I had the opportunity to visit Kim Magnuson's Tristan's Carnivorous Plant Nursery in December. It's a small nursery at his home near the town of Keaau on the island of Hawaii (the "Big Island") in the state of Hawaii.
I was interested in visiting his nursery to find out how he grows Sarracenia. I live on the island of Oahu and wondered how difficult it would be to grow Sarracenia here because in theory it needs cold temperatures and/or days with short daylight hours for dormancy. I'm basically a lazy person, so I wouldn't take the time to store them in a refrigerator during the winter. I wondered how they would do if left outdoors all the time.
Kim's nursery is at low elevation, so I would estimate that the temperature ranges from a low of 55 degrees F. during the coldest winter night to a high of 91 degrees F. during the hottest summer day. The humidity is probably around 60 to 70 percent most of the time. The shortest day gets about 11 hours of daylight, and 13 for the longest day.
Kim moved to the Big Island about five years ago from Oregon, where he also had a nursery. He was initially concerned about dormancy in his Sarracenia because he keeps his plants outdoors throughout the year. However, after five years they are thriving. During winter, some Sarracenia varieties die back completely; others get a little brown; and still others aren't visibly affected at all. His Sarracenia are growing in a 60/40 peat/pearlite mix in children's plastic wading pools. The largest ones are growing in 10-inch pots and are about two feet tall.
I noticed one of the Sarracenia that had a beautiful purplish-red color. I asked him about it, and he said it was S. Dana's Delight, which he had hybridized. I have to admit I got a bit excited because it has been one of my favorites since seeing a photo of it on the web. When Kim named it, he said he was rushed. He wanted to name it after the daughter of his colleague who lives in New Zealand. Her name sounds like "Dana," but he didn't know it was spelled "Daina," so it should have been named S. Daina's Delight.
In addition to growing Sarracenia, Kim also grows other CPs. He said he especially enjoys growing Nepenthes because he doesn't need a greenhouse as he did in Oregon.
I was interested in visiting his nursery to find out how he grows Sarracenia. I live on the island of Oahu and wondered how difficult it would be to grow Sarracenia here because in theory it needs cold temperatures and/or days with short daylight hours for dormancy. I'm basically a lazy person, so I wouldn't take the time to store them in a refrigerator during the winter. I wondered how they would do if left outdoors all the time.
Kim's nursery is at low elevation, so I would estimate that the temperature ranges from a low of 55 degrees F. during the coldest winter night to a high of 91 degrees F. during the hottest summer day. The humidity is probably around 60 to 70 percent most of the time. The shortest day gets about 11 hours of daylight, and 13 for the longest day.
Kim moved to the Big Island about five years ago from Oregon, where he also had a nursery. He was initially concerned about dormancy in his Sarracenia because he keeps his plants outdoors throughout the year. However, after five years they are thriving. During winter, some Sarracenia varieties die back completely; others get a little brown; and still others aren't visibly affected at all. His Sarracenia are growing in a 60/40 peat/pearlite mix in children's plastic wading pools. The largest ones are growing in 10-inch pots and are about two feet tall.
I noticed one of the Sarracenia that had a beautiful purplish-red color. I asked him about it, and he said it was S. Dana's Delight, which he had hybridized. I have to admit I got a bit excited because it has been one of my favorites since seeing a photo of it on the web. When Kim named it, he said he was rushed. He wanted to name it after the daughter of his colleague who lives in New Zealand. Her name sounds like "Dana," but he didn't know it was spelled "Daina," so it should have been named S. Daina's Delight.
In addition to growing Sarracenia, Kim also grows other CPs. He said he especially enjoys growing Nepenthes because he doesn't need a greenhouse as he did in Oregon.
