Question
QUESTION: Dear Sarracenia Northwest,
What are some other groundcover plants that can shade the soil in a pot with a cold hardy plant, such as a Sarracenia?
John

ANSWER: Hi John,

The best thing to use as ground cover around Sarracenia would be other carnivorous plants, or live sphagnum moss.  Sphagnum usually has to be sown around the plant in the winter to give it a chance to establish.

Other carnivores that would work well on the surface of the pot would be hardy sundews or butterworts.  Drosera intermedia will cover the top of a pot nicely.  Just sprinkle seeds in the fall on the peat surface, and the following spring they will germinate, and create a carpet.  Pinguicula grandiflora will do the same thing if you can get seed.  Otherwise it would require harvesting gemmae from a mature plant in the late winter, then sowing them around the top of the pot.

Any other non-carnivores are likely to become invasive and turn into a problem in your pots.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.growcarnivorousplants.com

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QUESTION: Where can you get sphagnum moss?  Do you sell sundew seed?
John

ANSWER: Hi John,

Live sphagnum moss is a available from some cp vendors.  Meadowview Biological Research Station often has it.  Their website is:  http://www.pitcherplant.org/  We don't currently have any available.  

We don't have any D. intermedia seed, but we do have plants.  They bloom almost without fail, and produce hundreds of seeds in Sept.

A web search will help you locate other seed/moss sources.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.growcarnivorousplants.com

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QUESTION: Last question,
Is D. intermedia self-pollinating, so I should just get one plant if I do?
Also, what is it's common name?
John

Answer
Hi John,

Drosera intermedia (Water Sundew) is self-pollinating as are most of the North American sundews.  One plant will produce lots of seed, but two will just give you more.  http://www.growcarnivorousplants.com/Drosera-intermedia-p/13021.htm

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.growcarnivorousplants.com