RE: Flowering Sarracenia...

Ross (KONING@ECSUC.CTSTATEU.EDU)
Fri, 7 Oct 1994 23:43:32 -0400 (EDT)

Flowers presenting nectar rewards to pollinators also
represent a nutrition source for fungi. The closed
humid atmosphere of a terrarium provides an ideal
environment for fungi. Many flowers bloom in the
dryest part of the season...maybe this is adaptive?
I don't have much in terms of suggestions unless the
plants can be raised so the flower stalk emerges out
of the top of the terrarium into some drier air.

Many CPs I have observed in the wild are innundated
with water in the substrate, but the open and exposed
nature of bog mats leads to a shallow layer of stagnant
and humid air. The flowering culms reach through this
into drier air above. Maybe the artificial environment
needs to mimic this.

BJ: The two pings are doing ok and very well respectively.
OK in an open bog under artificial lights (lower humidity)
VERY WELL in a peat pellet under an inverted plastic cup
(high humidity dome) under artificial lights. Since they
are vegetative still, I think this is fostered by high
humidity. I have been feeding with gelatine crystals.
The one in the high humidity (doing well) liquifies the
gelatine in a few hours and is gone in about 24 hours.
The one in the low humidity (OK) has crystals even after
a week. So they are getting differential feeding. The
OK ping has about five leaves of which 3 are about 0.5 cm.
The other two are senescing. The better looking one now
has about seven leaves with at least five that are over
1 cm long. I think it is also producing some tiny propagules
on the midrib near the leaf tip....is this expected?

ross