Re: Re: Soil pH
Oliver T Massey CFS (massey@hal.fmhi.usf.edu)
Thu, 24 Aug 1995 10:21:36 -0400
(deletes)
> > > S.flava tends to stop making pitchers near summers
> > > end and produces winter leaves, so the pitchers you
> > > see this time of year tend to be quite old and
> > > rather washed out looking.
> >
> > What does S.flava consider summer? It was 97 degrees in the swamp
> > the day we were there -- not typical of summer's end! "Washed
> > out" certainly describes the pitchers I saw, but the first frost
> > won't be for 8 weeks (or more?), I think.
>
> The plants respond to the photo period which is in turn controlled
> by the Earth's orbit. Soon
> Sarracenia plants will be setting their flower buds which are the
> last growth they *should* experience. This doesn't always work
> like when poeple see their pitchers begin flowering in the fall -
> they aren't flowering late but early and were probably confused
> somewhat by being removed from their native latitudes. After the
> spring and early summer S.flava start to produce those flat winter
> leaves.
>The older
> pitchers seem to lose their color as they age while all the others
> (maybe not S.alata, I'm not very familiar with that one yet) get
> darker with red. S.flava (atleast mine do) grow faster and more
> robust. This last one is probably because most of genus is from
> farther south and have longer G.S.'s in nature. What have the
> Southern growers on the list seen in this regard?
A few comments from a Southern grower. :) I am at the southern end of
the S.minor range and a bit south of the rest of the Sarr. range. My
flava have mostly begun to produce philodia although there may be one
with a new pitcher. The S. lueco. produce fewer philodia somewhat
earlier in the summer and many are now producing a second set of
pitchers. S. minor are not only continuing to produce new traps but the
first set of seed pods have already begun to split and the second, fall
flowering (same plants) has begun. S. rubra and S. alata are still
producing traps, as are S.psittacina and several hybrids. These plants
are outside so I believe the results are free from the possible bias of
plants grown under lights. I have lived elsewhere (mid-Missouri and
Tennessee) and my experience with S. flava and lueco. have remained
about the same. I seem to recall that S. minor had two flowering
periods even when I was in the midwest, although I may be
misremembering. I think transplanting may also affect trap prod
I think you may be right when you infer that the S. flava may be older traps
produced in early to mid summer. Maybe the first S. leuco traps of the year
have already dried up and been replaced while the flava just hang on looking
scruffy. I have never carefully compared the trap life for various species.
Tom in Fl