April 11, 2008
8 week update.
Its time to talk about...THE BURN!
the infamous CP sunburn.
"the burn" happens every spring to my CPs..and it often happens to new plants that arent used to full sun.
Lets say you buy a new VFT from Home Depot or Walmart (please dont ever buy anything at Walmart..Walmart is Evil) but lets say you did anyway..a VFT or Sarr that comes in the little pot with the clear plastic cover...you know the ones.
those plants have been growing inside somewhere for months before you buy them..they havent been getting
nearly enough light..
they are not acclimated to full, direct sunlight..and they NEED full direct sunlight!
so what can you do?? well..you put them in the full sun.
but those leaves that are on your plant when you buy it and bring it home are wuss-leaves, they cant handle the sun..
they BURN in the sun!
they get a literal, brown sun burn..its pretty obvious.
The same thing happens with my plants every spring...because they have been indoors since February,
they are not acclimated to full-sun outdoors..they are going to burn too.
Some people say you should "acclimate slowly" to avoid the burn....hmmm, maybe, but I dont buy it. IMO those
leaves cant handle the sun no matter how slowly you acclimate them, as soon they spend one hour in direct sun,
they are toasted.
so I never bother with "slow acclimation"..I just stick my plants in their "summer spot" and let the Sun have at them.
yes, some of the leaves burn..it cant be avoided. IMO it does not harm the plants at all.
a few burned leaves does not a damaged plant make.
yes, it harms those
particular leaves, but one individual VFT or Sarr plant is made of many individual leaves..(or pitchers) over the course of the growing season..sacrificing the early indoor wuss-leaves to a small burn is IMO a small price to pay for the greater benefit of getting the plants in the full-sun they require for the rest of the year...its just another price to pay for doing business at this latitude. Any and all new leaves that appear
from now on
can handle the full sun, because they were "born" into the full sun..the new leaves do NOT burn.
So my plants have been outside 6 days now, sitting in full direct sun.
lets take a look at that sunburn:
yeah, it looks bad, but I honestly dont think it does any long-term harm to the plants..
because the WHOLE plant is never burned..just the parts that are directly facing the mid-day sun..
and the back sides are never burned. and new leaves quickly appear that do NOT burn..
as soon as a good stand of new pitchers is up, I cut off the burned leaves...
my plants have received this burn every spring for 15 years, they are still happy and healthy..
I compare it to a human sunburn..its unpleasant, but its far from fatal..
here are some "before and afters"
Those are UNburned leaves..photo taken mere minutes after the plants went outside last weekend..thats how the leaves grew growing indoors for 7 weeks..(and remember, those leaves did actually recieve direct sunlight through the window!)
The same leaves, 6 days later.
VFTs unburned.
Same VFTs 6 days later.
The VFTs dont burn quite as badly..
and also notice some of the GOOD red coloration has quickly appeared as well!
(in addition to the obvious brown of the sunburn.)
The VFTs and pitchers had none of the Red coloration when growing indoors..they were solid green.
So after only 6 days in the sun, they are already "coloring up" nicely.
Before..indoors..very very green, hardly a hint of red. (and those are mostly Judith Hindles! they should have lots of red!)
After..most of that red-brown coloration to the pitchers is the GOOD coloration..its not all burn.
yes, the burn happens..its very real..but in my case, there isnt much that can be done about it..its ugly for a few weeks, but the plants quicky adapt and start putting out the "strong leaves" (as opposed to the wuss-leaves) that soak up that direct harsh sunlight just fine. In another month, the "burn season" will be but a memory, and the plants will be very happy they are out in the direct sunlight.
Scot