FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

My Tarnak Sarracenia was thriving, even flowered this summer with several huge flowers. But now the flowers have died, the older plants have a lot of brown, and there are few new growths. (See photo.) Nothing has changed in terms of care, location, bugs, weather, sun, etc. I am wondering if now that it has flowered, its life span is over? If not, any suggestions on how to revive it? If it is done, is it too late in the season to get a baby one started? Thanks for your help!
Connie

Sarracenia do not die after flowering unless growing conditions are wrong. Like most CPs, they are perennials and can survive and flower year after year indefinitely (even the annual species such as Drosera burmannii sometimes keep living if fed a lot). Flowering can take a lot of energy out of them, but they will generally recover as long as conditions are good.

There is hope then! I know that you shouldn't give fertilizer to carniverous. So how can I help them? Thanks for your quick response!
Connie

I don't think that there is really much you need to do. S. leucophylla "Tarnok", like other S. leucophylla tend to produce flattened leaf-like structures called phyllodia in mid-summer, especially when humidity is low. The plant might look bad for a while but once late summer/autumn comes, and the humidity comes up a little bit, it should start producing pitchers again (of course, until winter dormancy sets in and they stop growing). Wilting and decline in growth can also be due to rot, so check the rhizome just to be sure that there is nothing mushy and rotting. I think its fine though, given that the leaves look ok in the picture.

If the plant produced normal pitchers in the spring, and is still producing some phyllodia right now I wouldn't worry too much about it. Even though flowering takes some energy out of Sarracenia, it doesn't affect them nearly as much as it affects flytraps.

THANK YOU! What a relief! There is hope. I have really enjoyed having this plant, and was despairing. Connie

Hi Connie,

What are your growing conditions for your plants? I can see that they are outside (Good!), and I assume this is a full sun location. How wet (or not wet) are you keeping them? What is your water source? What has general weather and temperatures been like in your area? This pitcher browning seems a bit premature. All of our Tarnoks are looking great right now, and that's after some rounds of 90-100 degree weather with low humidity.

Jeff

cadorn wrote:My Tarnak Sarracenia was thriving,

w03 wrote: S. leucophylla "Tarnok"

w03, It's S. leucophylla 'Tarnok' in single inverted commas as it's a registered cultivar.

w03 wrote:S. leucophylla tend to produce flattened leaf-like structures called phyllodia in mid-summer, especially when humidity is low. The plant might look bad for a while but once late summer/autumn comes, and the humidity comes up a little bit, it should start producing pitchers again (of course, until winter dormancy sets in and they stop growing). Wilting and decline in growth can also be due to rot, so check the rhizome just to be sure that there is nothing mushy and rotting. I think its fine though, given that the leaves look ok in the picture.

If the plant produced normal pitchers in the spring, and is still producing some phyllodia right now I wouldn't worry too much about it. Even though flowering takes some energy out of Sarracenia, it doesn't affect them nearly as much as it affects flytraps.

I agree with you here.

JDallas wrote:Hi Connie,

What are your growing conditions for your plants? I can see that they are outside (Good!), and I assume this is a full sun location. How wet (or not wet) are you keeping them? What is your water source? What has general weather and temperatures been like in your area? This pitcher browning seems a bit premature. All of our Tarnoks are looking great right now, and that's after some rounds of 90-100 degree weather with low humidity.

Jeff

Connie, just listen to whatever JD advises you to do... he's a mastermind.

JDallas wrote:Hi Connie,

What are your growing conditions for your plants? I can see that they are outside (Good!), and I assume this is a full sun location. How wet (or not wet) are you keeping them? What is your water source? What has general weather and temperatures been like in your area? This pitcher browning seems a bit premature. All of our Tarnoks are looking great right now, and that's after some rounds of 90-100 degree weather with low humidity.

Jeff

Hi!
Thanks for responding! Here in Central Virginia, the humidity has been horrid (for humans): at times 90-100%! (AUGH!!) I water with distilled water daily in the early morning. If it has been an especially hot day, I ocassionally water again in the afternoon. They are facing south, in direct sunlight all day. MANY bugs of all sizes for them to eat. The Scarlet Sarracenia next to them are thriving, to the point that I will be repotting them into a larger pot this weekend. (Both are in the flytrap soil medium sold through this website's store.) But the Tarnuk has stopped thriving, after it had three giant flowers. I am at a loss as to why! They even survived the winter in my cold (40-45 degree at night) sunroom. To have them die now, is depressing and frustrating. They are my first, so I am new to this. But the other day there was slight hope: a large bug crawled in and never crawled out, so they are still getting bugs!

But the brown does worry me, as does the lack of new growth. Any help and advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Connie

Hi Connie,

I noticed that you have the plants in terracotta pots, and it sounds like they are not sitting in water. You can get by with daily top watering, but during very hot weather, even in high humidity, Sarracenia can dry out very quickly in hot weather. Add to that the terracotta pot which looses water from the sides to evaporation. The S. leucophylla "Tarnok" is a much larger plant than the other Sarracenia such as your Scarlet Belle or S. purpurea (although I see some browning on that one too), so it uses much more water than the others. It looks like the soil dried out temporarily, and the tops wilted. It wasn't enough water loss to kill the plant, but the extremities suffer first.

It's best if they have a shallow water tray to sit in, especially during the summer. Still top-water since that's very good for keeping the soil oxygenated, but a small reservoir will help them out when they are using lots of water.

You might also consider transplanting your plants to either plastic or glazed ceramic pots. This minimizes water loss.

I was also going to mention that Sarracenia are hardy to the mid-20's F. in winter. If they are protected in a cold frame a covering or mulched, they can handle into the teens and even colder. 40-45 degrees in winter is very mild for them. In fact, much warmer than that in winter could be problematic.

As was mentioned by others, it is very normal for S. leucophylla to produce phyllodia about now during the hottest part of the summer with growth slowing down. They pick up again as nights begin to cool some in late August. They usually produce the nicest pitchers in early Fall.

Jeff

THANK YOU! I will try the water tray. I am paranoid about root rot, for my orchids would die standing in water. But these guys are bog plants, right? It is worth the experiment/ risk. And I will change the water daily to make sure the mosquitoes don't use it to flourish. (Do sarracenia eat mosquitoes, by any mircle?) Final question for now: given their weakened state, would repotting them into a different pot be too traumatic?

On the good new front, it has been raining all day today, so they have had a good drenching. Thanks again for your help!
Connie

Hi Connie,

Yes, Sarracenia are bog plants, very different from most of the commonly grown orchids which are epiphytes growing on tree bark, moss, etc... Here's an example. This is a picture I took a couple years ago of Sarracenia flava in Brunswick County, NC.


Unfortunately, Sarracenia don't catch mosquitos. Sundews catch them occasionally, but they don't really attract them. You can use mosquito dunks in water trays to keep the larvae populations from forming. They last about 30 days, and would help you to not use so much distilled water. Here's an example: http://www.lowes.com/pd_92460-1643-MODU ... Id=3047384

Jeff

Looks like the image didn't come through. Here's a link: http://sarracenia.proboards.com/thread/ ... arolina-cp

Jeff

THANK YOU! I am proud of myself: today I transplanted all of my carniverous into plastic pots. The thriving Scarlett I put in a 12 inch pot, expecting it to be huge for it. Instead, it looks great! In fact, the plants could reach the edge of the pot by the time summer ends. The Tarnuk has at least been given a better chance to live. I will try sitting the pot in a water tray as well. Thanks for the image and the help!
Connie