FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

My friend knows I love VFT's, and today, he suprised my with a Sarracenia to add to my growing collection of carnivorous plants
However, I have no experience whatsoever with pitcherplants and I am having difficulty finding care tips online, so I have questions:
Does it really need high humidity, or can I take it out the little clear box thing?
Does it need different soil from VFT soil of 50/50 peat and perlite?
The pot seems to be very crowded...Do they need to have a lot of room, or can they be very crowded like a VFT?
Can I place it outside all year? : http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/a ... h/USCA0278
Anything else I should know.

Congratulations on your Sarracenia! Their care requirements are essentially identical to VFTs:
1) Lots of sun
2) Clean water
3) Peat moss/perlite/sand media

Humidity isn't terribly important. And yes, it can be placed outside all year.

thanks

Yeah pitcher plants love sunlight! That's how they get their color be be sure to always have water in the pitchers to prevent withering! About one third full , if u fill it too much the pitcher could snap!

mktamin wrote:My friend knows I love VFT's, and today, he suprised my with a Sarracenia to add to my growing collection of carnivorous plants

Wow, I need friends like that! lol

I wouldnt worry about filling the pitchers with water, Sarras will produce their own digestive fluids. There is an exeption for S.purpurea which relies on rain water for gigestion but if they are kept out side you shouldnt have to worry about this. If the plant looks crowded you can repot it in early spring but my plants dont seem to be too worried about being abit crowded so you could wait till next year.

Hope this helps, Pat.

Redneck_Angel wrote:Wow, I need friends like that! lol

Well that was the least he could do after I spent this whole week helping him build a planter box and creating a nice herb garden with a few artichokes and tomatoes

on a regular day of a plant getting sunlight, what exactly do they absorb? brightness or heat?

mktamin wrote:

Redneck_Angel wrote:Wow, I need friends like that! lol

Well that was the least he could do after I spent this whole week helping him build a planter box and creating a nice herb garden with a few artichokes and tomatoes

Lol, fair enough! Still quite nice of your friend though.

Plants use sunlight to photosynthasise.

so will the plant photosynthesize better on a hot day?

kevinqwe wrote:so will the plant photosynthesize better on a hot day?

Photosythesis actually has nothing to do with heat, except that perhaps a plant in their comfortable temperature may be healthier and may perform photosythesis more efficiently. I'm not exactly sure, but I think I heard that somewhere in biology class.

Just grow it outside in full sunlight, just like your flytraps. Set the pot in a tray of water and don't let it dry out. I don't bother with all of the fancy soil mixes some people like to use. All of mine are grown in long fiber sphagnum, which is changed every year or two. Keep it outside all year so it can go dormant. It needs the short days and some frost. If the temp drops down to 25F, put it in the garage or basement. In the summer, they like the heat, just don't let them dry out. They are very easy to grow. I have had to put my older plants in 5 gallon paint buckets, and they have filled those already. Actually, your flytraps should be grown like that as well. At least that has been my experience. All depends on your conditions. No need to fuss over them. They are much tougher than people think.

bpullin wrote:Just grow it outside in full sunlight, just like your flytraps. Set the pot in a tray of water and don't let it dry out. I don't bother with all of the fancy soil mixes some people like to use. All of mine are grown in long fiber sphagnum, which is changed every year or two. Keep it outside all year so it can go dormant. It needs the short days and some frost. If the temp drops down to 25F, put it in the garage or basement. In the summer, they like the heat, just don't let them dry out. They are very easy to grow. I have had to put my older plants in 5 gallon paint buckets, and they have filled those already. Actually, your flytraps should be grown like that as well. At least that has been my experience. All depends on your conditions. No need to fuss over them. They are much tougher than people think.

Thanks for the info. The only problem is that I can't use LFS, because the raccoons love digging it up, and also, I've only seen one winter around here where we got frost (the seasons here are extremely mild and don't change much throughout the year because the SF peninsula is surrounded by so much water) , so I'm not sure if my plants can go dormant successfully... If things don't work out this year, I may try the fridge dormancy thing.

mktamin wrote:I've only seen one winter around here where we got frost (the seasons here are extremely mild and don't change much throughout the year because the SF peninsula is surrounded by so much water) , so I'm not sure if my plants can go dormant successfully...

Temperature is only a very small part of dormancy requirements. Your plants will go into dormancy just fine in the SF bay area. Shorter days are the real key to dormancy. Of course, the lower temperatures (and the temps do drop in the SF area in winter) will also help.

I would not recommend using the fridge dormancy unless you have no other options.