Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 10:30:27 -0500 (EST) From: L235@aol.com To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1077$foo@default> Subject: re: Cutting of old Sarracenia pitchers
<Jay,
< I have noticed that following Slacks method of cutting off the pitcher bit
<by bit as it dies causes the water+digestive enzymes in the pitcher to dry
<up, and dissapear. I notice this when I first started using Slacks method.
<When I cut the dead portion off of a pitcher, I noticed that they would be
<full of liquid. After twelve hours all of this liquid would be gone. I don't
<think this would be of benefit to the plant. I now only wait until the
pitcher
<is completely dead before I remove it, unless it is showing signs of
disease.
<bye for now,
<Russell
Hi Russell,
Ok, I don't follow Slack's advice EXACTLY (who does? <grin>).
My Sarracenia surgery typically goes like this: In the fall, most of my
pitchers start to die down as the plants go dormant. Prior to bringing them
inside (unheated garage) for the winter, I usually snip off the brown tops,
to a point just above the "water line", to prevent Botrytris infection. The
contents
tend to remain relatively soupy until the entire pitcher dies down to the
petiole, when I
remove the remainder. It takes less time then patiently snipping off each
inch of dead
pitcher as it progresses downward, and I avoid the incredibly unpleasant
prospect
of cutting through the squirty liquid center <grin>. I almost prefer fire
ant bites
to having an arm covered with the remains of a summer's worth of S. rubra
alabamensis meals.
Jay Lechtman (L235@aol.com)
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