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Wintering Sarracenias

I don't have a bog and I have two Sarracenias that are growing under natural and artificial light. I live in Baltimore, Maryland and our winters usually dip down into the teens for at least a few weeks. I can see myself watching the news every night and taking the plants inside and then putting them ouside for various periods during their rests. This doesn't sound like it would be very restful or healthy for them. No unheated garage either. Any suggestions? I know it's early to start worrying but I would like to have a strategy in mind in case I have to build something. Please share your well-educated insights as soon as possible.:hail:
 
sarrs should be able to handle temps in the teens, if you get worried you can cover or mulch. but it shouldnt be a problem I wouldnt think....
 
What he said... Sarracenias are indigenous to the Southeast and do experience the occasional frosts. A 2.2 or 2.5 cf bag of sphagnum peat to cover them wouldn't hurt.
 
Are they mulched like other plants? For instance a hole is dug in the groud and the plant is inserted, pot and all. Then the pot and lower part of the plant is covered with pine bark mulch. Can something like that be done? By the way, thanks for the replies.
 
yeah you can mulch just like normal, you might look into see if theres a certain type that would be better for Cp's but as far as I know theres no real difference... you'd only need a very slight mulch... many people are able to keep sarrs out in the freezing snow and rain and be completely okay. you just want to make sure that the rhizome is out of the actual stressing weather... so long as its covered out of the wind and dryness you should be okay.

Winterizing Sarrs no longer require sunlight when in dormancy, so you can cut the pitchers off entirely if you need to in order to allow covering...

you may search around for a more detailed plan or talk to someone who lives in a cold area like that...

I'll be throwing mine in an unheated basement... so its hard for me to really give detailed advice...

Good Luck
 
you dont even need mulch, i know it snows there alot in the winter, what people do around here in Washington when it snows, is actually shovel snow ontop of the plants, as you know, snow is a great insulator, it will hold in some warmth around the plants.
 
right, well if you get a snow often enough to keep it buried all of the harsh winter that'd be a better way to go, I personally dont get enough snow all the way across winter to keep them under it for the whole season... so mulch would be better for myself if I had no indoor option

but yeah if you conditions allow that snow would be a better alternative
 
I would cut off each pitcher down the the soil to make it easier to cover them up with a black tarp if you need to. It also makes them look nicer come spring IMHO.
 
Unfortunately that will be hard if my plant never grows any working pitchers. My Sarracenia rubra has green growths with hooks on the ends, but no adult pitchers. It's growing two new growths now. Do you all think there will be time this year for it to grow some adult pitchers before its dormancy comes?
 
  • #10
There's still a lot of growing season left.
 
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