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Soon to acquire Sarracenia purpurea ssp purpurea heterophylla

pedersonplants

The Obsessive Gardener
Hi,

I've found a source for one of the Michigan critically imperiled Sarracenias available. This plant is native to Michigan.

I need help figuring out how to successfully overwinter this plant. It will grow in a 12" deep peat/spaghum bog kept very wet with distilled water or rain water (preferable of course).

I have a couple of ideas and need some people that have done this to help me think through what I will need to do.

I can sink the whole mini bog (in a flower pot) into the ground each fall and put some maple leaves over the top to help keep it frozen during the winter. Alternatively, I can use one of my "Omaha Beef" styrofoam containers as a temporary storage place by sinking it into the ground.

NOTE: Michigan winters are getting really crazy. This year started out very wet and then dropped to 0 degrees F for a couple of weeks. our plants all had a hard time.

If you have other ideas or can direct me to reliable internet sources of information, I would appreciate it. I need help thinking through exactly what this plant will need to survive year-round outside.

NOTE: The area where I would sink the pot is next to my front porch (cement) against my townehouse (brick). It is mostly protected from the winter winds on this side of the porch. The other side gets the wind full blast.
 
If the S. purpurea are native to your area then burying the pots and mulching to protect from wind is all you need to do. If the pots are large enough (10" or greater) just protect them from the wind.

Other Sarracenia you should probably bury the pots, mulch, and cover with a waterproof tarp.
 
If it's native to your area, simply sinking the pot will be sufficient. You don't really need to cover it.

I've had success with sars here in NY with only burlap & leaves. No waterproof tarps or anything like that. Just burlap and few inches of leaves.

Even my sars from the southernmost locals are fine.
 
What's your growing zone in NY? Part of the state is something like 7. I'm zone 5.

I just purchased two more of my lightweight flower pots. Deep enough to have a layer of silica sand as a wanter reservoir. Then I'll be using long fibered sphagnum on top because that's what Andrew (owner of these forums) grows them in and my plant is coming from him.

It's sounding like I won't have to sink the pot after all because it will have a lot of protection from the wind due to the other containerized alpine shrubs and plants that surround it!

Okay, I'm ready for the mail to come! LOL.
 
Be careful. An undrained pot with a layer of sand in the bottom sounds like an anaerobic bacteria breeding ground.
 
You might try polyurethane foam pots. Some CP growers in mountainous areas use them and they report good results.

S. purpurea ssp purpurea are found in zone 0b/1a in Canada so I don't think you have much to worry about.

http://nlwis-snite1.agr.gc.ca/plant00/#
 
Please note, it was in a normal pot here. And did have chances to not be constantly flooded.
 
Ok. How deep was the pot? I'm looking at a 12" deep pot. Or, I could use an 8" deep pot. Can do whatever this plant needs.

I've been searching the forum for answers since you told me where the "search" was found. Can't believe the wide range of answers I am finding.

Question: Can this plant ever dry out completely without ill effects? That's why I was going to use the wet sand in the bottom -- just in case I have a bad day and forget to water it with rainwater or distilled water.
 
polyurethane foam pots is what I use for everything I grow. I can't lift anything heavier and I've found these planters provide better root protection for even my alpine shrubs including the one from the Arctic regions.

Check out these pots at Dollar General if you have one nearby. They sell them for about 1/3 of what other stores charge for the same size.
 
  • #10
Not completely, like a cactus. Adding LFS or peat to the bottom will hold more water than sand.

In the wild, even when the top layer of media is bone dry, there's still some moisture under that. You don't have to water everyday; it won't dry up over night. These plants LOVE water.
 
  • #11
Okay. I'll use the long fibered sphagnum I have.

One reason I was concerned about water is that it hasn't been raining for sometimes 2 weeks at a time this summer. It's crazy.

I also thought I would put several drain holes about 3 inches below the plant's roots for those horrible downpours we've been getting -- You know the kind that fill a plastic wastebasket in 1/2 hour and leave the soil almost bone dry because it just rain right off and didn't soak in.

I don't want the plant to DROWN or to DRY out.
 
  • #12
It was a 3" square pot. And 2 of them were sharing that pot. lol
 
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