How to prevent ROT in Sarracenia leucophylla
Jun 12, 2018 13:31:35 GMT -5
calen, hunter, and 14 more like this
Post by meizzwang on Jun 12, 2018 13:31:35 GMT -5
About 20 years ago, getting access to multiple clones of S. leucophylla from various locations (in the US) was incredibly difficult: they were very hard to come by, and chances are, if you did get lucky enough to find one, it probably came from the late Bob Hanrahan, who asexually propagated many plants from his bog and distributed them wholesale. The only other commercially available S.leucophylla was Sarracenia Titan, created by Bogman (Botanique) and widely distributed via tissue culture. Long story short, we have very limited clones to experiment with in cultivation. (edit: we also had S. leucophylla tarnok from tissue culture. This was in the late 90's or early 2000's, can't remember when it started going into circulation).
Fast forward the clock 20 years later, there's HUNDREDS of different clones of S. leucophylla, many of which are still just starting to get into circulation. Things changed drastically once we started getting hurricane creek white into circulation, that is probably the most popular cultivar. With this relatively new influx of genetics comes challenges: how do you keep S. leucophylla alive in the long run?
When I first started growing S. leucophylla hurricane creek white in 2003 or so, the plants would grow strong during the grow season and then produce amazing fall traps! Then, the plants would CRASH big time: the main rhizomes would rot and I'd have to surgically remove the good parts and throw away the rest. The good parts were planted into fresh medium and the rot stopped. While this helped divide the plants, it was frustrating because some of those clumps would rot out before I had a chance to divide them.
The following grow season, the salvaged rhizomes grew beautifully again all grow season long and then produced amazing fall traps AGAIN..... but then they would all ROT AGAIN.....GAHHHHHH!!! Repeat this for a good 3 years and this is what I went through when I first started growing S. leucophylla Hurricane creek white. Why were these plants rotting on me so often?!
Enough was enough, started experimenting with adding more perlite to the medium-that sorta worked, but I still got rot. I tried spraying fungicide. That didn't do anything, the rot just kept on going. I tried jumping over a fire 3 times and making sure I didn't walk under a ladder or cross a black cat. that didn't work. What was going on?!
My plants always sat in about 2-3" of water, and when you smelled the bottom of the pot, it reeked of sulfur. The roots at the bottom of the pot were always brown or black. What if I didn't sit them in water, would this fix the problem?
I cut a hole near the bottom of the kiddy pool so that only 1/4" of water could accumulate, so these plants never sat in more than 1/4" of water at a time. I watered the plants every day because by the end of the day, that reservoir was completely dry. Results? The rot disappeared completely! BINGO!
How do you know if the plant is sitting in too much water? Smell the bottom of the pot:if it smells earthy, you're all good, if it smells sulfury, you'll want to lower the water level and let the reservoir dry out completely before watering again. However, don't ever let the soil in the pot completely dry out, it should always be kept moist all year round.
Turns out, this "discovery" isn't unique to cultivation, it's also a common theme in the wild. If you look at some fields of S. leucophylla in the wild, the surface looks almost dry, but maybe 2' (give or take) below the soil surface is permanent water. In fact, What looks like a dry field actually has permanent water underneath: cray fish will dig mounds and come out at night! Occasionally, during the rainy season, you'll find S. leucophylla plants in flooded areas, but those floods are either temporary or are highly oxygenated. I have also seen S. leucophylla growing aquatically in the middle of a pond, but that pond was more like a slow moving river with highly oxygenated, moving water.
In habitats where S. leucophylla and S. flava grow together, you'll almost never see S. leucophylla growing in the wettest, muckiest places unless that water is moving or slowly percolating. S. flava is less picky and can grow in more stagnant, boggy conditions.
There are exceptions to the rule: during the fall pitcher growth, the plants are using up incredible amounts of water, so I raise the reservoir level and allow the plants to sit in water for 1-2 days. anytime you have very fast, active growth, the plants seem to be able to tolerate a little more water than normal.
With my collection, I literally water every day. The S. leucophylla beds get filled with water in the morning, and about an hour later, the reservoir is completely drained. The pots get fully hydrated, yet never sit in water for long periods of time.
This concept of keeping the soil moist at all times but not water logged can be applied to S. rubra, S. alata, some S. minors, S. psittacina (although some grow these waterlogged without issues), and some purpureas.
Others will challenge the claim of growing S. leucophylla on the drier side and say they've grown S. leucophylla for years without rot problems. I'd say if that's true, it's certainly an exception to the rule, and I have no idea how that works. Maybe they are using taller pots, or a medium that breaths very well even when submerged in water. Maybe they have semi-sterile conditions and water. For the rest of us, if you grow S. leucophylla, the take home message is to keep that soil moist, but don't let it sit in water for more than 2-3 days in a row. If you do decide to sit it in water permanently, make sure the water level is very low, maybe 1/4" or lower...that might allow sufficient oxygen to enter the soil. But be forewarned, this method may still technically lead to rhizome rot. There are many other environmental factors that can lead to rhizome rot (which requires an equally lengthy post to describe), but lowering the amount of water the plants sit in will greatly reduce the probability of losing your plant. Let that reservoir dry out between waterings and be sure to show off your beautiful plants here on the Sarracenia Forum!
Fast forward the clock 20 years later, there's HUNDREDS of different clones of S. leucophylla, many of which are still just starting to get into circulation. Things changed drastically once we started getting hurricane creek white into circulation, that is probably the most popular cultivar. With this relatively new influx of genetics comes challenges: how do you keep S. leucophylla alive in the long run?
When I first started growing S. leucophylla hurricane creek white in 2003 or so, the plants would grow strong during the grow season and then produce amazing fall traps! Then, the plants would CRASH big time: the main rhizomes would rot and I'd have to surgically remove the good parts and throw away the rest. The good parts were planted into fresh medium and the rot stopped. While this helped divide the plants, it was frustrating because some of those clumps would rot out before I had a chance to divide them.
The following grow season, the salvaged rhizomes grew beautifully again all grow season long and then produced amazing fall traps AGAIN..... but then they would all ROT AGAIN.....GAHHHHHH!!! Repeat this for a good 3 years and this is what I went through when I first started growing S. leucophylla Hurricane creek white. Why were these plants rotting on me so often?!
Enough was enough, started experimenting with adding more perlite to the medium-that sorta worked, but I still got rot. I tried spraying fungicide. That didn't do anything, the rot just kept on going. I tried jumping over a fire 3 times and making sure I didn't walk under a ladder or cross a black cat. that didn't work. What was going on?!
My plants always sat in about 2-3" of water, and when you smelled the bottom of the pot, it reeked of sulfur. The roots at the bottom of the pot were always brown or black. What if I didn't sit them in water, would this fix the problem?
I cut a hole near the bottom of the kiddy pool so that only 1/4" of water could accumulate, so these plants never sat in more than 1/4" of water at a time. I watered the plants every day because by the end of the day, that reservoir was completely dry. Results? The rot disappeared completely! BINGO!
How do you know if the plant is sitting in too much water? Smell the bottom of the pot:if it smells earthy, you're all good, if it smells sulfury, you'll want to lower the water level and let the reservoir dry out completely before watering again. However, don't ever let the soil in the pot completely dry out, it should always be kept moist all year round.
Turns out, this "discovery" isn't unique to cultivation, it's also a common theme in the wild. If you look at some fields of S. leucophylla in the wild, the surface looks almost dry, but maybe 2' (give or take) below the soil surface is permanent water. In fact, What looks like a dry field actually has permanent water underneath: cray fish will dig mounds and come out at night! Occasionally, during the rainy season, you'll find S. leucophylla plants in flooded areas, but those floods are either temporary or are highly oxygenated. I have also seen S. leucophylla growing aquatically in the middle of a pond, but that pond was more like a slow moving river with highly oxygenated, moving water.
In habitats where S. leucophylla and S. flava grow together, you'll almost never see S. leucophylla growing in the wettest, muckiest places unless that water is moving or slowly percolating. S. flava is less picky and can grow in more stagnant, boggy conditions.
There are exceptions to the rule: during the fall pitcher growth, the plants are using up incredible amounts of water, so I raise the reservoir level and allow the plants to sit in water for 1-2 days. anytime you have very fast, active growth, the plants seem to be able to tolerate a little more water than normal.
With my collection, I literally water every day. The S. leucophylla beds get filled with water in the morning, and about an hour later, the reservoir is completely drained. The pots get fully hydrated, yet never sit in water for long periods of time.
This concept of keeping the soil moist at all times but not water logged can be applied to S. rubra, S. alata, some S. minors, S. psittacina (although some grow these waterlogged without issues), and some purpureas.
Others will challenge the claim of growing S. leucophylla on the drier side and say they've grown S. leucophylla for years without rot problems. I'd say if that's true, it's certainly an exception to the rule, and I have no idea how that works. Maybe they are using taller pots, or a medium that breaths very well even when submerged in water. Maybe they have semi-sterile conditions and water. For the rest of us, if you grow S. leucophylla, the take home message is to keep that soil moist, but don't let it sit in water for more than 2-3 days in a row. If you do decide to sit it in water permanently, make sure the water level is very low, maybe 1/4" or lower...that might allow sufficient oxygen to enter the soil. But be forewarned, this method may still technically lead to rhizome rot. There are many other environmental factors that can lead to rhizome rot (which requires an equally lengthy post to describe), but lowering the amount of water the plants sit in will greatly reduce the probability of losing your plant. Let that reservoir dry out between waterings and be sure to show off your beautiful plants here on the Sarracenia Forum!