Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 10/5/2010

Question
Gentlemen,

I had written to you earlier this year regarding the dilemma of my bog being
too mineral-rich (the natural spring feeding it). My then blackening VFTs
were what you called "the canaries in the coal mine". Since then, I have been
flushing, i.e. watering the plants with reverse-osmosis water from above
when there isn't rain to do the job naturally and it worked. So thank you for
the suggestion!
Now to my question:
1) I have all of my plants in pots that are well drained and buried at the
proper level in the bog and was wondering if this is better due to the build-
up of minerals from the natural spring. I.e. it's easier to top water them this
way and flush out the minerals if there's no rain. Is it better to leave them
this way (they seem to be flourishing), or should I plant them directly into
the soil of the bog (mixture of peat, sand and rocks)?


Thanks so much for your kind advice and all your help in the past!

Best regards,

Joseph P. Hovan

Answer
I think you answered the question yourself.  If your plants are flourishing, then they must be liking the conditions they're in.  If this method is easy for you to maintain and your plants are growing the way you want them to, then by all means keep doing what you're doing.  I don't see any potential issues with it other than the plants outgrowing the pots, but that's easily fixed by either dividing the rhizome or potting the plants in larger pots.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin