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Orange Water in Sarracenia x catesbaei Tray

I recently got two Sarracenia x catesbaei plants from a local nursery, and I just kept them in the same 4" square pots they came in, with some moss on top. Each is sitting in a clear, round plastic container. After it rains, the water in the container is orangish. Since it's raining right now and that container had filled up, I dumped the container into my watering pitcher to save for later, but now I'm wondering if I should use it.... Is orange tray-water a common thing? I can take a picture if anyone needs to see a pic.

I have other plants in similar containers, and the water isn't orange.

Thanks
 
i would like to see a pic. my first thought was haematococcus, which is an algae that's common in things like birdbaths, turning the water orange. but if it's immediately after it rains, an algae is not going to appear so suddenly. then i would think it's either something in the rain or in the container, but I would rule the rain out, unless it's orange too! i would pull the whole thing out of the pot and see what you have for soil in there, see if there's anything that could be leaching out an orange color.
another note: Sarracenia enjoy having their feet wet, so don't dump out the water.
 
I have the same thing, except mine is more of a brownish color. I believe it is from the rain running through fresh peat.

Hasn't done any harm to my plants. I wouldn't up-root it until you see some kind of noticeable decline in the plant.
 
Mine is a brownish-orange after a good rain too. It's just "stuff" filtering out of the peat.
No worries.
 
i would like to see a pic. my first thought was haematococcus, which is an algae that's common in things like birdbaths, turning the water orange. but if it's immediately after it rains, an algae is not going to appear so suddenly. then i would think it's either something in the rain or in the container, but I would rule the rain out, unless it's orange too! i would pull the whole thing out of the pot and see what you have for soil in there, see if there's anything that could be leaching out an orange color.
another note: Sarracenia enjoy having their feet wet, so don't dump out the water.

Previously, I only kept adding water to it, so maybe whatever was orange was getting soaked back up into the soil, and then rain pushes it out from above. The only reason I dumped it this time was to save it for later because it was raining pretty hard, and the container it was in would fill again in no time. It was up to the brim, so it was just running over.

Since I emptied the container, maybe the orange didn't reappear. I'll have to see.
 
Pictures:

IMG_3042.JPG


IMG_3043.JPG


IMG_3044.JPG


IMG_3045.JPG


What's in the watering pitcher in the last one appears to be darker. Maybe because it was darker when I poured it, light isn't getting in through the sides of the container. I also poured other clearish water in the yellow container, and it's still that dark.
 
Thats normal! Its just the peat getting a washing. If theres orange like stuck on the pot that would be algae i think.
 
Yep, same color as mine.
Nice looking catesbaeis!
 
Same color as some of mine. Usually stops appearing after a few dozen waterings. I wouldn't worry about it. :)
 
  • #10
Yea, same thing with my sarracenia water tray. Don't worry, after a few waterings it'll come out clear.
 
  • #11
ah yes, tannins from peat. when you said orange, i was thinking orange, like a carrot.
 
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