S. purpurea hasn't put up new leaves yet! (plus ID)

[Natalie]

Hey everyone,

My S. purpurea surprised me early this spring by sending up two gorgeous flowers (being new to carnivorous plants, this was pretty exciting for me), but I'm a bit concerned because it has not put up any new pitchers, nor do I see signs of new ones forming near the rhizome yet. This has me a bit worried, since my S. minor put up about six pitchers as soon as it got warm and is now growing a flower. Is it normal for S. purpurea to get a late start on the year since it is from much colder climates? Because we rarely drop below freezing here (lowest temp I've recorded is 27°F), last year's pitchers are still there and are alive, though a bit ragged around the edges. Is this normal? When should I expect to see some new pitchers forming?

Also, I recently picked up the plant below at a sale, labeled simply as "Sarracenia hybrid". Obviously one of the parents is S. purpurea, but does anyone have any thoughts on what the other half might be? Looks like it could be S. minor, but I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination. Seems to be a pretty poor design - the pitchers were completely dry inside as far as I could tell, so I put a small amount of water in the big one and it immediately flopped over from the weight. I guess it wouldn't do too well in nature. The color is very beautiful though...

 

[amphirion]

flowers always come first on mature plants. sarracenia wouldnt want to eat their pollinators! the new leaves should come shortly after.

i think your Sar hybrid is most likely S x catesbaei.

 

[scottychaos]

The fact that it put up two flowers this spring shows that its perfectly fine..
nothing to worry about..pitchers will come! just be patient..

personally I would have cut the flowers off..but since these were your first Sarr flowers, I can understand why you wanted to see them! but for future reference, many believe that letting sarrs and VFTs flower can take energy away from the plant, and if you arent specifically going for seeds, you should just snip off the flower stalks as soon as they are an inch or so high..this will "conserve' energy and alllow pitchers to form sooner, and possibly have more pitchers..

personally I believe this, and always snip off the flower stalks..

Scot

 

[KDodds]

Agree, probably S. 'Catesbaei', but possibly also S. 'Mitchelliana'.

 

[jimscott]

Give it time. You should start seeing red/green growth points from the crown, soon.

 

[Natalie]

Thanks for the info, guys! It put my mind at ease. I'm not too worried about the flowers taking much energy from the plant, since it is pretty big (I was told it was about five years old when I bought it) and still has several mostly-alive pitchers left from last year that seem to be catching prey. Now I have another question about this plant... Soon after I got it, I noticed Drosera binata seedlings popping up all over the place in the pot. They grow very fast, and the largest ones are now almost as tall as the pitcher plant itself. I love sundews and hate to think of any carnivorous plant as a weed, but I'm afraid these ones are going to overtake the pitcher plant if I let them keep growing where they are. Is there a way to transplant them without disturbing the roots of the pitcher plant? Or should I just yank them out now before they get too large?



And a shot of my S. minor for good measure (sorry, you guys are probably sick of the common stuff)

 

[joossa]

Very beautiful shots! No matter if they're common... they're Sarrs!

As for the D. binata... I can't help you with that particular species, but I can tell you that I've got "weed" D. capensis and D. filiformis all over my Sarr's pots and they don't see to mind at all. In fact, I consider them beneficial as they catch tons of fungus gnats. Transplanting them out would be kind of tricky as there is a chance to disturb the Sarrs. Lastly, keep in mind that in the wild, some purps and other Sarrs get partially covered by grasses, mosses, etc.

 

[Lil Stinkpot]

Hi neighbor!

No Sarracenia is considered "common."

You also have some really nice Utricularia bisquemata in with your S. minor. I'd say, leave the 'dews be, until they get really super-crowded. At that time, you'll need to upgrade your pot anyways.

Make sure to come to the June BACPS show & sale, where you'll find some really nice "more-un-common-than-common" plants. It's a really great event.

 

[Natalie]

Thanks for the info, I'll let them grow some more.

 

[Adam]

Hi neighbor!

No Sarracenia is considered "common."

Except Reptialian Rose, Adrian Slack, etc

 

[Not a Number]

Except Reptialian Rose, Adrian Slack, etc

If they get into tissue culture a Bob Hanrahan has been trying to do with S. 'Adrian Slack' they'll be as "common" as S. "Dana's Delight" or S. 'Judith Hindle'.

 

[sss]

I don't know if anyone mentioned this but purpurea makes pitchers more slowly than most other sarracenia.

 

[Natalie]

Just an update to this thread... My S. purpurea FINALLY started forming new pitchers at the beginning of July, and now there are a couple that are almost full size (one open) and a few more on the way. Last year's pitchers look like they're starting to turn brown, so maybe by fall I'll have a plant with all new pitchers.

Also, here's an updated shot of the hybrid I got, with 13 pitchers (including the ones just forming) instead of 4. The pitchers that formed after I got the plant and put it in full sunlight are shorter and stronger, and can hold some water without immediately flopping over. Still seems to most closely resemble S. x catesbaei.

 

[Api]

It seems you also have another floater: some U. bisquamata.

 

[Natalie]

Yep, those utrics actually grow so fast that they obscure the other plants, so I've been pulling them up lately. They just seem to pop back up and spread to the other pots though.