S. leucaphylla Tarnock culture

[jerrysmith]

I bought a S. leucophylla "Tarnock" two springs ago at a garden center locally. It was/is in a 4"square plastic pot. It didn't really look large when I bought it, but it was the best I could get then. I keep my Sarracenia's outdoors spring to fall in full sun in water trays. Most of my CP are in an sphagnum potting mix. My tap water is very soft as we receive it from the water commision. I do not fertilize ever. Just natural bugs.

My question is

This plant seems to be growing very poorly. The pitchers are small and few. it is nothing attractive to me at all. Any ideas why? Does it need repotting? If so, isn't it too late to transplant this season?

[mass]

what sort of potting mix? Is it a name brand, or self made mix? Also, where are you growing it? I.e.. indoors, out?

[Heli]

Happens all the time to me as well. I think tarnok only makes the awesome pitchers for like one month, usually fall.

[amphirion]

do you happen to have other leucophylla clones in your collection? i've noticed that leucophylla is very demanding in terms of temperature (warm) and sunlight (full blast), even more so than other sarracenia species...also as others may have already suggested, tends to push out it's best pitchers during the fall.

btw, nice seeing you here jerry! i recognized you from the planted tank forum.

[Whimgrinder]

When you state that your tap water is "very soft", have you determined an actual TDS (total dissolved salts) value for it? If that cultivar hasn't nearly tripled in size since you got it, then the water could be toxic, causing a slow poisoning, which it won't stand for. I bought a small specimen this May and it has pretty much tripled in size already, now with three growing points and pitchers over 2 feet tall. I use filtered water from the local co-op and it tested under 50ppm TDS, which is pretty much ideal. It spent the summer outside in blazing sun, with late afternoon open shade. I find this a very easy species, so I have to wonder if its your water that is making it unhappy.

[kulamauiman]

Leucophylla tends to sulk a bit when it is getting accustomed to a new environment. I have had some that take years to get happy.

[cpman]

Having many cultivars of leuco as well as natural forms, let me tell you that leuco can be finiky. I have a leuco that for the first 7 years, never sent up a pitcher of flowered even though I kept it outdoors, it had full sun and good water. All it did was send up phyllodia and spread like a madman. In the 8th year, it sent up a ton a pitchers and flowered like crazy and it's been that way ever since. As for Tarnok, it does seem to be a slow grower. I grow mine in pure LFS and keep it in a water tray with water about halfway up the pot in full sun like all the other Leuco's. Try that and see what happens.

[DJ57]

I bought a S. leucophylla "Tarnock" two springs ago at a garden center locally. It was/is in a 4"square plastic pot. It didn't really look large when I bought it, but it was the best I could get then. I keep my Sarracenia's outdoors spring to fall in full sun in water trays. Most of my CP are in an sphagnum potting mix. My tap water is very soft as we receive it from the water commision. I do not fertilize ever. Just natural bugs.

My question is

This plant seems to be growing very poorly. The pitchers are small and few. it is nothing attractive to me at all. Any ideas why? Does it need repotting? If so, isn't it too late to transplant this season?

I got one in a 4" pot and set the pot on the shelf around my pond and it did not grow well at all for 2 years. I then put it into a bog setting at the end of winter last year and man, did it take off this year and even produced flower buds, which I cut off to give more energy to root development as the roots were not as big as I thought they should be at this age. Perhaps repotting it into a bigger pot with fresh soil would do the trick?

I usually do transplanting in early spring, but know others who have no problem with their plants repotting and dividing in fall. If it were my plant, since it does not seem to be growing well, I would wait until spring but, as it will be slowing down going into dormancy at this time of year anyway, maybe does not matter if you transplant it now.