Dealing with northern winters

[Travis]

I have a s. purperea witch I keep outside. Since they live in Michigan, I decided to leave it outside through out the winter. The purpera is still in the pot (3inch) but outside. Of course it is frozen solid and it has been like that for months now. My thought behind this is they live in Michigan and the ground is frozen from December to roughly March/April. Do you think it has a chance of coming back to life or is it a goner? Has anyone else done this before? What is the chance of it surviving say 1 out of 10 (1 = No chance at all - 10 = I will never die).

Since on the topic of Michigan winters what are other Cp's that live in Michigan or live in Michigan kind of weather? I may start collecting Cp's that are growing in the Northern part of the US...

To make things ezier.

Thanks,
Travis

 

[Sarraceniaobsessed]

Travis,
I would give your S. purp an 8 rating. It would have been higher had the pot be sunken in the ground and the plant given some protection (i.e. a thick layer of protective mulch) Let us know how the crap shoot went come spring.

Brooks, Atlanta

 

[nepenthes gracilis]

It should come back if it is purpurea subsp purpurea. But like Sarraceniaobsessed said the chances would eb greater if it were protected. A plant in the bog (ground) is insulated year round while a pot offers little protection from the freezing temperatures. Mine have been frozen solid on and off since December and now, relocated to the greenhouse they are thawed and still dormant in the 50F temp the ehater keeps it at. It should survive if it was a healthy freeze...if it was a dry freeze...good luck to you!

 

[Travis]

Hey, Thanks. That is allot better then I thought it would be. I was guessing about a 6.5 or so. I will let you know as spring come around if it survived the winter.

But next year I think I will wrap it in some insulation.

travis

 

[Glenn]

Travis,

None of these are Sarracenia but other Michigan CPs are D. rotundifolia, D. anglica, D. intermedia, D. linearis, P. vulgaris and many Utricularia.

check out this website to see what lives where.

http://plants.usda.gov/

It's still cold here in Michigan!

 

[Sarraceniaobsessed]

Travis,
Bubble wrap is quite good.

Brooks

 

[Travis]

Hey, thank you soooooo much!!!

I will wrap it in bubble wrap tonight...even though it is month and half into winter better late then never. Plus I am going to look into those plants you suggested that live in Michigan. That means I do not need a terrarium for all my plants. Thank goodness

.

Travis

mn

 

[Travis]

Well I think it may be died my sarr purp? It has been out of dormancy for 3 weeks or so and no sign of life.

I personally think I maid a mistake leaving it outside.

 

[Copper]

The mistake was not the leaving the plant outside, but leaving the pot above ground. The roots must be protected. Plant roots in their natural habitat are surround by lots of soil. In a pot the roots are protected by a mere few inches of soil and the roots will freeze. If you want the plant to winter outdoors I would suggest sinking the pot or building a cold storage and mulch heavily around the pot. My bonsai do fine in a cold storage box.

 

[Travis]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Travis @ Mar. 31 2003,04:49)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I personally think I maid a mistake leaving it outside.  

[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Did I say "maid" I am a dumbbutt

.

I will blame that on my fingers!

Ya, I should have should have given them some insulation of some sort? Live and learn, just wonder when will I ever Live and stop Learning?

Travis

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">wonder when will I ever Live and stop Learning?
[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

Travis,

Living and learning to me go hand in hand. The trick is to learn from others mistakes 'cuase there's no way you can live long enough to make them all yourself.

 

[steveo]

The assumption that this is ssp. purpurea has never been answered here. S. purpurea ssp. venosa (what everyone sells) is not going to survive a very cold winter, bubblewrap or no.

Steve

 

[herenorthere]

18" of red oak leaves will carry any Sarracenia through a Zone 6 CT winter. Other leaves (especially maple) are prone to matting down, so will suffocate the plants and fail to insulate them. I fluff up the leaves a few times during the winter. The pots get buried with 1" or so of rim above ground level. Next year I'll rig a tarp as an awning above the leaf pile because I've learned a good bit of snow can turn my plant area into a solid block of leafy ice. I saw temperatures down to about -10F.

 

[Darcie]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (herenorthere @ April 05 2003,08:06)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">18" of red oak leaves will carry any Sarracenia through a Zone 6 CT winter.  Other leaves (especially maple) are prone to matting down, so will suffocate the plants and fail to insulate them.  I fluff up the leaves a few times during the winter.  The pots get buried with 1" or so of rim above ground level.  Next year I'll rig a tarp as an awning above the leaf pile because I've learned a good bit of snow can turn my plant area into a solid block of leafy ice.  I saw temperatures down to about -10F.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Thats odd, snow layers usually act as extra insulation.

 

[herenorthere]

The snow insulates while it stays snow, but it melts on warm late winter days and the water re-freezes as it sinks into the depths of the leaf pile. By the time I discovered how bad it was getting, there was a dense layer of icy leaves/leafy ice at the tops of the pots. The CPs survived, but I'm worried about the fate of some potted terrestrial orchids who shared the space.

 

[Glenn]

I kept my S. Flava, S. venosa, S. alata, D. filiformis and venus flytrap indoors this winter in a very cold part of the basement. The pots froze solid twice, maybe more. After I noticed this for the second time, I moved them into my grow room. They have all started growing and two sars have sent up flower shoots.

So they can take some abuse. They look pretty bad right now and I won't be repeating the same treatment next year! Maybe I just got lucky.

Glenn

 

[Travis]

This is what is looked like before it went into dormancy. It is on the left side of the tank:

I though it was a S. purpurea, maybe it is not? This is the only picture I have of it.

Travis