Expert: Christopher Littrell - 3/9/2010

Question
Hello,

I have had several very tall Sarracenia for a few years now, but I recently moved to an apartment complex with a deck facing east - south-east, but there is also a row of trees preventing the direct sunlight to my deck the first hour after sunrise... I am super concerned that they won't be getting more than 4 hours of direct sunlight. I know this is not nearly enough for them, but is there a lighting setup strong enough to make up the difference? or should I find them a new home? :(


Thanks for the help.

Answer
Hello Brandon,

I know that living in an apartment can cramp the style of someone growing full sun carnivorous plants. I am stuck in a similar circumstance but with only windows facing all the wrong way and with plant hostile animals and children outside.

Our only ally in this situation may be to move them to a more hospitable location if possible, or to apply a large number of shop lights along with the best sunny window available.

My set-up for indoor growing (not advised if you can actually get them outside at all) is six twin tube 40 watt shop lights in a side by side block so that they cover a 4 foot by 3 foot space in front of a North facing window. I have all my Sarracenias and Venus Flytraps in the center of that space with the plants about 8-10 inches from the central lights. When my Sarracenias grow taller, I intend to try an adjustment to the lights so that the lights are at different heights with the lowest lights along the outskirts and the highest lights are in the middle so that the taller plants can grow in the middle of what would equate to intense lighting that would hit them along their entire leaf height. The single most light intensive plant would be the S. purpurea. I placed mine in the center of a non-staged (all the lights at the same level) set-up and observed it purple up quite nicely only a week out of dormancy. I leave that set of lights on for 16 hours a day. The entire thing only costs about 80 dollars with a Christmas Tree light timer added in. Very inexpensive compared to the inadequate 9 watt plant light systems that cost over 50 dollars for one or two tiny plants that would barely survive a few months under that pitiful intensity.

You may be able to get by with outside growing for your Sarracenias. Keep an eye on them and place them as high up as possible on a tall table so they can get the first and last light of the day. If they grow at the same rate and keep their intense coloration with no distortion or deformity in pitcher growth then they should be fine outside.

Christopher