hello foristas,

I live in French Guyana, and I grow some Sarracenia. our climate is pure tropical, temperatures are 27°C in rain season, and 32°C in dry season.

Sarracenia are plants who experience dormancy, that's why I have some questions about dormancy of Sarracenia under tropical climate :

I'd like to know how your Sarracenia do overwinter ? ( domaçao ? )
in Europe, were I lived before, it was easy for the plants to enter dormancy...here, I think it will be a problem.
what do you think about ?

for information : I planted them 03-2010 from adult cuttings (this the period where the plants break dormancy, in Europe)
there are leucophylla, flava, oreophila, x Moorei, many differents clones, most with location, all colored and/or veined.
10% are loss for the moment, what is a high rate. I'm growing CPs for more than 10 years (in Europe) , but I never experienced as much dead plants.
I suspect the high temperatures we experience here, that's why I placed the plants in a cooler place in the garden ; now they are growing well, and my biggest pitcher is about 60cm tall.

thank's for answers

Hello Patrice. I'm not that good with Sarracenia, but I can tell one thing or another that I have knowledge of, about dormancy.

Often, Sarracenia, Dionaea and Darlingtonia are able to go into dormancy only with the lower periods of light that the winter brings, but you live too close to the Equador line, what means that you almost dont have this difference of light periods.

This way you only have one chance that is the refrigerator (not freezer). There, the temperatures are usually 35~40 deegrees, and is more than enough to induce dormancy to the sarracenia. So you should store them there for about 3 months or so, until spring aproaches once again. If you aren't able to do that, maybe because you have too many plants or they are too large, than I'm sorry to say, but you are in trouble '-'

Hope to be of some help. André

Hi,
Here is a link that might be of some help...
http://www.petpitcher.com/sarracenia/dormancy-in-the-tropics-sarracenia/
Good luck!

Well... I don't speak english very well, but I will try...
André said right things, but his refrigerator are very hot.... rsrsrs.... I think he was trying to say 10~15 ºC .... You must to put your Sarracenia into the same "place" that you put lettuce for exemple... in general it's in the botton side of the refrigerator....
I can tell it "en français si vous voulez"....

hello all,

many thanks for all the answers and advices. I'll try the method from the internet site that Andrei indicated, and tell you about.

the problem is that I'll have to by a fridge : I dont want to unpot the plants, because I know by experience that plants become more robust within the years if you leave them in their pots for 3 or 4 years, rather than plants wich you change the substrate each year off.

Rique : merci, j'ai très bien compris ce que vous avez voulu exprimer, pas de soucis
merci pour les infos

André : you are right when you speak about trouble for big Sarracenia collections.....hum, I'll have to think about that problem before I extend my collection.
the question about the difference of light amount is also essentiel, as you said, to induce dormancy of the plants. but in that case, it mean that the "dormancy signal" is given by the leaves.
the "internet method" is interresting for me because of two points :
- I dont need to unpot my plants (but I have to by a fridge ! )
- I give the plants the "dormancy signal" they need by cutting the leaves

Sarracenia are very robust plants, and if they thrive well and are in good health, they are close to "immortal"

Patrice, my suggestion is to switch to Nepenthes, Drosera, Utrics, Genlisea & Byblis, hahaha! ;)

Good luck,
Fernando

bomdia foristas,

Fernando R. said :

I grow some of the species you mentionned, like Nepenthes and Drosera !
I'm re-building my collection, and I have to see what's thriving best. Byblis is a good idea, they could grow outside....hum....

thanks for the advice !

Yeah, I know Sarracenia are lovely, but I think it's just too much trouble trying the grow them near the equator. You know what would also grow REALLY well in your area? Species of the D.indica-complex and of the petiolaris-complex!!

Good luck,
Fernando

Liked Fernando's idea..... speccialy in what reffers to Nepenthes hahaha. Altough you won't be able to grow the glorious highlanders =/

The lowlanders nepenthes, like N. ampullaria will grow very well there, the warm climate is perfect for them


Sorry for not answering before, is that my English is SOOOOO bad.