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Just got a Sarracenia, but I don't know how to give it a winter dormancy.

Hi all. I went to a terrarium event and got three new plants (which I now have to transplant again since she didn't give me the correct information and I'm too new at this to have known) and one of them was a Sarracenia. I asked her for the species name and she said it was Sarracenia Judith Hindle, but I looked it up online and the pictures look nothing like my plant. Someone on this forum said it might actually be Sarracenia Purpurea. Pics are here if you'd like to look yourself. Right now it's in with other plants that it shouldn't be with, and I plan to separate them into their own pots. My question is how do I give the Sarracenia a winter dormancy? I tried searching for this question but maybe I used the wrong search terms because I didn't find it. I hadn't planned on keeping a plant that needed a dormancy but now that I have one I want to make sure it lives happily and thrives. Any suggestions are welcome, and I appreciate all your help. Thanks!
 
First of all, unless you moved the plants for the picture they need more light. Second, that's definitely purpurea. If you have space, one option is to leave it outside over the winter, though you'd need to protect it from cold winds with mulch or something similar (this, of course, assuming you live in an area that gets cold in the winter). Alternatively, I believe you can just stick the pot in the fridge for a couple of months. I don't really know the details of that method.
 
Yup, deff. needs more light. Way more. Your third option for dormancy is to skip it this season and make sure it gets it next year. That is probably what I would do in your case.
 
Yup, deff. needs more light. Way more. Your third option for dormancy is to skip it this season and make sure it gets it next year. That is probably what I would do in your case.

The picture was taken late in the day with the blinds closed, so it does get more light than that. I can't put the plant outside in full sun because I don't have a safe place to put it. Is an east or west facing window going to be enough for now? I plan on building a large terrarium setup so I can give it more light once I get that up and going. I have the tank now, I just need to get lights.
 
In my admittedly limited personal experience with wild plants, these like dappled light for most of the day at a minimum with probably a few hours of direct sunlight outside. I don't know how bright your window is, but it would be pretty tough to get that sort of light in the long term. In the short term, you might be ok--I've had to leave carnivorous plants in lighting situations that were far less than ideal for several months and they're doing great. I think the trick is that they need to get enough light the rest of the year that they have energy stored for poor lighting conditions.
If you haven't already, see this caresheet for Sarracenia:
http://www.growcarnivorousplants.com/Articles.asp?ID=258
 
In my admittedly limited personal experience with wild plants, these like dappled light for most of the day at a minimum with probably a few hours of direct sunlight outside. I don't know how bright your window is, but it would be pretty tough to get that sort of light in the long term. In the short term, you might be ok--I've had to leave carnivorous plants in lighting situations that were far less than ideal for several months and they're doing great. I think the trick is that they need to get enough light the rest of the year that they have energy stored for poor lighting conditions.
If you haven't already, see this caresheet for Sarracenia:
http://www.growcarnivorousplants.com/Articles.asp?ID=258

That care sheet was really helpful and informative. I might talk with my neighbors and ask if I can leave the plant on their back porch (which is connected to our stairwell--I live in a weird building). That might be the best place for it. I don't have my own space but maybe I can make it work. They have a kid, which worries me, but it would be better than putting it in the courtyard out front where it might get stolen. Thanks for the link.
 
Wild plants in proper health certainly don't get dappled light; the shorter species maybe more so but they tend to grow in either the most open parts of a bog or where the bog gets more regular burns or clearing. Full sun is necessary for proper health of a Sarracenia, or where that is not possible then long days under very strong artificial lighting.
 
Wild plants in proper health certainly don't get dappled light; the shorter species maybe more so but they tend to grow in either the most open parts of a bog or where the bog gets more regular burns or clearing. Full sun is necessary for proper health of a Sarracenia, or where that is not possible then long days under very strong artificial lighting.

What do you recommend for artificial lighting? I have a miniature greenhouse that I could easily add lights to.
 
Wild plants in proper health certainly don't get dappled light; the shorter species maybe more so but they tend to grow in either the most open parts of a bog or where the bog gets more regular burns or clearing. Full sun is necessary for proper health of a Sarracenia, or where that is not possible then long days under very strong artificial lighting.
The site I found wild Sarracenia purpurea at had them growing in a sphagnum bog that was adjacent to a trail. However, the trail soil was less acidic and hypoxic, so it also supported shrubs and some large trees a little farther away that certainly shaded the area. None of the largest individuals grew there, and all the individuals growing there were completely green, but they were definitely multi-year-old plants that were of a respectable size, and continual germinations were clearly happening based on the number of small plants. I wouldn't suggest it for cultivation, but I don't think those plants saw too many hours of full sun. The bog itself was rather small, so it was also shaded part of the day by surrounding trees (I only found one really red individual). To be clear, I think this kind of habitat is atypical, but I think these plants may be able to tolerate more varied conditions than is often suggested. They probably also had the advantage of growing in Rhode Island, where I think there is less competition than in the deep south, which is perhaps a more typical area for Sarracenia.
 
  • #10
lizaryker: the strongest lights you can afford, really. LED are good because they're bright and energy-efficient, not particularly hot, or the T5 Sunblasters, but I also use T8 shoplights.

schmiggle: You're right, the plants growing in the shade is not typical of Sarracenia growth anywhere. They may survive there, but possibly not for much longer (it's possible the larger plants germinated long before the bushes and trees etc. encroached, and said bushes and trees would be cut back by fire while the Sarrs would survive), and only plants in full sun will likely last long-term. New plants germinating also likely don't survive at high rates in shade. A more typical Sarracenia habitat, at least for the more northern reaches, are the quaking bogs or fens where trees and bushes can't gain a foothold, and you'll find the Sarracenia flourish there far more readily. Competition isn't really a factor outside the being shaded by non-carnivores part which is the same issue everywhere that isn't allowed to burn; other carnivores don't really compete much as Drosera capture different prey from Sarracenia, and the tall Sarracenia do not compete for prey with short species.
 
  • #11
Oh, I bet it's the burning that does it. This was a pitch-pine forest, so I'm sure the understory would at least naturally burn every so often.
 
  • #12
Hi. I just came from a tour at the Tannersville bog (a quacking bog) where there were numerous purps growing. Most of them were shaded by bushes, shrubs and trees. The Alder trees shading the bog were hundreds of years old.
While the purps that were in the shade were green, the few not shaded were a more chrimson color.
I was actually surprised to see so many large clumps of purps growing in shaded and dappled conditions.
I will post a trip summary and photos once I get back to my computer.

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk
 
  • #13
Hi all. I went to a terrarium event and got three new plants (which I now have to transplant again since she didn't give me the correct information and I'm too new at this to have known) and one of them was a Sarracenia. I asked her for the species name and she said it was Sarracenia Judith Hindle, but I looked it up online and the pictures look nothing like my plant. Someone on this forum said it might actually be Sarracenia Purpurea. Pics are here if you'd like to look yourself. Right now it's in with other plants that it shouldn't be with, and I plan to separate them into their own pots. My question is how do I give the Sarracenia a winter dormancy? I tried searching for this question but maybe I used the wrong search terms because I didn't find it. I hadn't planned on keeping a plant that needed a dormancy but now that I have one I want to make sure it lives happily and thrives. Any suggestions are welcome, and I appreciate all your help. Thanks!

For me, in N.Y., once night temps get and stay 35-40 F. I remove my Sarrs from the pots, dunk and clean the roots in rainwater. Put them in zip lock bags, spray a little sulphur based fungicide on them and put into the bottom of my fridge. Works great. Like this guy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHoC7YLOqbM&index=325&list=FLSTLlzBVNI41wRe5SgRpIcQ

EXCEPT for purpurea, I leave them in their pots.
 
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  • #14
For me, in N.Y., once night temps get and stay 35-40 F. I remove my Sarrs from the pots, dunk and clean the roots in rainwater. Put them in zip lock bags, spray a little sulphur based fungicide on them and put into the bottom of my fridge. Works great. Like this guy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHoC7YLOqbM&index=325&list=FLSTLlzBVNI41wRe5SgRpIcQ

EXCEPT for purpurea, I leave them in their pots.

I wonder what my roommate would think about having potted plants in the fridge. Lol. That might be something to try. Thanks!
 
  • #15
lizaryker: the strongest lights you can afford, really. LED are good because they're bright and energy-efficient, not particularly hot, or the T5 Sunblasters, but I also use T8 shoplights.

I'll probably go the LED route. Does it matter if they're warm or cool colored LEDs? If I'm going that direction I might get some of both just to cover my bases. Any recommendations on where to get them? I'm hoping not to spend too much.
 
  • #16
If you're getting LED, then you'll want to ask someone else for specifics since at the moment I use shoplights and T5 growlights. From what I've read, most people use a mix if you're using an individual bulb type, and expect to pay a fair bit more than for the T8 or T5 type because they're more expensive to manufacture/not as commonly sold yet, but they supposedly last a fair bit longer in return.
 
  • #17
I grow Cephalotus and Drosera filiformis outside of a terrarium under very bright, cool colored LEDs (I can't remember exactly how cool, but between 5000-6500k, and the lumen output is about 2600). They could definitely use more light, particularly based on the Drosera's performance outside, but the Cephalotus is developing some nice reds and the Drosera always has dew and red glands. I keep my plants very, very close to the lights, however (2-3"), which is probably impossible in a terrarium. On the other hand, it's Sarracenia, so you shouldn't really need a terrarium. My method would be prohibitively expensive for any large number of plants, but if you only have one Sarracenia I bet you could get it to work. You would certainly need to use LED's, however, as they're the only bulbs cool enough not to fry the plants (I realize you're already planning to). Also you might have to use slightly brighter bulbs than I do, since I do get some light coming in a window, though not nearly enough and it's never direct light.
 
  • #18
I grow Cephalotus and Drosera filiformis outside of a terrarium under very bright, cool colored LEDs (I can't remember exactly how cool, but between 5000-6500k, and the lumen output is about 2600). They could definitely use more light, particularly based on the Drosera's performance outside, but the Cephalotus is developing some nice reds and the Drosera always has dew and red glands. I keep my plants very, very close to the lights, however (2-3"), which is probably impossible in a terrarium. On the other hand, it's Sarracenia, so you shouldn't really need a terrarium. My method would be prohibitively expensive for any large number of plants, but if you only have one Sarracenia I bet you could get it to work. You would certainly need to use LED's, however, as they're the only bulbs cool enough not to fry the plants (I realize you're already planning to). Also you might have to use slightly brighter bulbs than I do, since I do get some light coming in a window, though not nearly enough and it's never direct light.

I remember seeing some hanging LED grow lights on Amazon that were reasonably priced. I'll have to look them up again but I could hang it from the bar above the plants and put it as close to the plants as I needed to. I've moved the plants to my kitchen where they get direct sun all afternoon, but I'm sure they would still benefit from more light.
 
  • #19
You really need to be careful with hanging lights--I assume you mean basically string lights. I was going to use them in my own terrarium, but the lumen output is often questionable and not necessarily as listed. They also often get quite hot.
If you mean corn bulbs, those are fine and not usually subject to the same problem.
 
  • #20
You really need to be careful with hanging lights--I assume you mean basically string lights. I was going to use them in my own terrarium, but the lumen output is often questionable and not necessarily as listed. They also often get quite hot.
If you mean corn bulbs, those are fine and not usually subject to the same problem.

The lights I'm thinking of are LED grow bulbs (standard E26/E27 base, 18W) on the end of a long cord that you can hang wherever you need to, not string lights. I'll make sure to avoid string lights for my other terrarium though. What's a corn bulb?
 
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