Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 7/8/2010

Question
I've been growing Judith Hindles in a 8 inch pot outside in full sun and I keep the water level around 2 inches.  Last fall they died down and I cut them off when you mentioned to do so.  This spring and now summer only two have come up and they are only 1 1/2 inches high. The pot was full last year and was really eye catching.  I did not repot them this year. Can you tell me what's going on with them?
I live in Eugene, Or.

Answer
Hi Joanne,

Chances are a big chunk of the rhizome died during the severe freeze we had last December.  The Pacific Northwest had record setting cold.  We got down to single digits, which I've not seen in my lifetime here.  If the pot wasn't protected by being covered or brought into an unheated garage or shed, they tend to freeze-dry during severe cold.  This is true for all container plants, not just carnivorous plants.  Many plants that are perfectly hardy in the ground, or in large planters are not in small pots.  If your plant was well protected, it may have succumbed to a fungal infection.  Botrytis can start on dead leaves, then spread to the rest of the plant.  This can happen when the winter is warmer than normal, like it was in January.  We definitely took some hits at the nursery due to both the cold and unusual warmth following.

It sounds like small pieces of the rhizome survived, and that's what's growing now.  It would be good to unpot the plant and remove the dead areas, then repot the living shoots in new media.

Good Growing!

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