Sarracenia in the uk!

[Stevie D]

Greetings and what-ho* to all my fellow UK CP growers.

I'm thinking of... no, I'm going to expand my collection of CPs beyond the bog-standard (but much loved) VFTs, and next on the list is pitcher plants.

Are there any tricks to growing pitcher plants in the UK, above and beyond the advice given US growers, that I need to be specially aware of?

For instance, what sort of humidity levels am I looking for? Are they terrarium material?

What, in your opinion, is the 'best' variety of pitcher plant available to the UK grower, given that I'm prepared to invest quite a bit of time into their proper cultivation?

Well, thanks for reading!

Steve

* It keeps the tourists happy...

 

[Bugweed]

StevieD. Best thing you can do is contact Mike King through the Terra Forums, and ask his advice. Mike has the largest personal collection of sarracenia I have ever seen, and he is a CP nurseryman as well. Contact him via Shropshire Sarracenias on the web. Use your search engine! He's in the UK.

 

[Alvin Meister]

Hi Steve

You can easily grow sarracenia in a terrarium, although you're really limited to S. psittacina and S. purpurea. You can also grow these happily on a windowsill. Where do you grow your VFTs at the moment?
If you have a greenhouse then your scope is much wider. In the UK they can grow all year round in an unheated ordinary greenhouse, the sunnier the better. The taller pitchers are also happier in a greenhouse.
There's no need to worry about humidity over here either, wherever you grow the plants this isn't really an issue.

 

[Stevie D]

Hi, folks,

Sorry for the late reply - tech troubles with the old PC.

I went to a department store some twenty miles down the road and managed to pick up a job-lot of CPs for a very low price - £14 for 4 Neps, 1 Butterwort and 1 Sundew. Not the greatest specimens in the world, but I got 4 lowish quality VFTs from the same place a while back and they're coming on a treat in the right conditions.

No Sarracenia yet, but I've got plenty to play with now, what with these additions.

Alvin, I'm growing these new CPs with my VFTs in a greenhouse. It's not ideally placed, because there's a huge ash tree dominating the sky which shades it for the best part of the morning. Bit of a shame, since I read Neps grow better the more direct sunlight you give 'em.

Sorry I can't give you the variety name of the Neps - that's the price you pay for bargain CPs, I suppose! Should have thought they were pretty common and easy to grow at £2 a pop, though.

So, I suppose this thread now evolves into 'What Tips Can UK Growers Give Me On The Cultivation of Neps, Sundews and Butterworts'!

Thanks for the replies so far,

Steve

 

[Alvin Meister]

Hi Stevie

Nepenthes don't grow in full sun all day anyway, unlike sarracenia, so being in the shade for a while will do no harm.

They should all grow fine in the greenhouse and if you can keep VFTs then the other shouldn't pose any problems.

You should get a sarracenia though, once you get one you'll just want more and more!