Expert: Christopher Littrell - 7/13/2008

Question
Hello,

I am wondering if I can grow Sarracenia Purpurea, Dionaea Muscipula, and Sarracenia Leuophylla outdoors year round. Also, could you suggest any other plants I could grow outdoors year round? I live in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. I have the plants growing in an uncovered aquarium in the standard CP soil mix (50% sand, 50% peat). They recieve about 6 hour of sun per day, and IO water them regularly with distilled water.

Also, I put the aquarium outside yesterday so the plants could get some sun, but when I went to bring the plants in for the night, I noticed some white mold growing on the soil. Is this a problem? If so, how can I remove the mold?
Thank you,

Mary

Answer
Hello Mary,

Any of the Sarracenias, Venus Flytraps, and North American Sundews, like Drosera filiformis and Drosera rotundifolia could be grown all year round there. Make sure to protect the plants from weather near to below freezing as containers do not provide as much insulation as the ground does. If their roots freeze dry they would die. Make sure your temperatures remain below 100 degrees as well as extremely high temperatures can harm or kill them over time.

It is a good idea to leave the terrarium uncovered, however; as you noticed, mold is a problem with low air circulation near the base of the plants. If the plants were grown in large pots with oversized water trays they would be exposed to sunlight and good air flow and mold would not be such a big problem. You can use neem oil and sulfur based products to kill mold, but never use copper based or fatty acid based soap products for antifungal solutions on carnivorous plants.

Moving plants around from indoors to outdoors can shock them if the humidity and temperature changes drastically. It might be best to leave them in one place where you feel they are protected from animals, pests, curious people, and bad weather, yet gives them a chance to catch some light rain and bright sunlight.

Christopher