Question
QUESTION: Hello.

I have a Purple Pitcher plant in the "death cube" and am currently acclimating it to a lower humidity, but I wanted to know when would be best to repot it.  

I know it's supposed to be going into the dormancy period it requires (I'm in Central NJ)and I will be wintering it in my garage at some point soon as it just got some "pin-head" crickets in each pitcher.  
When can I repot it without a "Humidity dome"?  AND how long should I wait to put it in the garage being that I just fed it?

Lastly, can I use a very dilluted mix of SuperThrive and distilled water at anytime at all?  I've used it with great success on everything but don't know if that's too much, even if diluted heavily, for Sarracenia.

Many, many thanks in advance for your help.  I await your reply!

Eric.

ANSWER: Hi Eric,

Since you have a plant that isn't acclimated to winter weather, and very cold air is moving into the country from Canada right now, just plant on overwintering your plant in a windowsill.  Sarracenia purpurea responds well to this.  Just keep it sitting in a small amount of water in a sunny window.  if you can choose a window that gets cold, even better.  The plant will get a limited dormancy.  Be sure to cut off any dead foliage and watch for mold growth.  Treat with a fungicide if needed.

If you're doing the typical hardening off by opening the container gradually, about a week is fine to take it out of the dome for a Sarracenia.

Plan on repotting in March.  Repot in a 5" pot with standard peat/perlite mix.

The Superthrive will be good for a soak when you transplant this spring, but isn't a big deal for a simple transplant.  It becomes more beneficial if you're dividing a plant.

Also, don't worry about feeding this time of year.  The plant isn't growing much, so it doesn't need the extra fertilizer from insects until active growth resumes.

For more detailed information on growing Sarracenia be sure to visit our caresheet pages at http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets  On our website you'll also see information on our DVD, "Grow Carnivorous Plants" Volume #1, and our e-book "Secrets to Growing Beautiful Carnivorous Plants for Your Home and Garden".


Good Growing!

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

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

QUESTION: Hello, Jeff.

Thanks for the all the quick reply and info...this is really helpful.  

One last thing: I was told that if I plant my Sarrecenia Pupurea in a ceramic pot it must be glazed inside and out.  Is this true?  I know the benefits of using a glazed container from my bonsai experience and I have a glazed pot and tray combo I'd like to use for the Pitcher Plant, but the inside of the pot isn't completely glazed.  Is this really an issue?  Can I coat the inside with an inert-when-cured epoxy to seal the unglazed portions of the pot if necessary?

Looking forward to your reply.  Be well.

Eric.  

Answer
The issue of having it glazed is to reduce moisture loss through the pot.  As long as the ceramic pot is glazed on the outside, it will be fine.  Some growers prefer to have the pot also glazed on the inside because they fear minerals leaching in the soil.  In our experience with using ceramic pots, this hasn't been an issue.  After the heating process, the ceramic is usually non-reactive with the soil. There might be some leaching, but it's insignificant to cause any damage.  In any case, yearly repotting will always take care of any mineral buildup, if any.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin