> I, like many, am one of the less (non)vocal of the group, but
> have finally found cause to make my presence (or ignorance) known. I'm
> fairly new to CP and have only a few S. purpureae, VFT's, and Drosera.
> My question is what influences pitcher color?
Chemicals called Anthocyanins are produced in the plant tissues in
response to bright light. These also account for most of the red,
orange and yellow pigments found in plants of all types - tomatoes,
apples, peppers, Maple leaves as well as Dionaea, Drosera, Nepenthes,
etc. By and large with CPs, the brighter the light, the more intense
the reddening.
> I have had my Sar. for
> three years now, it is doing well, but is the greenest purple pitcher
> plant I have laid eyes on. There isn't a purple blotch, vein, or speck
> on the thing.
If you mean that it has never exhibited the slightest reddening even
in bright light, then it sounds as if you have the heterophylla form
of S. purpurea ssp.purpurea - most likely this was originally the
result of genetic mutation from the 'normal' form. It produces no
anthocyanin, and is generally held to be a more desirable (at least,
usually more expensive,) plant than the 'normal' form. It is a
stable condition, ie: seed from heterophylla parents will always be
heterophylla.
Individual specimens (of the 'normal' form,) vary enormously in the
level of anthocyanins they produce - I have specimens that have no
visible green in the summer, just solid burgundy pitchers, and others
that are green with no more than a delicate tracery of red veins.
It's all down to the individual plant's genetic makeup, and the
amount of light they receive.
> It is, and has been, growing in a terrarium with my VFT and
> Drosera where it gets regular photoperiods from a gro-light bulb. There
> is fairly high humidity in the summer, meaning it can fog the sides of
> the glass, and I keep a good inch to two inches of water in the bottom of
> the tank. Any help or explanation for this would be appreciated.
That sounds fine, though less water, reduced temperature and shorter
photoperiod in the winter dormant period would probably be advisable.
I find S.purpurea responds well to a good freezing in the winter - it
encourages strong pitchers and good flowering the next season.
> As a side note, after three years of not doing it, I put my VFT's
> through a dormant period this winter. One is coming out, but is in a
> pure peat soil. Should I repot it now? They have been waning sadly in
> the past year, but I'm hopeful that it was due to the lack of dormancy.
Yes, almost certainly. Lack of dormancy and undersized pots are
by far the largest causes of death in cultivation for Dionaea.
I'd pot it in a 5" pot in 2:1 or even 1:1 peat:sand (lime-free,
obviously,) - pure peat is rather too dense for comfort, and can
encourage root-rot.
Happy growing,
Peter
snail:Peter Cole,17 Wimmerfield Cr. :mailto:carnivor@bunyip.demon.co.uk
Killay, SWANSEA SA2 7BU, WALES :http://www.angel.co.uk/flytrap/index.htm
vox:+44 1792 205214 :ftp://www.angel.co.uk/pub/flytrap