heads that it was familiar... It is what we called a "Pitcher plant" The insects crawl into the tubular leaves (which are usually full of water) and drown because of the plant hairs that grow inward not allowing the insect to pass them to crawl out of the "pitcher" ..they exhaust themselves...fall back into the acidic water and are digested by the plant. Devilishly simple..but effective. competition for food in the bogs can be serious. The blooms are amazing though!! The plant I am most familiar with has white flowers. Do the blooms smell like carrion?

!!!Never seen this plant b4 ?

Love these plants, I'd like to have this variety too. Love the blooms.

I love these plants !! My pitcher plant never bloomed (in 3 years) and then one winter it died. Very nice !!

An amazing plant.