Gentlemen,
I know both of you live in Florida. For some reason, S. flava has a very hard time growing south of its natural habitat. They seem to be prone to a fungus-rhizome rot-that hits them during the summer.
Kirk, you are up in the Melbourne area. Was it a flava that crashed on you?
We give all our Sarracenia regular systemic fungicide treatments, increasing the frequency of application during the summer when this problem occurs. We also grow them drier than normal, which seems to help. Also, they always go into dormancy on their own, so that is not the problem. The flavas will go down during the hot, wet months of the year, Aug, Sept seem to be the worst times. I cannot figure out what is different about our summer conditions compared to their native habitat. We are even using sterilized peat and sand to eliminate possible nematode problems, which brings me back to the conclusion that there is some sort of fungus or bacterium in our micro-flora that attacks Sarrs., and flava is very susceptible.
Any other Sarr growers in Florida south of Orlando---would like to hear your comments.
Trent