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What must i know to grow sarracenia's well?

Hi:

I REALLY love Sarracenias.  Here is a possible outdoors growing situation I could offer these lovely plants.

I already own the following container [dimensions are: 26" L x 19-3/4" W x 10-1/2" H]:

bogcontainer.jpg


I can collect rainwater in buckets and store it in gallon bottles if necessary for watering in between rainstorms. It looks like a mixture of 1/2 spaghum peat and 1/2 sand would be best. It will also have a screen cover constructed over it to try to persuade the local children and squirrels from doing any mischief.

My goal would be to grow sarracenia purpurea and have them overwinter in this container.  This is the only cp native to mid-central Michigan.

Does anyone have an alternate suggestion?  Digging a bog into the ground is not allowed by townehouse management.  A container is the only option and it can't have standing water.
 
your idea sounds basically fine!
I am doing similar with my mini-bog..
you need to drill drainige holes about half-way up the container, so that there is always standing water in the bottom half of the container, that will keep it wet enough..
then, when you water it, just fill it until water runs out the holes..

(dont worry about the townhouse requirement of "no standing water"..they wont be able to tell there is water in the bottom half of the bog! ;)
Scot
 
Scott:

This container comes with predrilled drainage hole (holes?)--I don't remember how many since I filled it with soil 2 years ago. Should I plug up the existing holes and drill some further up like you suggested? Also, how do you safely drill through plastic without it cracking?
 
hmmm..drainage holes in the bottom isnt good.
it would dry out very fast, and even if you watered it every day,
it still wouldnt be very "boggy" if all the water can run straight out the bottom,
and it would be a huge waste of water..
I suppose you could catch the water as it drains out and just keep recycling it,
but thats still not ideal.

I would plug the holes in the bottom, try to seal them so they dont leak at all..
maybe try to seal them tight with aquarium silicone/cauking..
it would probably be easier to just buy new containers! ;)

but yes, you want drainage holes about half way up, not on the bottom,
so a lot of standing water is in the bottom of the bog at all times.

if the plastic is a flexable type, like rubbermaid comtainers, you can just drill without any problems..
and based on your photos, it looks like the kind of plastic you can just drill without a problem..it wont crack or shatter..(probably! ;)


Scot
 
This container is self watering. It will catch MOST of the water that leaks through when it rains. By plugging the hole(s), the self-watering feature will help keep the water level always correct because I can "plug" the hole I use to fill the lower storage container. This really should work out nicely!

Thank you for explaining a bit further. Now I just wait for this year's miniature carrots to mature and will empty the current soil out into my garden so it is ready to be filled next spring with appropriate cp mixture. This really should be fun for me!
 
Welcome to the obsession! I would say the most valuable piece fo information is Don't Overdo it. These plants are probably the most hardy of all cps and are my favorite genus as well, whenever you repot them or tamper with them they simply get more and more stressed, so basically you're idea sounds fine jsut remember they don't need too much attention.
 
I have a question. I live in Florida. Everytime I see a pitcher plant, it is growing in very dry conditions. Is there different needs for different breeds?

I grabbed a hand full to grow in my house. Should I keep them wet? Also, should there be any water in the pitchers, there wasn't when I picked them. thanks for any help, Ray.
 
YOU WHAT!!! PUT THEM BACK NOW!!!!


I SAID NOW!

I seriously can't believe you did that. i'm even more surprised you'd admit it. Sarracenia need conservation because their habitat is being destroyed and people like you think they are pretty so you steal them.

you can buy Sarracenia from the company really inexpensively. they are gron in vitro so they are exact clones from the mother and theres no harm done to the environment.

why are you still reading this? i said put them back NOW!
 
  • #10
If you want to see them dead I will! A housing project is being built there. It was either me picking them or a bull doser. NOW, can anyone help me keep them alive?
 
  • #11
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Sarracenia need conservation because their habitat is being destroyed and people like you think they are pretty so you steal them.
As a matter of fact I'm going back tomorrow. Unless you think I should let them all die.
mad.gif
 
  • #12
Okay Children I know I am not a mod. but lets all take a deep breath before this erupts in a flame war.
Diana sounds like a good project. Soon you'll have plants inside undergrowlights and in windows. Oh an just so you know in the future all your "Common" Carnivores will grow in basically the same way (Sarrs all the same as your purps except not as cold, Neps always warm and humid except with different temp drops, Mex. pings all warm, etc.). I would recommend picking up "The Savage Garden" it will really help answer basic questions and some harder ones.
 
  • #13
Be careful that they aren't S. oreophila or another endangered strain. S. oreophila are known to grow in drier areas than most other Sarracenia. Even if you rescued them, taking the endangered species may have serious legal consequences; it may be in your best interest to return the plants or give them to the proper authorities. If you were trying to rescue them, that's great, but keep in mind that taking plants out of the wild has become a big problem for many populations and conservation-minded folks around here and elsewhere aren't very keen on that practice. There is a certain method to rescuing plants that you can read about in the conservation forums. If you know of a site that is in danger, you should discuss it there.
They need to be wet. If they were growing someplace dry, it was because the top of the soil was dry. Sarracenia require moist soil at all times, but can put down very deep roots to find it. Put your plant in a large pot, the larger the better. In particular, a deep pot will make your plant happy. Use one part peat and/or long fiber sphagnum, and one part silica sand and/or perlite. The mix that you use for your flytraps should be adaquate. Some people recommend a top dressing of long fiber sphagnum, or live sphagnum, but it's not necessary.
~Joe

PS - Oh yes, welcome Diana! That container looks good, but what do you mean by self-watering? I had a self-watering basket for my Nepenthes (Asian pitcher plants) which turned out to be much too dry for my plants. Your container needs to be able to hold standing water all the way to halfway up the depth of the soil. One option would be to place that container in a large plastic storage bin. Best luck!
 
  • #14
Seedjar, this is the plants.
DCP01227.JPG


They grow every where around here. This one was actually scooped up by a front end loader and set to the side for me. The operator knew I would want to save it. The entire area is being leveled for a housing project.
 
  • #15
well if you had permission then that's fine.


that's an S. minor. a favorite of mine. how many plants did you get? get all you can and make yourself a bog garden
smile.gif
 
  • #16
I got 8 stalks that where like one plant. The bulldoser broke them up. He (the operator)is going to take some 5 gallon buckets to work tomarrow and save as many as he can for me. I'm trying to get him involved in CP's but he says he has a brown thumb. I have 2 acres of pine covered land for them to live on. That and some TLC should go a long way. I'll keep a few inside with me.
 
  • #17
Sweet. If you need a home for some of the plants I would be glad to help out with some. I hate to see any plant get destroyed for a housing developement. The sad thing is that this type of stuff happens all the time, and none are the wiser. It is really sad, but such is life.
 
  • #18
Excellent Sir, I love to see that, a bulldozer guy with a kind heart! Continue to save them, they are very nice specimens. Good job, and bravo for getting permission.
 
  • #19
Well, don't keep them inside, but otherwise things sound good. They need lots and lots of sun, so find them a bright spot on the porch. You really should get in touch with people on the conservation forum, as I doubt that just you and your friend at the construction site will have the resources to save all the Sarrs there (but please do try!) If you can pot them up in those buckets you're talking about, that would be great. A five gallon bucket would make an excellent home for a mature pitcher plant. And remember, use clean water! Rainwater or store bought, distilled/reverse osmosis/deionized water.
If you have the time, you should poke around that site and see if you can't find some Drosera filiformis or Pinguicula ionatha, planifolia, primuliflora or pumila. I think there are some Utricularia in the same range as well but the species escape me at the moment.
Best luck,
~Joe
 
  • #20
There are a few things that don't add up here. First of all, I'm a construction worker myself, of all the guys I every worked with, I doubt even one of them would gather all the plants up for you and put them in a bucket. They may do it if you paid them. Almost every construction site I work at has signs that prohibit unauthrorized personal from entering. The insurance companies requrie it.
It sure is funny that there was never a mention of a construction site until people started telling you what they thought of poaching. If all you said is true, what you did is still illegal. The bulldoze operator is not the land owner.
I was talking to Andrew about this and he brought up a very good point. "that plant pictured does not look like it has been dozed. I would LOVE to see someone doze one of these plants out of the ground and it look like that in the end..."

I'm truly sorry but for somereason I just don't believe your story.
 
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