Question
QUESTION: Hi,

I have a few questions for you guys. The first one is about when you say that some temperate plants can take up to a week with temperatures as low as -7癈 , but what does that mean? does that mean that the temperature at night reaches -7癈 and at day it gets above freezing or that it can take -7癈 for a whole week both day and night?

How long do Drosophylum seeds take to reach flowering maturity? Also, I heard that after thay flower they should be induced into a dry dormancy by not watering the pot for about a month and a halve, is that true?


thanks!!!

ANSWER: Hi Alonso,

As long as the plants have adequate covering and/or mulching to minimize dehydration, they can survive sustained freezing temperatures (Day and Night) for a couple weeks at least.  We have customers in Michigan, upstate New York, and middle Atlantic states that winter over all their plants outdoors.  Some species live within this native range and experience colder temperatures yet.  These would include Sarracenia purpurea ssp. purpurea, Drosera anglica, Drosera rotundifolia, Drosera linearis, and Pinguicula vulgaris.  -7 C is about the coldest the more southern species will take for brief periods without protection, and this is assuming the temperature is above freezing during the day.  This is why it's useful to know the USDA climate zones of certain species to get an idea of what the coldest temperatures can be in an area.  Growers in Florida found out about this the hard way this year since they experienced record setting cold temperatures, and people have been growing lot of ornamental tropicals that can't tolerate freezes.  Plants native to Florida, such as Sarracenia minor and leucophylla, can handle freezes just fine.

Drosophyllum can reach flowering maturity in two seasons.  They are amazingly fast growing for a carnivore.  

I've never heard anything about any kind of dormancy in Drosophyllum.  Ours in cultivation show no signs of it.  My experience has been that you'll kill a potted Drosophyllum if it goes that dry.  They like being drier, but in nature roots go fairly deep.  They are likely to have some moisture.  If they are bone dry in a pot, they die.

Good Growing!

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


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: OK, thanks. And also I forgot to ask about the giberelic acid. If I have Darlingtonia and Sarracenia seeds and I don't wanto to stratify them or can't, could I use this one instead? how long should I put those seeds? 24 hrs? 36 hrs? 48 hrs?

Also, I have been growing some highlend and intermediate Nepenthes at about 1800m ASL in the mountains of central mexico. This winter they experienced a light frost, but apparently nothing happened to them, does that mean thay are really zone 10? If they can experience frozt when grown in ideal conditions, could Heliamphora experience a light frost as well?

Thanks

Answer
Hi Alonso,

We've only used Gibberellic acid a couple times, and with mixed results.  We used it on some plants one time and killed every one of them.  It does seem to be effective in cutting short the need for stratification in Sarracenia.  We tried it on Drosophyllum with zero strike.  They do better with scarification.  Here's a link to a site that describes its use:  http://www.world-of-carnivores.com/sarracenia_propagation.html

Some of the ultra highlanders could very well be tolerant of a brief frost.  From a couple different sources Nepenthes khasiana has been reported to be tolerant of brief frosts.  Many highlanders would probably survive a mild frost (0 to -1 C) with just a little leaf damage.  Unless you've got plants you don't mind sacrificing for the sake of experimentation, keeping them above freezing is recommended.  Recently a grower in Hawaii had some highlanders at a nursery in Volcano Village (elevation 3,700 ft.) on Hawaii's Big Island.  An unusually cold weather system came through, they got a frost, and he lost many of his plants.

Heliamphora may also be able to handle light frost, but I don't know of anyone that's put it to the test.  As much as they cost, you may not get many willing to experiment.

Good Growing!

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