What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Sarracenia potting mixes

I see references to Sarracenia potting mixes under various other threads, but didn't find one place listing the range of options and any good or bad experiences people have had with each.

My S. alata is in a pot of wood chips, sitting in a pan of water. These wood chips are sold around here as playground mulch and seem to be what arborists generate with their limb chippers but run through a 1" screen. We use them in the back yard to handle dog traffic and I took some of the leftovers that spent 6+ months exposed to the elements. The alata came from NASC's 2021 auction and this was the first time I used wood chips (with a little black garden soil that came along with the chips). I repotted a week ago, largely to see how the roots looked and they were spectacular and so was the mix. I think I'll let it go two years this time unless I see signs of distress at some point. I'll increase it to three years if everything looks good after two.

Because this almost certainly matters, I'm in CT, USA, where the sun is less intense and there is less water stress than where many of you are. YMMV. I generally add add water to the pan the pot sits in but do pour water into the pot too sometimes if rain has been scarce. For winter, which can drop below 0F here in USDA Zone 6, I bury a pot with the ground ~1" below the rim and cover everything with several inches of leaves and pulled weeds. I only have the one Sarr now but I used to have a lot and did the same overwintering thing for many years. The only change this time has been the use of wood chips and they worked well for year one. I'll be adding more Sarrs this year.
 
I have not heard much about wood chips as a main ingredient in growing Sarracenia. Very interesting!
 
I'll post photos but probably not for another week because I'll be busy tomorrow and then away for a few days.

The collection is now up to five Sarrs in pots of wood chips in a tray of water. I've been a little disappointed in the progress of my smallest new plants, which seemed to experience a larger than usual case of transplant shock. Two larger plants have thrived from Day 1..

I never liked peaty mixes back when I had many more Sarrs and, so far, I think the initial results with wood chips are favorable, at least for larger plants. It's a very small sample size but I'll keep at this because it avoids the guilt I felt when using LFS.
 
Please let us know how this works for you, given some time.
 
Back
Top