Question
Hi, I have a small collection of Sarracenia and recently it has been quite windy which has snapped and toppled the pitchers of my newly purchased alata and leucophylla (who were doing brilliant at bug catching) and my older flava. As these plants are grown in full sun outdoors, what can I do to protect them from wind without blocking their sun? I haven't found any stakes suitable as they don't have a single trunk with branches which makes things a bit tricky... What would you recommend I do to save future tall pitchers?
Thanks,
Mikala.

Answer
Hi Mikala,

Here's a couple options.  First see if you have another location around where you live where the house might block some of the wind, yet is still a sunny location.  It no such location exist, try finding some some low grade shade cloth, or some screen material such a used on windows.  Making a small barricade around them with this will lessen the intensity of the wind.  You can also stake them up in a particular way.  What I'll do sometimes is take typical bamboo stakes that are sold at garden centers and put two in a pot on either side of the plant.  Then use some string or twist/tie material to put a loop around the pitchers.  This helps support the pitcher when the wind hits them.  Professional versions of these exist for orchids, but they are a bit hard to find.  Hope this helps.


Good Growing!

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