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Getting good color indoors

I'm new to sarrs, and I gave my mother a Judith Hindle for Christmas. She grows it indoors on a window sill, because the neighborhood has deer which like to wander by and eat practically anything. She feeds it insects that she catches occasionally.

She's a bit disappointed that as the red leaves are dying off, the new leaves stay green. It's getting direct sun, but I guess not enough. Any suggestions or helpful threads to point me to?
 
Well, unfortunately the only real solution is to put them outside. Sarracenia are outdoor plants, no exceptions. Some members put chicken wire or other fencing material around their plants to keep animals out. Bugs can get in, other animals stay out. I strongly advise you find some way to grow it outside.
 
color is a really complicated subject. Apparently purpureas growing in a bit of alkaline media are dark red compared to that growing in acidic media. So light, media and a number of other unknown factors (including genetics, season) determine the color of a plant.
 
Yeah, she needs to go outside with some sort of enclosure. I started with a wire drawer from one of those closet make-over wire contraptions but gradually worked up in size as the collection grew. I didn't have deer, but squirrels and chipmunks that liked to dig.
 
I say just toss up a salt lick on the otherside of the yard to keep them from going for the less delicious sarr's :)
 
I think there's some kind of plant that deer don't like to go near, maybe you could get one or two.
 
Sun. Sun. Sun.

That's how sarracenia get red.
 
Get a motion sensor sprinkler or something, aimed away from the plants of course but nearby. When the deer come by your yard they will get squirted. If the deer don't come back to your neighbors yard that's not her problem.
 
Get an N. x 'Miranda' instead?
~Joe
 
  • #10
If you really want to grow indoors, you can get a 250 watt HPS or MH light which would allow them to do really well indoors
 
  • #11
you could wrestle the deer to the ground with your bare hands and then convince it to leave your plants be.

or.... do the chickenwire cage thing... probably the best idea...

if she likes cp's and indoors is the answer you may try a different cp there are plenty of colorful cp's that can grow on a bright windowsill it just so happens that sarrs are the worst candidate for that...

good luck
 
  • #12
I would beg to differ with the generally excepted statement 'you can't grow them on windowsills and get good color' which is commonly, seemingly attached to Sarracenia. From personal experience, you CAN grow these plants on windowsills, albeit bright ones. I currently grow two species of Sarracenia on my Nana's windowsill, and both went from having bright green leaves, to the point where I was wondering if they were antothycin free, to having extremely red veined pitchers in 1 week. They even started to produce abundant nectar outside of the pitchers, in little beads of 'honey'. The plants were a purpurea and a hybrid with some purpurea heritage. Of course, I cannot vouch for other Sarracenia, maybe they need more light? But generally I treat all my Sarracenia the same.

So, it seems like you can grow Sarracenia on windowsills, if they're bright enough, and the right temperatures etc. Of course, the plants still need dormancy etc. though, but just wanted to point out it isn't necessarily impossible :)
 
  • #13
Definitely. VFTs are happy as larry on a sunny windowsill, although you've more chance of them colouring up well on a south facing one, rather than east or west.
 
  • #14
My pitcher plant is happy as anything on our bathroom windowsill. It gets dappled bright sunlight all day long and is almost BLACK it's so dark. I'll get some pictures up at some point. It's rather impressively dark red.

Anyway, give it lots and lots of light and there's really no need to feed it bugs, it can catch what it needs on it's own (and you'd be surprised how many insects get indoors. Ours seems constantly stuffed lol)
Try to find a windowsill that gets early morning and late evening light as well as light all day. Lots of light seems to make for a happy plant.
 
  • #15
Put it outdoors and give it as much sun as you can.

It probably won't go through it's required winter dormancy on a windowsill, so I'd be thinking about that too.....
 
  • #16
CPs CAN still get very nice color and grow vigorously indoor with the proper lighting.

Sarracenia purpurea ssp venosa Walton Co Fl

Baylorguy81


Venus Flytrap (Typcial)

Baylorguy81


And my Drosera capensis All Red is just that... all red, which is a sign of good lighting. All of this is done on a growrack with 6 T12 bulbs. The plants do like sun, but don't buy into the logic that they will look terrible indoors. Mine are doing just fine...
 
  • #17
Well, unfortunately the only real solution is to put them outside. Sarracenia are outdoor plants, no exceptions. Some members put chicken wire or other fencing material around their plants to keep animals out. Bugs can get in, other animals stay out. I strongly advise you find some way to grow it outside.

????????

You can definitely grow Sarracenia inside. I'm growing a Dana's Delight and two Hurricane Creek Whites at the moment and they seem to be doing quite well for themselves. This one is grown inside under very bright CFLs:

sarracenia.jpg
 
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