Expert: George Heaton - 10/22/2009

Question
Hello George,

I read one of your other answers about Sarracenia and figured that you could probably answer this question. I work at a whole sale water plant greenhouse and we recently started carrying Sarracenia leucophylla Tarnok, S. x Dana's Delight, and S. x Judith Hindle. Our greenhouse is in Virginia and its starting to get cold. I read somewhere that someone put his in a cold box outside for winter storage and his was VERY impressive. I have a lil over 200 plants and they look fairly good but I wanted to improve the quality of our stock. Do you think cold storage outside is better than keeping them in the greenhouse all winter.  And what sort of Fertilizer do you use to keep them healthy and blooming? The guy before me used like weight gaining protein, like creatine. what are you recommendations

Answer
Hello Shane, The 3 plants you mention are hybrids and don't appear in nature much above Eufala, Alabama, if that far north. They do need a domancy period to become and stay healthy plants but in areas where the frost line isn't zero they might be in trouble outside. The dormancy period is usually started by a shorter photo period such as occurs in late fall or winter and the cold period usually deactivates the protective coating on the seeds so they can sprout in the spring. You maybe able to simulate winter in the greenhouse if it is lighted, otherwise they will probably be alright with nature's lighting. Fertilizer is not suppose to be used with sarracenia to the best of my knowledge although you may catch flies to feed them through their traps if bugs and insects are limited in the greenhouse, otherwise they tend to catch their own food. Don't feed them dead bugs you find laying around as they may be contaminated with pesticides. Most sarracenia do not bloom until they are about 5 years old and the Tarnok is infertile I believe. Trim the dead growth, maintain a slightly acidic soil and use fresh water. Most collectors use distilled or reverse osmosis water, but some cities and wells have water with tds that are within acceptable limits. Sarracenia Northwest are growers out of Oregon that grow these plants well and have a web site which is more complete with most information you might need. Good luck, George