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I thought I was an experienced grower, and I am.
But I learned I wasn't as experienced as I thought previously.
I lost around 99% of my temperate carnivores this last winter due to root rot. :-(

To prevent their soil from being waterlogged during dormancy, I punched a drainage hole in the side of my water trays to keep the water at a maximum of a half inch. I couldn't go lower or my trays would be no good during growing season, so I took a siphon and manually drained the rest. I got a mouthful of peat water a few times, not knowing it would be in vain.
I would have removed the trays altogether but I had a few pots that are about one inch wide at the base, and five or so inches tall, the trays help stabilize the pots, and prevented my other plants from falling off the table.

When I re-potted my plants I discovered many mushy bulbs/rhizomes.

One plant that I was fortunately given was S. oreophila
It was a beauty, the largest in my collection, with 26" tall pitchers.
I had it in a large 8 inch pot. When I repotted back in nov-december the rhizome looked robust and the root structure was wiry, and the roots were a nice ivory color. However I fear I may have lost this plant too as it has shown no signs that it's alive, it's phyllodia died back before I re potted it hasn't made new ones. What dissapoints me is I would have had to giveaway, and some to sow, but my kitten broke the flower stalk after I hand pollinated the flower.
Here is a photo of the plant, it made these pitchers and flowered under my care.
Subtle_Beauty_by_Dmuscipula.jpg

Sorry to the person who was kind enough to give me the division:sorry:


Here is a lit of all the plants I lost
Well over $200 dollars
I know I paid at least $20 for my B52, and for the red psittacina which I hand picked during a open house at a nursery.

D. muscipula " B52"
D. muscipula cv. 'Akai Ryu'
D. muscipula cv. 'Cupped Trap'
D. muscipula cv. 'Dentate Traps'
D. muscipula cv. 'Red Piranha'

S. cv. 'Judith Hindle'
S. cv. 'Scarlet Belle'
S. x ahlsii - (S.rubra x S.alata 'red throat)
S. alata
S. x formosa
S. gulfensis x jonesii giant
S. luecophylla cv. 'Tarnok'
S. minor
S. oreophila
S. psittacina var. typica
S. psittacina "var. red"
S. psittacina "f. dark maroon"
S. x readii
S. rubra
S. rubra ssp. wherryi

If anyone could help me rebuild my collection with extras I would be highly appreciative.
These are the plants I am most looking to replace
S. oreophila (of like size 22-26" pitchers)
S. psittacina (dark maroon, or red)
D. 'Red Piranha'
D. 'B52'
D. 'cup trap'

The rest of the plants, while I am sad to have lost them I can live without.:-(
 
My cousin experienced a simlar fate twice with collections with far more valuable plants. Dont worry, you can rebound and be up and going again within the season.
 
I thought I was an experienced grower, and I am.
But I learned I wasn't as experienced as I thought previously.
I lost around 99% of my temperate carnivores this last winter due to root rot. :-(

Creeping intoxication of the substrate by using water with too many minerals in it during summer can lead to heavy losses of plants in the next winter.

So perhaps not only purchase new plants, use new substrate as well and double-check the water you are using for watering (when using other than pure rain water)!
 
Sorry about that i think i had three or four flytraps that had root rot this year also they didn't make it either sorry for you and i am sorry for me.
 
It happens to all of us from time to time. I lost a flytrap and possibly a very large purple pitcher this year. The purple pitcher though, didn't have a dormancy last year. The person I got it off of just grew it out. So maybe that had weakened it. It was quite confused last year. It tried blooming in October.
 
Creeping intoxication of the substrate by using water with too many minerals in it during summer can lead to heavy losses of plants in the next winter.

So perhaps not only purchase new plants, use new substrate as well and double-check the water you are using for watering (when using other than pure rain water)!



I have a pretty sweet filter
I don't know if it's RO but I know it's UV
My mother works in wastewater management and she says it removes the minerals and salts so they are below 50 Parts Per Million. I definitely notice a taste difference between the filter and the tap. However it is possible that minerals could have built up in the tray over time through evaporation, like setting sea water out in a metal pan on the beach.
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I've been working with reef tanks a little over three years, and as far as I know UV filters don't remove anything but bacteria and pathogens. Minerals and impurities can only be removed via mechanical filtration, such as with an RO/DI unit.
I think we just found your problem.
 
Wow..sorry to hear that! :(

two issues I can see:

pots too wet all winter..you really need to remove the trays completely, no standing water at all.
plus let them drain and dry out for a week or so before putting them away for the winter..
were your pots bagged? or exposed to the open air?

"I don't know if it's RO but I know it's UV"

UV is meaningless for CP's..all UV does is kill pathogens..it does nothing about hardness.
If the filter doesnt have any kind of RO membrane, then its no good for CP's..
ion exchange resins are also no good for CP's..all they do is exchange some ions for different ones,
but they dont make the water less hard overall..only three kinds of water should ever be used for VFTs and Sarrs:

Rain water
RO water
Distilled water

nothing else..
sorry..looks like a combination of "too wet" plus possible mineral build up, was too much for your plants..

Scot
 
pots too wet all winter..you really need to remove the trays completely, no standing water at all. plus let them drain and dry out for a week or so before putting them away for the winter..
I've managed to kill some in years past that were either too wet or too dry. Something wetter than bone-dry and drier than soaking wet (leaning closer to the dry side) tends to work for me. In addition, I dose with Tricho before they go to bed in the back of the garage (I also cross my fingers & hope each winter) - as well as monitor them all winter....
 
  • #10
I don't know if it's RO but I know it's UV
My mother works in wastewater management and she says it removes the minerals and salts so they are below 50 Parts Per Million.

Do you have a TDS tester (cheapest version is enough) so you can prove the TDS/ppm of the filtered water?

The filter capacity of RO filters is limited, the RO membrane is a wear and tear part. Normally you use a cheap TDS tester to test the raw water and filterered water, and if the filtered water has max. 5% of the TDS ppm reading as the raw water, the filter is OK. Otherwise, if not 95% of the minerals is filtered out, the RO membrane needs replacement.

Whether the filter has an additional UV unit and whether this UV unit is working or not, is of no importance for your plants. It's only important if the water is used for drinking or washing fruit and vegetables for consumption whithout previous cooking while germs proliferate in the filter unit.
 
  • #11
My mother probably has a mineral test kit at work, I could send her with two samples of water in separate bottles and have her test them for me.

If it is the case that my filter is not a UV/RO combo, do you have any suggestions on how to flush the minerals out of pots with particular delicate plants such as small sundews or seedlings?
 
  • #12
My mother probably has a mineral test kit at work, I could send her with two samples of water in separate bottles and have her test them for me.

That's an idea.
The only test needed is a TDS / conductivity test, result in ppm or micro-Siemens. Cheap TDS meters at eBay are for less than 20 USD, shipping from Hong Kong included (Seach for "TDS meter"). But anybody can do the test who has a TDS meter (i.e. aquaristic pet shops, most likely).

TDS (conductivity) tap water = ?
TDS (conductivity) filtered water = ?
If your filter is an RO filter and the membrane is OK, the TDS (or conductivity) of the filtered water should be 5% (or less) of the TDS (or conductivity) of the tap water.

If it is the case that my filter is not a UV/RO combo, do you have any suggestions on how to flush the minerals out of pots with particular delicate plants such as small sundews or seedlings?

Sundews is a problem. Sarracenia can withstand somewhat higher concentration of minerals than sundews can. If your filter is not a RO unit (or a RO unit with defective RO membrane) and only Sarracenia are affected, I'd try some kind of "rinsing method":
- Do one month (or ten times) of watering of your Sarracenia as you like
- and once per month (or every tenth watering): Rinse additional water from top to bottom through the pot and pour away that rinsed through water
 
  • #13
If your plants were all lost during winter where they are being rained on and the pots are flushed naturally, it's hard for me to believe the deaths are due to mineral buildup. I suspect rot is a more likely possibility.

They would most likely perish durning the summer if this was the case, no? Also, I doubt you'd lose sarracenia before sundews when using water with too many minerals.


Let's not beat around the bush.
 
  • #14
I've managed to kill some in years past that were either too wet or too dry. Something wetter than bone-dry and drier than soaking wet (leaning closer to the dry side) tends to work for me. In addition, I dose with Tricho before they go to bed in the back of the garage (I also cross my fingers & hope each winter) - as well as monitor them all winter....

I agree..drier is better!
my pots are quite dry all winter..moist, but dry. ;)
its hard to get more specific than that, but if you squeeze the media, and some actual water drops drip out, then its probably too wet..

I just took my plants out of dormancy today! :)
4 and a half months in the stairwell this year..they all look good!
I dont check my plants at all in the winter anymore..but I keep them wrapped tight in plastic, so there is no danger of them drying out..

Scot
 
  • #15
Just to clarify... in my experience rot is more of an issue if the plants are in a basement or garage. If your plants are outside all winter and exposed to open air, it is less of a concern.

Phil
 
  • #16
That sucks, sorry to hear you lost so much. It seems every year I lose several temperate cps also. I just can't perfect their dormancy. I just pulled mine out this week, but I'm not repotting this year, so I've yet to see what will be lost. Fingers crossed.

But hey, it gives you an excuse to pick up some new plants!
 
  • #17
I agree with SDCPs, I even started to water with plain old tap water without problems as long as I allowed rain to wash the minarals out in the winter. I never keep my plants in water during winter and have never suffered root rot. Loosing your collection Is hard I know but dont give up. Jack
 
  • #18
Sounds to me like rot. I keep mine in an un heated attic all winter, and very dry. Maybe slightly damp, but water may've a tiny bit ever other week.

---------- Post added at 10:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:12 AM ----------

I also wanted to mention that I water with 100% lake weir tap water year after year withno problems. I do repot every year though.
 
  • #19
I tested the water and the results weren't horrific

Total hardness (TH) ppm: 100
Free Chlorine (FC)/Bromine ppm: 1/2
pH: 6.4
Total Alkalinity(TA) ppm: between 40-80
Cyanuric Acid (CYA) ppm: 0
 
  • #20
D_muscipula,

I noticed on your other post that you are rebuilding your collection with some worthy plants!
New plant Sarracenia purpurea subsp. venosa var. burkii "chipola"
http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126253

[Sarracenia purpurea subsp. venosa var. burkii "chipola" / Sarracenia flava var. rubricorpora]
(Indeed those Sarrs look juicy!) :drool:

But back on this thread/subject...
Did you ever get my contribution/package of plants I sent you?
Been over 10 days and I never heard back...
but then I figured that with such nice Sarrs you had posted were arriving,
you must have gotten better "help" from someone than I was able to give!

From those Sarr pics, its certainly understandable that you have been busy with other more important plants and things, but I had kind of hoped to hear a word or two back when you got my "donation".

Of course if by remote chance you haven't received my package yet, it is by now likely you will some day receive a box with a dead B-52 and other dead plant specimens! Normally 3-5 days in transit for plants to arrive, but 10 days or more spells a real problem...
Oh well, I did try to help you out with what I could, but it seems there's been yet another casualty of your "Massive Dieoff"! I hope it isn't catching!

By the way, Very nice Sarr. plants you have there as seen on your other post/thread at least!
Good luck.

[I did give you a heads up when I shipped them out, so I assume they aren't sitting on a front porch somewhere! Perhaps watch if your neighbor starts growing really large VFT's and other CP's! :-O ]
 
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