Wind-toppled Sarracenia

From: Ron Lane (rl7329@sprynet.com)
Date: Sun May 04 1997 - 07:11:24 PDT


Date: Sun, 04 May 1997 10:11:24 -0400
From: Ron Lane <rl7329@sprynet.com>
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg1773$foo@default>
Subject: Wind-toppled Sarracenia

While I can't say I have really windy conditions (like I've seen along the
coast or in the plains), my Sarracenia are quite unprotected. Normally I
find that S. flava can withstand most anything, along with the shorter S.
minor and rubra. S. alata holds up well also. S. Leuco is 80:20 in favor of
standing. I have a tall, very thin variant of S. alata that almost always
falls and my S. minor 'Okee Giant' almost puts out pre-collapsed leaves.

When I tried artificial props used to keep up tall perrenials, the plants
collapsed at the points the wire hit the tubes. It appeared that the tubes
needed to be able to handle the wind by allowing some movement. If all
movement was restricted, they bent at the wire.

Since most of my Sarracenia are in an artificial bog, I try to interplant
the ones that tend to fall in stands of plants that handle the wind. I'm
having 'some' success with this strategy.
Ron

At 08:58 PM 5/3/97 -0700, you wrote:
><On a related note, anyone have creative solutions for tall Sarrs. that
topple
><in heavy rain and wind. I keep heavy grass out of the pots to reduce pests
>and
><I hate to tie them.
>
> Just wondering what kind of conditions you have? We have a lot of strong
>winds here, especially in spring and autumn, so I put my Sarrs. behind a
>windbreak. They still get blown around a lot, but the wind doesn't knock
them
>over. The only time mine fall over is when they fill up with insects and
>start to die off.
> Since we have a lot of windy days when the plants are producing new
leaves,
>perhaps they grow up more robust? I have some plants in a glasshouse, and I
>don't think their leaves would last long if I put them outside.
>
>Christopher Walkden
>Tasmania, Australia.
>
Ron Lane
RL7329@sprynet.com
Central NJ, USA



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