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Sarracenia

Hi,
Why do S.rubricorpora {red tube } and S.atropurpurea {all red } lose ther red color.? is there any way to maintain the red color.?

                Regards  
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Growlist
 
Tannic tea will help. The simplest way to make tannic tea is to take 100% natural BLACK tea (no other) and allow it to cold brew in your watering jug. Water every day with it until you see results. How long to the results are dependant on your growing condition.If your conditions are not right, the color might not come back, tannic tea or not. As much as 8 hours of light are required, and heat and humidity. They all work together.
 
Hi,
What percentage of 100% black tea to water.? Or does it make any diffrance.

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Hmmmm....interesting. My S. flava var atropurpureas alternate between being a medium red and being mostly not red. My one S. flava var rubricorpora has maintained a super dark red for years as has my one S. flava var cuprea. Although I'm not a real fan of hybrids, I may go ahead and make some crosses between the red tube and the copper top just to see what happens. I think the liklihood of ending up with a non-fading all-red is extremely remote - but why not give it a shot?

On a slightly different note, I had one S. flava var rubricorpora not show any red this year until the last pitcher it sent up - last week! I was pretty much convinced that I mis-labeled it during my repotting - the only problem was it didn't look like any other plant in the collection. This is probably the 5th or 6th pitcher and the only one that's red....

Steve - you prefer the black tea vs the sphagnum peat tea? I haven't tried either yet but I may try some experiments next year.... I'd love to see the all-red get back close to it's original colors...
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I'm not sure tea makes any difference at all. Peat is acidic, whatever you do with it. Having peat sitting there doesn't make it turn alkaline.
 
Alvin, read Rob Saciloto's paper on tannic tea. It isn't the acid, it is the tannins in the tea that seem to make the difference. I use three or four bags of black tea to 3 gallons of water. It is easier to make and deal with than the other method, Ron. That is why I use it. Still no atro color this year here either, that is why it is time to mix the tea!
 
Hi,
Thats interesting, i would like to read Rob sacilotto's paper on tannic tea. How long would the black tea have to sit before using the three or four bags of black tea to 3 gallons of water.?


                                   
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Any links to an online version of that paper?

Also, would adding tea leaves to the soil mix be advisable?

Might be interesting when i have some plants large enough to divide to have side-by-side clones growing in identical conditions except for the addition of tea to one, to see the effect on color.
 
i heared tea stains cloths but not leaves
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, no im just kiddin its just im curious on how acidity afects color, ive heard the same with hycaths.
 
  • #10
Fill a bottle with good water, drop the tea bags in, and let it sit for a day, and then water with it. Definitely not hard. You may increase the bags to 6 if you need to. It will give a slightly higher concentration of the tannins in the water. Only BLACK tea.
I am using it now, before the last growth comes up to see if I get any reddening, no matter how slight. And Mr. Lane, your "red lip" flava is a bright, bright red.
 
  • #11
Hi,
I got some black tea today, i am going to start out using two bags per gallon of water because the plants are already sitting in water and should delute in the soil nicely. It's close to the end of the seasond so we will see how it goes. I will start watering 09/02/05 Once a week. I have some that are part red and some that have no red at all, that are red tubes.
will see.
                          Regards  
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  • #12
Been watering with tannic tea for a week now, and the s. flava var. rubricorpora'a and the atropurps are showing signs of red coloration. At least 3/4's of my "rubes", and none of my atro's had any red in them, but the new growth is starting to turn red. Another 2 weeks of tannic tea should bring them out. We will see.
 
  • #13
Hi,
That's great how often are you watering, once a week, every other day what.? I was going to water once a week but if sooner is better then.?

                               
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  • #14
FR, I water everyday. My plants grow in large tubs (rubbermaid dishpans, undrained). I fill them to the top every morning, and let evaporation take the water level down. They are in a constant rhizome bath of tannic tea. The peat is kept so wet, it is muck, but the plants love it. There is no compaction with the peat the way I keep them watered, and they do VERY well.
 
  • #15
I have been using the black tea formula for about 3 weeks,so far i have notice a significant increase in the red production of the S.rubricorpora and the S.atropurpurea.The ones that are still all green have not responded, i don't know mabe because it near the end of the season. I will try again next season to see what happends. For those who want to try Robs tannic tea formula here is his revised recipe.



To get a revised tannic tea recipe. In addition to pH related
nutrient deficiencies, color can be lost due to pitcher age or the
season (most often in S.flava var. cuprea, S.flava var. rugellii).
Another factor can be iron deficiency. While the peat tea tends to
correct this, you can take a lower phosphorous fertilizer that has
micronutrients and apply a foliar feed (spray) as the pitchers come
up and expand/mature, maybe every two weeks. Use distilled water to
mix the fertilizer and dilute it to 1/4 normal strength for "house
plants". E.G.: if you use a 20-10-20, the normal dilution is 1/4
teaspoon in one gallon of distilled or reverse osmosis treated.
water. Of course, sunlight is critical for proper pigment and many
types will have weak color if grown in weak light, under plastic or
under glass. I hope this helps. It's so late in the season, you may
not see any improvement until next spring.


This recipe is slightly modified from the original article appearing
in the Carnivorous Plant Newsletter.
1.In a large, stainless steel container add 2 gallons pure water
(distilled, reverse-osmosis,etc.), 3/4 gallon new, unleached peat
moss-tamped slightly,and a ball of long-fiber sphagnum (dead,dry)
about the size of a grapefruit-compressed slightly. You can also
substitute/add many acidic humus sources with the sphagnum, including
leaf humus(partially decayed) from pine, oak, hemlock (Tsuga) and
mixed forests.
 These will tend to float; stir them down with a stick, I use bamboo,
until the ingredients are saturated.
2.Add one more gallon of pure water.Stir.
3.Bring this mixture to a high temperature. There are many soil
chemists who prefer to keep the temperature at 160-170°F, due to the
perishable nature of some soil enzymes, but I bring the mixture to a
low simmer for 20-30 minutes to nearly sterilize the concentrate.
This mix will require occasional stirring to prevent boil over and is
best done on a camp stove outside!
4.After 30 minutes, remove from heat and wait about 5 minutes, for
some settling and cooling.
5.This is the tricky part; be careful as the hot concentrate is not
easy to handle. You may wish to cover the liquid and let it cool
before straining. I'm familiar with handling it and prefer to strain
it hot into containers so it will keep better (about 2-3 weeks in a
covered milk jug.)
 Stretch a nylon stocking over a clean, large funnel or galvanized
watering can, leaving some slack for the solids. Secure this if
needed so it won't slip. Slowly pour the concentrate to ONE SIDE of
the stocking to strain it. If you pour too quickly, the solids will
plug the nylon and cap the receptacle, spilling the brew over the
top! You can use the stirring stick to hold back the larger chunks
while pouring. Avoid hand contact as this will add bacteria, possibly
burn you (if hot) and decrease the storage life of the concentrate.
With experience, this filtering will get easier as you adapt your
technique to your equipment.
6.Once cool, add about 1 1/2 cups of this concentrate to a gallon of
pure water and aerate the diluted "peat tea" by vigorously shaking in
a partially filled jug. For those of you with test equipment, I
standardize this tea by adding either concentrate or water to achieve
a pH of 4.5-5.4 and a conductivity of about 18-22 microsiemens. The
above dilution ratio should get you close enough for most
applications, so exact meter readings aren't usually needed. The
solution should be dark tea colored and can be used to drench the
soil of the plants you wish to treat. Store the concentrate in clean,
covered plastic milk jugs. Use diluted=ready to use tea within a
couple days, or it will start to grow microbes (mostly harmless water
molds.) I do not recommend using the concentrate without dilution.
 I apply this once every month or so. Be sure to leach the soil
between applications or evaporation can concentrate further the
chemicals in the soil. I haven't tested this stuff enough on Dionaea,
but since flytraps like to be repotted every year in fresh peat, I
believe they would benefit from the tea, which can lower the pH in
older media. Pinguicula planifolia does benefit from this tea, as do
most Nepenthes.
  This recipe makes about 1 1/2 -2 gallons of concentrate, which is a
lot for most people; you can divide the recipe in half or quarters,
as needed.
Many plants can take, may benefit from a stronger solution, but I
wouldn't use over 3 cups concentrate per gallon of water unless you
have experimented and found it safe for your application.
 I hope some will find this information useful.After the article was
published, I received several letters and phone calls from CP growers
who had "problem plants" perk up a few weeks after using this tea,
most likely due to pH improvement. Some created their own recipes and
techniques. One grower uses "blackwater" which is naturally formed
tannic water found in some wetlands. The basic technique is
well-documented with successes, but if your plants are growing fine,
I wouldn't bother; don't fix what ain't broken! Sincerely, Rob
Sacilotto/Botanique.


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  • #16
don't forget red tubes need FULL sun for maximum colour, and repotting will often set them back a year, producing veined pitchers only...
 
  • #17
I had to laugh upon reading this bit about tea.  My friend used to detest tea and called it "brackish pond water."  I guess that if it fools the CPs in passing for natural bog water, then it must be closer than I though after all.  
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  • #18
I just thought I'd say that I tried the peat tea treatment today. I figured I'd just replace their normal water tray water so they can suck it up over the next week. I read Rob's recipe but I found it easier to get hold of a large muslin bag, fill it with peat and immerse it in a bucket of water. After squeezing and leaving it overnight I ended up with a bucket of near black water with no peat particles, although I sieved it anyway to make sure. I then added a bucket full of black tea left to brew overnight and poured it all in the tray, undiluted (they grow in pure peat anyway, why dilute?).

I'll report my findings soon. I have plenty of rubricorpora and an atropurpurea opening their first pitchers, so we'll see how they end up.
 
  • #19
would that work with a VFT "Red Dragon"?
 
  • #20
Apparently the effect is less noticeable with VFTs, but I'll be putting some peat water in their tray anyway today.
 
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