QuestionI am thinking about trying some Sarracenia in Phoenix, AZ. In your experiance, has anyone tried them (outdoors) here, and what max temp can they take?
Thanks so much,
Mary
Answer
Desert Plants
Hi Mary,
Funny you should ask. Just last year I had a high school student in Tucson grow a batch of plants for us to be able to answer this question. Previously we had only anecdotal experiences and way to much of "oh, those will never grow here" nonsense from people who really didn't know for sure. Here's a piece of an e-mail from our student in September:
"At this time we can say that this experiment was overall a success! Most of the plants survived the scorching temperatures. And i certainly pushed them to the limits. They often went with an empty water tray, especially when i was away. It was a challenge to keep the tray full all the time. If i slacked for a little while, the tray would quickly empty and then i would have to fight to raise the water level. Also when there was less than two inches in the tray, the water would get real hot. So not only were these plants exposed to dry hot air, but hot water, if any water at all. I had, for most of the summer, clear painter's mat sealed over the tray (with holes for the pots to fit in) with white trash bags resting on it. It was pretty airtight to prevent evaporation. That's why the water was so hot but i figured the plants would like hot water instead of no water. I want to find individual trays for each pot so that it takes less water to keep them happy."
I've included a photo of a couple of the pots he had last September. The leaves look brown on the ends, but they always look like that at the end of the summer everywhere. The growing season is much longer there also, so they are approaching dormancy.
Based on what he experienced, Sarracenia can definitely handle Arizona summers, as long as you can make sure the plant's pots are always standing in water. We recommend people use terracotta pots in hot dry climates since it helps cool the roots. You will also need a steady supply of mineral free water. This will mean that you need to have a reverse osmosis purifier, or an easy supply of low mineral water for the summer. One pitfall growers in warm climates often make it to shade them too much. He made that mistake also, but later moved them to full sun. The need a minimum of 6 hours direct sun. All of this information we have in our DVD, "Grow Carnivorous Plants volume #1", including a special section on desert growing.
The only other recommendation I would make is to consider purchasing your plants in the next month before it starts getting hot, and while they are still dormant. This will give them a chance to grow their new leaves in the drier conditions and be well adapted to it. This is exactly what our student did, and it made a huge difference. Otherwise the plants will have leaves used to higher humidity.
Good Growing!
Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com
