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Hello from Texas

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M

mreaves311

Hello,
My name is Matthew and I live in the Houston area. Im a noob to carnivorous plants and I see that this site is very informative. I have a green house that is 12x7x7. I only have two nepenthes right now. Green Gentle and a Lantern Alata. I also have what I THOUGHT was a fat chance sarracenia, but I now think it is a sarracenia purpurea. I also like succulents. I have a desert rose, couple of aloe vera, a san pedro, umm o and a couple orchids. I have two raised beds in my green house filled with random stuff like canna lilies, strawberries, purple hearts,coleus. I also have my first Christmas cactus. Im also into herbs. I have a pineapple sage plant that just bloomed like a week ago and its huge. One more thing. Im a chili head. I love peppers.. especially super hots. I have Carolina reapers, chocolate bhuts, and a couple brain strains. I have tons of ornamental pepper plants too. That's about it really.
 
:welcome: Welcome to TF Matthew! Here you will learn just about everything you need to know about growing these wonderful plants. It is very likely your greenhouse will be taken over by carnivorous plants before long. This is a highly addictive hobby.

Your "Fat Chance" should look like a purpurea. Sarracenia “Fat Chance” is a select clone of what was formerly called Sarracenia purpurea ssp. Venosa var. burkii, but botanists have recently separated burkii away from the species purpurea and they are now called Sarracenia rosea. The Carnivorous Plant FAQ: Sarracenia rosea

From what I am told, “Fat Chance” tends to be a little more vigorous/faster growing than other varieties of purpurea/rosea, but I don’t have that clone so cannot say whether that is true or not.
 
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Yep, it looks like an S. rosea (formerly called purpurea ssp. venosa var. burkii). The thick lip gives it away. It could be the "Fat Chance" clone, but I am hard pressed to see any physical differences between this clone and any other rosea/purpurea venosa (could be the growth habit is what separates it, can't find much information on them though). At any rate, you have a nice plant there. With adequate light, it should form nice tubby pitchers that turn pink/red by the end of the season.

It looks like the soil is dry? Do you keep it in a tray of water at all times? Is that a clay pot you have it in? Sarracenia tend to do better in plastic pots as opposed to clay pots. The evaporative properties of clay pots cause the soil to dry out quickly and the water tray will need to be filled more often. Sarracenia need their soil to be kept wet/moist at all times, never let them dry out.
 
im doing a giveaway and one of the guys that wanted some pepper seeds said the same thing... its dries out sooo fast.. literally over night.. my nepenthes which are in plastic pots will stay wet for awhile. I figured it was clay pot.. I guess ill change it tomorrow.thanks for looking and for the info. The reason I don't keep them in tray of water is cause here in the Houston area the bugs are so bad and the water gets NASTY so quick! again thank for the replies and info. have a good day!
 
If you can't leave your sarracenia sitting in trays of water, then you must top water them good every day to keep the soil wet. In the heat of summer you may have to top water several times a day to keep the soil from drying out, but then crown rot can become an issue depending on conditions (such as a humid greenhouse). It might be worth looking into setting up a system like this: International Carnivorous Plant Society - Display Sarracenia on your deck

Again, sarracenia will not flourish without the soil being kept consistently wet and you may lose them if you let them dry out all the time. Of note, sarracenia purpurea venosa and rosea happen to be a sarracenia species that can be grown indoors on a sunny windowsill year-round as long as you can provide a winter dormancy for them, which is triggered by natural photoperiod changes along with cooler temperatures in winter. Maybe water tray issues with bugs won't be a problem in the house.

You can find more good information here: The Carnivorous Plant FAQ: Sarracenia cultivation
 
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