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S. leucaphylla Tarnock culture

I bought a S. leucophylla "Tarnock" two springs ago at a garden center locally. It was/is in a 4"square plastic pot. It didn't really look large when I bought it, but it was the best I could get then. I keep my Sarracenia's outdoors spring to fall in full sun in water trays. Most of my CP are in an sphagnum potting mix. My tap water is very soft as we receive it from the water commision. I do not fertilize ever. Just natural bugs.

My question is

This plant seems to be growing very poorly. The pitchers are small and few. it is nothing attractive to me at all. Any ideas why? Does it need repotting? If so, isn't it too late to transplant this season?
 
what sort of potting mix? Is it a name brand, or self made mix? Also, where are you growing it? I.e.. indoors, out?
 
Happens all the time to me as well. I think tarnok only makes the awesome pitchers for like one month, usually fall.
 
do you happen to have other leucophylla clones in your collection? i've noticed that leucophylla is very demanding in terms of temperature (warm) and sunlight (full blast), even more so than other sarracenia species...also as others may have already suggested, tends to push out it's best pitchers during the fall.

btw, nice seeing you here jerry! i recognized you from the planted tank forum.
 
When you state that your tap water is "very soft", have you determined an actual TDS (total dissolved salts) value for it? If that cultivar hasn't nearly tripled in size since you got it, then the water could be toxic, causing a slow poisoning, which it won't stand for. I bought a small specimen this May and it has pretty much tripled in size already, now with three growing points and pitchers over 2 feet tall. I use filtered water from the local co-op and it tested under 50ppm TDS, which is pretty much ideal. It spent the summer outside in blazing sun, with late afternoon open shade. I find this a very easy species, so I have to wonder if its your water that is making it unhappy.
 
Leucophylla tends to sulk a bit when it is getting accustomed to a new environment. I have had some that take years to get happy.
 
Having many cultivars of leuco as well as natural forms, let me tell you that leuco can be finiky. I have a leuco that for the first 7 years, never sent up a pitcher of flowered even though I kept it outdoors, it had full sun and good water. All it did was send up phyllodia and spread like a madman. In the 8th year, it sent up a ton a pitchers and flowered like crazy and it's been that way ever since. As for Tarnok, it does seem to be a slow grower. I grow mine in pure LFS and keep it in a water tray with water about halfway up the pot in full sun like all the other Leuco's. Try that and see what happens.
 
I bought a S. leucophylla "Tarnock" two springs ago at a garden center locally. It was/is in a 4"square plastic pot. It didn't really look large when I bought it, but it was the best I could get then. I keep my Sarracenia's outdoors spring to fall in full sun in water trays. Most of my CP are in an sphagnum potting mix. My tap water is very soft as we receive it from the water commision. I do not fertilize ever. Just natural bugs.

My question is

This plant seems to be growing very poorly. The pitchers are small and few. it is nothing attractive to me at all. Any ideas why? Does it need repotting? If so, isn't it too late to transplant this season?

I got one in a 4" pot and set the pot on the shelf around my pond and it did not grow well at all for 2 years. I then put it into a bog setting at the end of winter last year and man, did it take off this year and even produced flower buds, which I cut off to give more energy to root development as the roots were not as big as I thought they should be at this age. Perhaps repotting it into a bigger pot with fresh soil would do the trick?

I usually do transplanting in early spring, but know others who have no problem with their plants repotting and dividing in fall. If it were my plant, since it does not seem to be growing well, I would wait until spring but, as it will be slowing down going into dormancy at this time of year anyway, maybe does not matter if you transplant it now.
 
Thank you all for your replies. Let me try to respond to them all here.

Mass: The plant is growing in the same pot and same mix it contained since I purchased it. It looks like regular sphagnum peat, not LFS. There is a layer of moss, not sphagnum growing on the surface.

amphirion: Howdy to you too!!! I wanted to use Jerrytheplater for my screename, but it had too many characters. This is my only leucophylla. It did make much nicer pitchers this fall. Still no frost yet here. Plants are all outdoors March to first or second frost. Full sun for at least 6 hours. Water trays about 1" deep. Winter quarters are in a commercial greenhouse under glass, not plastic. No heat except to keep the pipes from freezing. Can see 28F for short periods at night. My friend is the manager.

Whimgrinder: My water comes from the Wanaque Reservoir/Monksville Reservoir in Passaic County which does get some pumped water from the Passaic River at Lincoln Park-Two Bridges area. The local rocks are Gneiss and Granite. Iron is plentiful. I have a meter at work which I need to bring home to tell you the Total Dissolved Solids of my home water. I will be going tomorrow and I'll try to bring it home to check. I'll post tomorrow.

We never get any scale on our tea kettle and my tankless water heater I had for almost 20 years was virtually scale free in the copper heat exchanger tubes. This unit had a 125,000 BTU input flame right under the copper tubes. All of my plants are watered with the tap water in the summer supplemented with rain water I collect. In the winter, all of my plants are watered with DI water with a TDS of less than 5 ppm and usually around 1 ppm. This water is the water produced by the waste treatment/water recycling system at work. I also use it for my African Cichlid Aquariums at work after adding the appropriate water hardness salts and bicarbonate buffer.

I have other CP: VFT, Sarracenia hybrids, sundews which are all thriving in the same conditions. I even have live sphagnum moss growing on the surface of a few of my pots. I have to doubt the water could be causing a problem unless the leucophylla really is that sensitive. I saw them growing at the NY Botanical Garden two summers ago. Really great huge plants. Double flowers. Looked wonderful.

cpman/DJ57: What do you think of repotting it now? I have LFS waiting in the garage and it is easy to get more.
 
  • #10
Is it possible the water could have something else in it that's harming the plant? Perhaps chloramine or some other disinfectant?
 
  • #11
To Jerry from DJ57:

Since it has not been growing well and everyone else is doing ok, I would repot it now and that way you could look at the roots to see if there is anything going on there. I had some trouble with crane fly larva last year eating at my sarr roots. It may not be a water problem if your other CPs are doing ok, especially the VFT, which I call the canary of my bog since they are the first to show something going wrong.
 
  • #12
I find all my plant do not do well in the tray method. They love the circ bog I have setup for them. They like oxygenated water to the roots and they don't like stagnation. Also fresh mix is called for. Old peat compacts down leafing to less O2 at the roots too. Put that bad boy in a larger pot with fresh peat top dressed with lfs and watch it take off next season. And remember to repot every other year. Don't be like me and leave them potted in the same mix for 5 years and the plants self divide due to rot from old peat.

Also I use tap on everything here to no detriment. I use it on orchids CPs everything.
 
  • #13
Is it a good idea to repot all sarrs (except seedlings, I guess) every other year? Or just S. leucophylla? I actually have a few plants that look like they should be repotted, is winter the best time to do that?
 
  • #14
Got a photo?
 
  • #15
These are in tissue culture by AgriStarts 3. Maybe the wholesaler did a crappy job packaging the plants or it was fertilized or watered with hard water somewhere along the line.

The divisions I have grow the same as my generic S. leucophyla and are indistinguishable in growth and appearance except for the flowers. Due to mealybugs and the mild summers the past couple years spring growth hasn't been good but this years fall growth is close to what they usually look like.
 
  • #16
Whimgrinder: My water comes from the Wanaque Reservoir/Monksville Reservoir in Passaic County which does get some pumped water from the Passaic River at Lincoln Park-Two Bridges area. All of my plants are watered with the tap water in the summer supplemented with rain water I collect. In the winter, all of my plants are watered with DI water with a TDS of less than 5 ppm and usually around 1 ppm.

Hi Jerry,
Sorry, I misinterpreted your original message: when people say things like "my water is very soft" I assume they mean it is processed through a water softener, which would, of course, be very toxic to Sarracenia.

My next suggestion would be to replace the growing medium. I have bought plants in the past that have been growing in the same stale Peat for years and they desperately needed fresh soil. When repotted (I have done this in the middle of the growing season if I decide it is needed, with no ill effects) they explode with new growth. Sarracenia, I find, are forgiving of root disturbance as long as you are gentle, and give them at least two weeks in a shady spot to recover.

Good luck!
Paul
 
  • #17
Let me throw my two cents in.

Here in Ohio I find S. leucophylla to be an easy grower, especially the "tarnok" cultivar. In my experience, if a plant has been divided one year, or hasn't had an outstanding growing year, you need to wait for next year to see anything outstanding. I've received plants that were divided in spring, and they never look that great until the next year. Also, if you just picked it up now (October) and especially in NJ, I wouldn't be expect it to look too great. A lot of my stuff here in Northeast Ohio has been preparing/is dormant already. The colder weather really gets them. Mid-late September sees my best growth for N. leucophylla. Now stuff is dieing back. Id say clip off any dead material, and leave anything green until next spring. Give it a good dormancy and you should be rewarded next year. I find these plants very hardy.
 
  • #18
Thanks guys. It looks like it is repotting time.

I did check the TDS of tap water and got 125 ppm, but the meter would not calibrate on pH and so now I suspect it may be broken. I need to check that Monday and replace it if needed. Essential for work.

No Chloramine in our water.

Got to run to a Scout meeting.
 
  • #19
A photo would help. I didn't read everything fully, but the thing that popped out was 6 hours of sun. This is kind of on the low end for what sarracenia need to be healthy and vigorous. That doesn't mean they won't survive in less, but 8-10 hours of direct full sun is really what you want to strive for in regards to sarracenia and other temperate species.
 
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  • #20
A photo would help. I didn't read everything fully, but the thing that popped out was 6 hours of sun. This is kind of on the low end for what sarracenia need to be healthy and vigorous. That doesn't mean they won't survive in less, but 8-10 hours of direct full sun is really what you want to strive for in sarracenia and other temperate species.

I know about the photo's. The digital camera I was using is broken. I need to borrow my sons and figure out how to download the photo's. I'll try. I have old photo's of my collection on Photobucket.

April 1, 2010 just after bringing my Sarracenia and VFT home from winter greenhouse stay

S. Scarlett Belle
Sarracenia Scarlet Belle 4-1-10.jpg

S. Dana's Delight
Sarracenia Dana's Delight 4-1-10.jpg

S. purpurea
Sarracenia purpurea 4-1-10 b.jpg

Sarracenia purpurea 4-1-10 a.jpg

April 20, 2010 after cutting out the dead growth. All of the above plants.
April 20 2010 after cleaning up 2.jpg

The 6 hours of sun may be a low estimate. They are in an area that is shaded by the neighbors tall trees which cuts off morning sun until 8 AM. It is full sun till the afternoon sun is shaded by the house, maybe around 4 PM. This is the area I grow my vegetables: tomatoes, peppers, garlic.....They all do fine.

I have only re-potted a Sarracenia once. I did make two videos of it. It is here if you want to look at it. Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivVz45YtMyk Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY_-QJTduaQ

My question now is: When repotting, should I wash off all of the old peat moss potting mixture, or just move the plant into a larger pot? I am thinking I should wash it off, if I am supposing the old stuff is somehow harming the plant.

Not a Number mentioned mealy bugs. I have not noticed any on my plants. I grow cactus also and with them we can get Root Mealy Bugs right in the potting mix. Nasty critters. I suppose that would be impossible to get in wet boggy plants. Yes? No?

Thanks all for your help.
 
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