Re: unusual S. purpurea

Peter Cole (carnivor@bunyip.demon.co.uk)
Sat, 21 Sep 1996 23:33:31 GMT

dave evans <T442119@RUTADMIN.RUTGERS.EDU> writes:
...
> > I guess this explains it - neither Mike or I are growing our purps
> > in sphagnum, so the medium isn't rising to support the plant. Mine
> > are outdoors, so I worry about them snapping in the gales when they
> > get wobbly.
>
> How high can they get in a year?

Mine probably rise 2-3" between the soil and the lowest pitcher
between March and October. I can't be sure that they're growing at
soil level - they might be growing higher up and losing the pitchers
at the bottom (I have a slightly higher turnover of pitchers outdoors
than I would expect in a greenhouse.) But mine are in full sun, so I
don't think it can be entirely a matter of shade. Mike's 6" "stalks"
probably aren't helped by the shady conditions though.

> > > All the Sarracenia species DO grow diagonally upward, but you
> > > may not see this effect if the plants get moved every couple
> > > years or so.

They do - if only to bury the ever rising rhizomes most years.

> > I dimly remember reading the horizontal/vertical bit in SLACK(?),
>
> It would be best to plant them horizontally or slightly diagonal
> with the older end of the rhizome down a bit. Not vertically as
> I had though when I first started growing them. In every instance,
> wild plants I have seen (many hundred) were all growing in a
> diagonal, upward direction. With less competetion for light, in
> cultivation, the need to grow this way maybe less, but the roots
> are most developed in the hind portions of the rhizome so it stands
> to reason that is the part that should be lower or overgrown by
> moss...

This must help reduce vertical growth, so I'll give it a go. I
think it may well also explain why I get fewer growth points on my
purpureas than other Sarras - not enough exposed rhizome I guess.
Thanks for the advice - I'll tilt them when I repot, and hope that
does the trick.

Happy growing,

Peter

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