Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 5/19/2010

Question
I have several Sarracenia plants. A couple 3 years old and 2 bought last year. I changed soil this March with peralite and peatmoss as per your video and keep them on a sunny deck. I live in Vancouver Wa, and they were out all winter. They froze solid during the freeze. I clipped all old growth on 2 pots at soil change and left some on the others. I have seen no growth at all on any of them yet and it's the middle of May. Are they dead or should I wait a while yet. Marty

Answer
Hi Marty,

I'm afraid if you seen no new growth by this time, they are dead.  Last winter was unusual for us in a couple different respects in that it was fairly warm, followed by record setting cold, then unseasonably warm again.  We lost quite a few plants here in the nursery.  We hit 7 degrees and 8 degrees F. on three consecutive nights.  In Vancouver, you also have the disadvantage of it often being windy.  If your plants were not well covered, they won't make it in that much cold, especially if it's windy.  It has mostly to do with them being in containers and suffering dehydration.  It's not just carnivorous plants either.  We lost several plants, and did many other people, that had been perfectly hardy for years.  Examples included Lilies, hardy ginger, Dracunculus, and many other plants that had a zone 8 designation.  Single digits are closer to zone 7 temperatures.  The rapid warming helped finish off some plants by encouraging fungus.  Ironcically, in 2008 with all the snow, we had no problems.  Snow is a great insulator.

The bottom line here is just to make sure plants are covered well, or buried in mulch like we show in the video if a strong arctic front is expected.  Even bringing them into a garage or shed helps immensely since it shields them from wind.  Also, it helps to be aware which species are more vulnerable.  Examples include the more southerly species of plants such as S. leucophylla "Tarnok", S. minor, S. psittacina (ours did fine; go figure), S. alata, and S. rosea.  Also, sundews such as D. filiformis var. trayci, and D. filiformis var. "Florida Giant", and Venus flytraps in small pots.  Flytraps in bigger pots are fine.  These plant will benefit from being in a more sheltered location such as a garage during severe freezes, or should be well buried under mulch.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com