Question
QUESTION: Hi,

I have two questions for you regarding darlingtonia and the sarracenia family in general. I live in zone 7 in North Carolina. I will be building a bog garden. I feel it's safest to order these in pots rather than bareroot. How do I transplant these into my garden while minimizing shock? I hope shock won't kill them. My second question is is it necessary to trim the leaves of my sarracenia in December before covering them with mulch? I know already to leave Darlingtonia, Psittacina, and Purpurea alone, but I don't know if I should leave the leaves of other sarracenia intact when I winterize my bog garden. Thanks for your help.

ANSWER: Hi Daniel,

Ordering the plants potted is a good idea.  Sarracenia don't go through much shock when being transplanted.  They are very resilient.  Just remove them from the pots and plant them.  Nothing else is required.  Just leave a little of the old soil around their roots.

Be a bit more gentle with Darlingtonia.  Plant them as a whole soil mass from their pot.  Also, it's a good idea to use some Superthrive on them after transplanting.

Removing the leaves of the trumpet varieties of Sarracenia is a good idea for two reasons.  First is hygiene.  Less dead material gives mold and fungus less of a chance to get started and cause problems.  It also minimizes transpiration during very cold weather.  Having said that, however, it's unlikely in North Carolina that you are going to experience weather cold enough to cause problems, especially in a bog garden.  Temporary covering such as tarps may be all that is needed during a sharp cold spell.


Good Growing!

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

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

QUESTION: Hi,

I do want to know if you think I will be able to grow S.minor and S.purpurea ssp. purpurea without any trouble in my climate. I don't think I'll have much trouble with S.purpurea ssp. venosa. I hope zone 7 is cold enough but regardless I'm dertermined to give these two a shot. Also, is S.minor's leaves evergreen like S.psittacina and S.purpurea ssp purpurea? Thank you for your previous answers. They have really relieved some of my dormancy concerns.

Answer
Hi Daniel,

Sorry for taking a bit to get back to you.  You'll have no trouble whatsoever.  Considering Sarracenia minor is native to certain parts of North Carolina, it'll do fine.  We've grown S. purpurea ssp. purpurea here in Oregon for years just fine, and we are zone 8.  They still get a long enough dormancy.

Sarracenia minor looses most of it's leaves during the winter.  It's common for one or two leaves to remain depending upon how cold it gets.

Good Growing!

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