Anyone out there interested in some freebie carnivorous plants?

[blackkitty2]

Hi I am new to the forum so hello everyone!

I thought I would put out a call to anyone in the Nottingham area (or elsewhere if you can travel by car) who would like to try some carnivorous pitcher plants for free!

The plants are mainly Sarracenia pitcher plants that originate from the United States. We are a little overrun with them and my heart sinks at having to repot the majority of them again in the spring. I thought that maybe some lovely plot holders would like to give them a try.

They need little care really. Just stand in a tray of rainwater all summer, watch the new pitchers come up in spring, keep them damp but not waterlogged in winter and chop off any dead pitchers. Pests and dieases still can attack them (greenfly, whitefly etc) but checking them every day or so should suffice.

Is there anyone out there up for the challenge?

[blackkitty2]

[pumkinlover]

Hi Is there any chance you could save me one till next April when I am in Nottingham for the Alpine Conference?
a bit much to ask i know!
Anne
PS. been reading your other posts and sorry to hear your difficulties-have you anyone in mind to keep the plants fed, it would be a shame if they got hungry.!!!

[blackkitty2]

Hi Anne.

Of course I can keep you some plants for next spring! I will renew the post every so often.

Spring is when the pitcher plants come out of their winter dormancy and put up their flowers. They do this before they put up new pitchers so that the pollinating insects don't get munched on.

The flowers unfortunately smell of cat wee I'm afraid so don't think any marauding tom cats are spraying up the greenhouse or wherever you keep them - conservatory, hot windowsill, greenhouse or polytunnel etc.

Thanks for the sympathy on the allotment issue. I have vowed to myself that we will persevere with our allotment endevours and pumpkin growing. Actually we have an Aubrey Little Shop of Horrors template we could do this weekend.

Some of pitcher plants are rather large, some might say 'man-eaters', 20 footers so to speak, maybe even a case of 'you're gonna need a bigger greenhouse' - so all we have to do is dismantle any body parts into bite size chunks....The plants do so much better the more prey they catch and I did notice that when I cut my finger once it was as if the plants looked up at me eagerly with anticipation....

[Tee Gee]

give one of the big ones to your plot supervisor,perhaps it might bite off the parts you can't reach ;)

[pumkinlover]

Exactly!!!!but make sure its  very hungry first ;)

[froglets]

Thanks for posting this blackkitty.  I bought a saracenia and a venus fly trap at the Shrewsbury show this year and have grown them on in a big circular glass vase in my kitchen next to the compost tidy.  I hadn't realised that they might go a bit dormant in the winter.  since they are indoors, but in a coolish corner of an old house, should I slow down my watering?  At the moment every week or so I go down to the bottom of the garden and fill up a jug with pond water and top up the moss/soil sludge at the bottom of the vase.

I was surprised at how many new "trumpets" the saracenia has put out since I potted them up and watching the venus fly trap grow new traps has been fascinating.  One trap died off after I fed it a small green caterpiller from my lettuce pot - was that wrong?

Any tips welcome.

Thanks

[blackkitty2]

Hi Froglets and thanks for writing.

It is best in the winter months when the weather starts to cool down (even if the vft and sarra are indoors) to reduce watering and just keep the peat mixture damp. Try not to let the peat mixture dry out and it is hard to re-wet.

My late ma' kept her cp's in a conservatory and even they went partially dormant. If your plants are in a cool area of the house they will start to shows signs of dormancy - especially in the vft.

If it is really cool you may experience complete die-back in the vft but not sarra. To check if the vft is ok just have a little rummage in the peat mixture every so often, and if the corm is white then it is ok and still alive.

Expect black traps. Vfts are also interesting in that when the trap reaches its full size it will die back anyway - hence in the summer you get black traps followed by renewed vigour and new growth.

You also noticed that when you fed the caterpillar that the trap died. Perfectly normal because when the prey entered the trap the plant starts the digestive process immediately and the trap may go partially black or not die at all. You then get a nice husk of an insect perched in a perpetual death stance. Nice.....

[froglets]

Thanks for the info Blackkitty - I was given a sheet on how to look after them but I put it somewhere sensible.  They are fascinating plants to have around although when the trumpets buzz it's a bit weird, but at least I know they're getting fed.

Cheers

[Robert_Brenchley]

I had Sarracenias growing in a cactus greenhouse in Cornwall for years. I just kept them in the shade under the staging, with the pot sitting in a saucer of water. They seem pretty tough.

[SueK]

Hi there,
Just to let you know, have sent you a pm.
Best regards,
Sue