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Expert: - 7/2/2011


Question
Hi christorher littrell a i been trying to find what zone is san francisco for carnivorous plants i been read on the internal and i be seeing people talk about the zone they live in  can you tell me what that mean and also what zone is san francisco and for my plants thank you

Answer
Hello Robert,

After a quick search og USDA zones in San Francisco, I found the following information. San Francisco is zone 8-9 which means that most of your North American plants should do well there. The tropicals would need to remain indoors in winter. Zones are set up by general temperature so that farmers know what plants to grow best in what area and what precautions to take should they grow plants that require differing temperatures in winter so that their crops survive. If you try to grow a tropical plant outdoors all year in that climate, they will mostly die off and only the subtropicals might suvive and grow back next spring. The North American and temperate plants would go dormant in winter and grow back next spring.

Christopher

Carnivorous Plants

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Christopher Littrell

Expertise

I am capable of answering questions about the most common carnivorous plants found in cultivation. I have no personal experience with Byblis, Drosophyllum, Aldrovanda, and Heliamphora. I have not cultivated gemmae forming pygmy sundews nor tuberous sundews. For information regarding those aforementioned species, I would suggest contacting other experts. I can answer questions regarding most species of Nepenthes, tropical and temperate Drosera, Mexican Pinguicula, Sarracenias, and Dionaea. I have some limited experience with growing Utricularia, Cephalotus, and Darlingtonia.

Experience

I have grown carnivorous plants off and on for about 27 years. I have made the same mistakes and suffered the same mishaps that many growers make as they attempt to separate the myths from the realities of growing these plants. Currently, I am successfully growing a variety of tropical sundews, a Nepenthes, several Venus Flytraps of varying ages, and Sarracenias. I have been successful in stratifying Sarracenia seeds and providing artificial dormancy requirements for my temperate plants when needed.

Education/Credentials
I hold a Master's degree in Educational Psychology. Over my lifetime, I have constantly read books involving the growing conditions of carnivorous plants. I hope to incorporate the educational aspects involved in psychology with teaching other people how to cultivate carnivorous plants.

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