You are here:

Carnivorous Plants/Follow up to root rot

Advertisement

Expert: - 7/27/2010


Question
So, in my last question, I described my Sarracenia alata having root rot. I've unpotted it, and I'll spray it with a safe fungicide and trim the mushy stuff off the rhizome. I've been trying to find out which roots to trim however; I assume some of them have died/rotted. There are nice, white/red/pink roots, which there are some light brown roots with white tips, and then there are a fair amount of black roots. I assume the black roots are the dead roots, but I just want to make sure.
Thanks!

Answer
Hi Edward,

You are correct.  The black ones are dead.  The white, healthy roots should be coming off the leading edge of the rhizome.  Where you see lots of black roots cut an end piece off of the rhizome.  If it's brown in the middle, keep cutting until you see nice white material, kind of like a parsnip.  Be sure to spray the cut end with a fungicide before repotting.

Good Growing!

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

Carnivorous Plants

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Sarracenia Northwest

Expertise

If your plant is showing poor growth, discoloration, abnormal leaves or possible infestation, the growers at Sarracenia Northwest can help! Carnivorous plant experts Jeff Dallas and Jacob Farin will help you diagnose the problem and get your plants on the right track. Their no nonsense approach has helped thousands of growers all over the world. They can help you too!

Experience

With over 40 years of combined experience, Jeff and Jacob has definitely taken a straight forward approach to growing carnivorous plants. They have encountered many types of diseases, abnormal growth and infestations related to carnivorous plants, and they know what it takes to get plants looking beautiful and healthy again.

Education/Credentials
Authors of Secrets to Growing Beautiful Carnivorous Plants for Your Home and Garden and producers of the Grow Carnivorous Plants! DVD Series. They also produce a monthly video podcast to illustrate how plants cycle through the seasons.

No terrariums. No myths. No nonsense.
Just the straight facts from guys who grow and propagate
thousands of carnivorous plants each year.

PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR QUESTION:
We no longer answer how-to questions (i.e. How do I propagate...?; How do I grow...?).

Instead, we help growers by diagnosing a specific plant problem and offering solutions (i.e. Why is my sundew not producing dew?; Is now a good time to divide my Sarracenia?; Why are the traps turning black?; What's a good substitute for perlite?; Why didn't my seeds germinate?; Can you identify this carnivorous plant for me?)

For general plant care, please read our care sheets on our main website:
http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets

For business questions:
http://www.cobraplant.com/contact


Carnivorous Plant Videos Facebook
Follow us on Youtube and Facebook!


©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.