Expanding the collection, have some more questions

[Axelrod12]

So I'm working on expanding my collection of CPs. I actually have quite a few questions I guess so try to bare with me. My thread for my first two CPs can be found here.

The D. Capensis and the Nep both seem to be doing ok although I do have a question about each.

The Capensis first, it recovered from repotting/drying out some and is consistently putting out new leaves now. However, I feel when I look at pictures of D. Capensis online the leaves grow fairly straight and often more upright than mine. I don't have a picture at the moment but my capensis seems to be sort of droopy. The stems of the leaves grow up and then the part with the dew curves down until it is facing the ground, is this normal or can it be a sign of something?

Now for the Nep. This took much longer to adjust to the new conditions. It is putting out some new leaves though. The existing pitchers have stopped turning brown and are sort of stagnant with the tops of them dry and brown and the bottoms still looking alive. Should I just leave everything be or is there a point when I remove the old half dead pitchers?
Also a couple leaves at the bottom turned brown and dried out a few weeks ago. I made the mistake of trying to pluck one off and I think the base was still attached to the stem of the plant because it took a chunk with it. Will this have any negative long term effects for the plant? It's just a brown patch on the stem now.


And onto the new plants. I ordered the following recently:
D. Capensis 'narrow red leaf'
D. Spatulata
D. Aliciae
U. Sandersonii 'blue'
U. Longifolia
Aldrovanda Vesiculosa

I potted everything in 4" pots with what I think is a 50:50 mix of peaterlite, excent the Aldrovanda for obvious reasons and the U. Longifolia because it came potted already. Let me know if my mix looks like it has too much peat or perlite as I'm still fairly new to this.

This is my D. Aliciae:

It came with two small plants sort of attached to it which I potted both of in a separate pot. The roots weren't extremely developed on them but I'm hoping they develop into two more nice plants:

Here is my D. Spatulata:

When I was repotting it I'm worried I may have damaged the root ball as the root system on it was very small. The plant is also about half the size of the D. Aliciae so maybe it is just a younger plant? Or maybe this sp. just develops shorter roots? Hoping someone with some experience with D. Spatulata can comment. And do you think it should make a recovery if I did damage the root system some?

Here is the U. Sandersonii 'Blue':

I'm not sure if I should leave this bunched up in one chunk or if it should be broken up into several plugs to allow it to spread through the whole pot properly?

And here's the U. Longifolia that came already potted:

The plant seems to be mostly buried under some long fiber sphagnum, I'm wondering if I should do some thinning to expose the leaves more? Also is that nice green looking stuff in the middle of the pot live sphagnum? Or maybe the green long fiber stuff in the top right? I've been hoping to get some live sphagnum so I can seed a pot or something and grow my own.

Finally and most troublesome is the Aldrovanda, I was told I would receive two plants when I purchased this. Most of my plant experience is with aquatic plants as I have been keeping planted tanks for several years now and have several aquatic setups at the moment. My understanding was that aldrovanda is what I would refer to as a stem plant. So I expected two stems, granted the size of the stems could vary. However this is what I received:

Three green balls of something smaller than a pea and a couple fuzzy things floating around that look like detached traps from the plant. I don't even know what to think of this or what I can grown from it. I separated the contents of the bag into a net in my high light, pressurized co2 tank. Any speculation?

And if you made it this far and read through everything thank you! And thanks for taking the time to try answering whatever you can.

 

[amphirion]

aldrovanda are dormant...have a turion phase which is what you are seeing. the plants themselves are disappointingly small and stems grow usually to 4-5 inches in length. best of luck, i cant give you any more info since i dont grow it but there are others here that do.

 

[Keith]

Hi, thought I'd put in my 2 cents although I am no expert by any means. The Drosera look good. Give them plenty of light and they should thrive for you.
The moss in with the U. longifolia at the top and top right is indeed sphagnum and the greener stuff in the middle is a weedier moss you can pluck pretty easily with tweezers.
Sorry, I have never had any experience with the waterwheel.

All of my plants had a month or more period where they were adjusting and either didn't grow or grew very abnormally before they acclimated to my conditions and started to really look right. I would say that that's true of all the CP's I have acquired so be patient with the new additions for sure. I tended to over water and over feed I think a bit too lol. These things are too cool to me and it was hard to leave them alone.

Not sure how much help this is, just another perspective from a fellow enthusiast.

 

[Axelrod12]

aldrovanda are dormant...have a turion phase which is what you are seeing. the plants themselves are disappointingly small and stems grow usually to 4-5 inches in length. best of luck, i cant give you any more info since i dont grow it but there are others here that do.

So the stems disappear altogether into these turions in the winter?

Hi, thought I'd put in my 2 cents although I am no expert by any means. The Drosera look good. Give them plenty of light and they should thrive for you.
The moss in with the U. longifolia at the top and top right is indeed sphagnum and the greener stuff in the middle is a weedier moss you can pluck pretty easily with tweezers.
Sorry, I have never had any experience with the waterwheel.

All of my plants had a month or more period where they were adjusting and either didn't grow or grew very abnormally before they acclimated to my conditions and started to really look right. I would say that that's true of all the CP's I have acquired so be patient with the new additions for sure. I tended to over water and over feed I think a bit too lol. These things are too cool to me and it was hard to leave them alone.

Not sure how much help this is, just another perspective from a fellow enthusiast.

Is there a chance that sphagnum moss is live? It looks pretty green, but I don't really have any experience with long fiber sphagnum. And do you by any chance know the name of the weedier moss?

 

[CorneliusSchrute]

Some of that sphag looks alive to me. Grow it out in the current pot or seed it with one clippings on pure peat with a little extra peat sprinkled on top. Whether alive or dead it could still grow out. It revives pretty easily usually.

As was noted the Aldrovanda is dormant. I grew it all summer: I started with a few small sprigs like that and ended up with a five gallon bucket nearly full of it. Though the plants are small they take off when given proper conditions.

They do form a stem, but it is not hard or woody. As it grows and branches it will loose the oldest growth. So it goes.

All of your new stuff looks good, if not in a bit of transplant shock. Appropriate conditions for all should render nice specimens in a few weeks time.

Congrats! You meed some Sarrs now, though.

 

[Axelrod12]

Some of that sphag looks alive to me. Grow it out in the current pot or seed it with one clippings on pure peat with a little extra peat sprinkled on top. Whether alive or dead it could still grow out. It revives pretty easily usually.

As was noted the Aldrovanda is dormant. I grew it all summer: I started with a few small sprigs like that and ended up with a five gallon bucket nearly full of it. Though the plants are small they take off when given proper conditions.

They do form a stem, but it is not hard or woody. As it grows and branches it will loose the oldest growth. So it goes.

All of your new stuff looks good, if not in a bit of transplant shock. Appropriate conditions for all should render nice specimens in a few weeks time.

Congrats! You meed some Sarrs now, though.

Thanks, does the Aldrovanda need any special conditions in the winter. Lower water temps or anything? Or does it just go dormant on its own?

And you read my mind with the Sarrs. My plans for my next plants, besides the U. Graminifolia thats being shipped already, are a couple Sarrs and a Ping. My only hesitation with Sarrs is I don't know if buying them in the winter is my best option. I live in southern CT so on the border of zone 7 and 6. I do live right on the shore of Long Island Sound but we still get a good amount of snow and freezing temps most of the winter. I don't have any experience with winter dormancy and don't have a good cold garage window to keep the plants in. So I'm hesitant to buy a dormant plant and keep it outside. I don't know what methods to use or anything like that yet.

 

[CorneliusSchrute]

Aldro is a single species but varied in climatilogical requirements depending on where your particular strand originated. Since it has formed turions it is obviously cold hardy, but whether such conditions are necessary for long term survival I am mot sure. I would just through it in that carbonated tank you mentioned and see how it does. If it doesnt take well and dies I could send you some this spring assuming all of mine doesn't keel over this winter.

Dormancy is a prime time to ship Sarrs, but seeing as how you are new to them it may be prudent to order a few in the late winter (February or March) and catch them as they are breaking dormancy. That said, if you can find a S. purpurea ssp. purpurea at Lowe's or here on the forum those dudes are basically unsinkable: feel confident buying one of those whenever.

 

[Axelrod12]

Aldro is a single species but varied in climatilogical requirements depending on where your particular strand originated. Since it has formed turions it is obviously cold hardy, but whether such conditions are necessary for long term survival I am mot sure. I would just through it in that carbonated tank you mentioned and see how it does. If it doesnt take well and dies I could send you some this spring assuming all of mine doesn't keel over this winter.

Dormancy is a prime time to ship Sarrs, but seeing as how you are new to them it may be prudent to order a few in the late winter (February or March) and catch them as they are breaking dormancy. That said, if you can find a S. purpurea ssp. purpurea at Lowe's or here on the forum those dudes are basically unsinkable: feel confident buying one of those whenever.

Thanks, I'm going to try to keep my progress posted. I will keep an eye out for the Sarr's later in the winter. I'm fine with waiting for now and chances are I won't find any CPs at any local nurseries or garden centers over the winter. I feel it is rare to see any in spring or summer around here and have never seen a Sarr.

I got some superthrive today. So I'm currently taking the plants I potted out of the soil and soaking the roots in a 12 oz cup with 2 drops of superthrive. I read it's a good thing to do to new plants and can help with transplant shock.

Also, I'm still wondering about a couple of those questions up there if anyone knows the answers. Particularly whether I should separate the U. Sandersonii 'blue' into smaller plugs and about the droopy D. Capensis.

 

[Tanukimo]

I've grown Drosera capensis before and it seemed to be "droopy" when I got it from a store, since it was dry. After a few days and giving it more water, it perked up and grew fairly straight. Is there dew on the leaves? If there isn't then it could be due to a lack of humidity, although capensis seems to be able to tolerate lower humidity. As leaves get older it is normal for them to sag downwards. I wouldn't be too worried about it if the new leaves have dew and don't droop downward.
Separating the Utricularia sandersonii should help them spread throughout the pot, although if your growing conditions are favorable then they should have no problem spreading through the pot even bunched up like that. When I bought mine it was already spread out but it hasn't spread out much. I don't think you need to worry about the plants being too crowded, though.

 

[Axelrod12]

I've grown Drosera capensis before and it seemed to be "droopy" when I got it from a store, since it was dry. After a few days and giving it more water, it perked up and grew fairly straight. Is there dew on the leaves? If there isn't then it could be due to a lack of humidity, although capensis seems to be able to tolerate lower humidity. As leaves get older it is normal for them to sag downwards. I wouldn't be too worried about it if the new leaves have dew and don't droop downward.
Separating the Utricularia sandersonii should help them spread throughout the pot, although if your growing conditions are favorable then they should have no problem spreading through the pot even bunched up like that. When I bought mine it was already spread out but it hasn't spread out much. I don't think you need to worry about the plants being too crowded, though.

There is dew on the leaves. This is pretty much my first sundew so I don't know if it's a normal amount of dew or if they generally develop more or not. But, there is some dew visible.

The U. Sandersonii immediately reminded me of an aquatic plant I have, Hemianthus Callitrichoides. Whenever I receive a clump of HC I separate it into smaller sections because it allows it to grow in and cover the area better.

 

[Tanukimo]

Your Nepenthes should be fine even though you pulled that leaf out. Personally I would leave the half-dried pitchers on the plant until they turn almost completely brown because maybe the plant could still use them to photosynthesize, although I'm not sure if Nepenthes actually photosynthesizes from the pitchers.
I'm not sure about the Drosera capensis. If the leaves are normal otherwise and there is dew I'd assume there is no problem.

 

[Axelrod12]

Ok thanks everyone I think that pretty much covers the questions I had.

I do have a few questions about winter dormancy though. Im looking into orering a few sarracenia. Im gonna do my best to wait out most of the winter but Ill admit I do lack patience when it comes to some things. I can patiently wait a year for a plant to recover from shipping or transplant shock, but holding off on ordering one im interested in can be a different story haha.

So I was initially thinking that I could maybe stick whatever I ordered in the fridge but that doesnt look like a possibility. No room. And theres some concern about the plants being in with food.

So for most Sarrs what temp range do they have to stay in to remain in dormancy. Our garage has a window that gets some southeastern sunlight. However, the house leaks some heat into the garage so it probably wont drop below 40 even on the colder winter days. Im not sure what the warmer days will get up to.

 

[Axelrod12]

It seems the garage may get up to around 60 in warmer temps.

 

[BioZest]

Do you know what species of Sarracenia you will be getting? I would say that they would be fine in your garage, as long as you make sure that their soil doesn't dry out. Another option might be to grow them outside all year, depending on where you live.

 

[Axelrod12]

Do you know what species of Sarracenia you will be getting? I would say that they would be fine in your garage, as long as you make sure that their soil doesn't dry out. Another option might be to grow them outside all year, depending on where you live.

I'm not sure yet. I'd like to get a few different species and I'm kind of assuming some won't be tolerant of the winter here. I live in southern CT right along the shore of Long Island sound. Borderline zone 6 and 7. We tend to get some pretty good snowfalls and prolonged temps below freezing.

I think my concerns with the garage would be lighting and the temp coming up too high and the plant coming out of dormancy early. My lighting concern is that while the window does face mostly south it's light does get blocked by the house next door for a good chunk of the day.

EDIT: Ok just had a thought, lighting may not be so much of a concern. I think I have an extra 8.5" brooder lamp sitting around somewhere. I could probably find a place to mount it near the window and slap a 23w 6500k bulb in there and run it for a few hours in the morning when the sun gets blocked the most, or near sunset for some added lighting time.

 

[BioZest]

S. pupurea is native to the North Eastern US, so you could grow that outside, though you might have problems with other species. I'm not sure about the temps, but I would think that 40-50 (ish) would be enough to keep them in dormancy. Sarracenia need a shorter photoperiod during dormancy, so using an extra light may be unnecessary. Do you approx. the amount of sunlight the windowsill gets per day?

 

[Axelrod12]

I'll try to monitor the light tomorrow. So if the temp went up to 60 that would be a bad thing? There's a chance it may not but we did have an unusually warm day this past Sunday and the garage thermometer read 59F.

 

[Axelrod12]

New questions. I'm reconsidering the fridge method. If I receive a plant that is in dormancy, but it has some sort of growth or brown pitcher or whatever (no idea since I've never received a dormant plant before) is it still ok to just cut off whatever is there, bag it, and toss it in the fridge? If I receive a plant bare root, should I pot it before putting it in the fridge or are there other steps I should take?

 

[Axelrod12]

I think I'm all set with the Sarr's and dormancy concerns now. I have some concerns about my Nep though. I noticed the base of the stem where the leaf was torn off appears to be even more brown now. I'm going to include a picture because its concerning me. There is a section of the stem that is brown almost all the way around. Sorry if the pics aren't so great. I just got my first DSLR and am still trying to learn how to use it properly.

I have also noticed that there is what looks like an offshoot from the Nep growing up next to it. There's a separate stem with a few leaves and the beginnings of a pitcher on it. Should I remove and repot this?:

 

[CorneliusSchrute]

Concerning the Sarrs and their dormancy: those temps and the natural lighting should be fine. I have kept my plants in an unheated pop-tent greenhouse for the past two years. In that the temps have gotten as high as 75 degrees through the day but usually dipped down to forty or below all winter. As long as your temps drop sometime though the day it should be fine.

Specifically regarding lighting: a window will be fine with no supplemental lighting. Some might argue that more light will equal more stored energy and thus greater spring growth, but I personally think this effect will be minimal as the green tissue browns and the temps drop thus slowing photosynthesis.

You can cut all of the brown stuff off when you receive the plants. I always do to help avoid fungal infection and to give bugs fewer spaces to hide.

In summary, these plants are exceptionally hardy and it is hard to mess them up. Upon receiving a plant, I would recommend cutting off dead tissue, potting in a suitable mix, keeping it moist by either setting it in a very shallow amount of water (1/4") or top watering when necessary, and placing it in your garage window. Should be basically bullet proof, especially for indestructible Sarracenia purpurea ssp. purpurea.

Oh, and the Nep: I know far less about them, but do have some experience. I would leave it alone regarding the basal shoot, and I believe the brown is nothing to worry about as long as it is still growing well at the end of the stem.