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potted vs unpotted

  • Thread starter jiana54
  • Start date
whats the difference between buying a potted sar from an unpotted one? if i decide to buy an unpotted sar, are there any specific rules in potting it?
 
Unpotted is cheaper :) Just make up your mix of choice and pot it up. I like to keep as much of the rhizome above ground as I can but others like to bury it halfway and some bury most of it. Really easy plants, Sarracenia.


If you have any superthrive, use some of that.
 
It's usually cheaper to buy plants bare root - there's a considerable weight savings.
 
thanks for the help.

so once i get the plants, all i need to do is pot it up. i dont need to spray it with fungicide or soak it in water or something right?
 
Sure if you would like. I don't. Soaking in superthrive-laden water is good.
 
i know that for vfts, smaller the pot = bigger traps. does the same concept apply for sars? smaller pot = taller pitchers
 
I don't know where you get those ideas from... This is the first I've heard of it and a big plant is one with room to grow!
 
i know that for vfts, smaller the pot = bigger traps. does the same concept apply for sars? smaller pot = taller pitchers

No. Smaller pot= constricted rhizome= sad unhappy plant. Sarracenia like room to breathe so bigger pots are better IMO.

Steve
 
You just think the traps look bigger. It's like using smaller plates when you're on diet so it looks like you're getting the same sized portions as before.

I would take a look at the NASC Grower Information Packet (PDF) which has guidelines for pot sizes e.g.

d. must be able to demonstrate and provide proper growing conditions to achieve healthy plants
i. Appropriate minimum surface area per plant
a. Three to four inch pot or cell trays for multiple seedlings
b. Three inch pot for yearlings
c. Four inch pot for two-year-old plants
d. Six inch or larger pot for mature rhizomes
e. Larger pots if space allows​
 
  • #10
It also depends on your source that you are getting the plants from. Not so much with sarrs since they are pretty tough, but I've gotten plants that have just had a paper towel and a twist tie with a bag (not very well packed). This method can be quite safe, if done properly, but when someone just throws it all together shipping definitely has more wear and tear on a plant. Potted plants usually have a plastic cup or something over the plant above the pot, which cuts down on shipping effects considerably. Plus, the plant isn't dug up or unpotted, then shipped, then potted again, creating more strain on the roots of the plant.

Like I said, this isn't usually a problem, unless you get some sloppy handling.

xvart.
 
  • #11
It is my experience over the years, buying bare root stuff during the middle of the growing season should be avoided. I almost always buy bareroot Sarracenia during early spring or late fall when plants are beginning to go dormant so they'll grow better.

Barerooted plants in the middle of the growing season get stunted or may refuse to grow at all.
 
  • #12
Within reason, you could go either way - bare root or potted. As indicated by DouglasPeel, and the reasoning behind it, a plant whose roots are disturbed in the growing season is likely to suffer from shock and be set back a few weeks, before it recovers. But so does shipping a plant and buying a neglected one from garden center, like Lowes. With a plant that is potted, in theory, the roots aren't disturbed. But being taken out of its existing element (light, temp, humidity) may also lead to a little bit of shock. We, as hobbyists, often try to ship pitcher plants and others with the soil it had been planted, so as to minimize root disturbance. But what can't be controlled is the shipping - no light, change in temp & humidity). Either way you look at it, unless a plant is hand-delivered by a friend, there is the potential for at least some setback. And as long as the plant is healthy enough and one's cultivation skills are decent, the plants recover.

There is a general rule of thumb for living critters.... the colder and darker the conditions, the bigger and less colorful they will be. The warmer and well-lit... the smaller and redder / more colorful they will be.

You can use fungicide if you'd like, but that is usually not necessary - particularly if they are exposed to the sun and air. It's terrarium use that runs the strongest risk to mold.

Can you put your pitcher plants outside? That would be the best for them. I have mine set up in buckets, as minibogs, so I can tote them to the attic for winter dormancy and place them outside from spring through fall. And this way I don't have to take them out for a fridge dormancy, either.

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  • #13
Isn't S. rubra an exception, taking a year or so to recover from root disturbance and should be repotted as little as possible?
 
  • #14
Isn't S. rubra an exception, taking a year or so to recover from root disturbance and should be repotted as little as possible?

Thats news to me.. I just received a S. rubra a few weeks ago and its already shooting up a whole bunch of new pitchers.
 
  • #15
Thats news to me.. I just received a S. rubra a few weeks ago and its already shooting up a whole bunch of new pitchers.

From ICPS growing guide:
Adult plants of all subspecies of S. rubra enjoy full sun outdoors. They do best in peat/sand soil mixtures. Make sure you use a large enough pot as the plants tend to not like being transplanted--they don't die, they just take a year or two to get back to their usual selves.
 
  • #16
I like to buy bare root to save a bit of money but I have bought both potted and bare root. Matter of fact I have 2 S. Leucos I just got 3 weeks ago bare root and one is putting up a flower stalk. I use 50/50 peat and perlite. You really can't go wrong either way!

Tom
 
  • #17
From ICPS growing guide:
Adult plants of all subspecies of S. rubra enjoy full sun outdoors. They do best in peat/sand soil mixtures. Make sure you use a large enough pot as the plants tend to not like being transplanted--they don't die, they just take a year or two to get back to their usual selves.

Well don't tell that to my plants. Apparently they were not informed of this tidbit of info. The gulfensis that Bugweed gave me last July, pitchered profusely all the way up till late November. It also made about 5 new growth points in that time. I dug it out this February, split it into 6 plants and repotted it and it looks to be determined to win the race to get its new pitchers up first.
 
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