Sad little CPs....

So as some of you know, I have been having a real hard time getting my CPs to work. I have broken down the mini bog and made an even mini-er bog. My first batch of VFTs died but I don't think they were healthy to start with and my second batch started to turn black so I thought they were getting too much sun (10+ hours a day). Since I couldn't move the bog (large pot) anywhere I just tried to combat it by flooding the bog every morning but it wasn't stopping the burning. So I went out and got a small pot and moved the VFTs and my Sarracenia 'Judith Hindle' into it and put them into a more shaded spot (6-8 hours a day) and that has stopped them from turning black but now I'm left with four sad little VFTs and a pitcher plant that isn't looking so hot either... The Sar. had about 6 pitcher up when I purchased it but since they shipped it in a small box they had to remove them but since I recived it, the plant has been growing very slowly. It has three small pitchers (1-2 inches tall) and they don't seem to be growing. I assumed that with the S. flava and S. leucophylla in it's background that it would have growth cycles and have a fluch of pitchers early and late in the season but keeping in mind that S. purpurea was also one of the parents, wouldn't it just produce pitchers at a steady rate all season? Does anyone have any tips on lighting (outdoors) for best growth? I wish I could just add ferts and wait for them to take hold but that is not an option... So is there anything I can do to make them recover faster?

Thank you,
Razz

Recently temps have been pretty high. Daytime is 80-90; Nightime 70-80 Humidity has been around 40% daily. Media is a mix of about 60% peat and 40% sand. Light for now is as follows:

2pm-3:30pm direct sunlight
3:30pm-4:30pm dappled
4:30pm-8ish direct then shade for what's left of the evening

I have quite a bit of space that I can move this small pot to chage the amount of direct sunlight so whatever is best can be arranged.

Also the pot is not covered so the humidity and temp is the same as the surrounding air.

PaulJ69 said:

Well, Your media sounds good. My bog is 100% peat with about 30 granules of perlite on top from transplanting my sarrs and what not. Is your peat 100% peat or is it miracle-gro?
What kind of water are you using?
For your humidity I would go to homedepot or lowes and pick up a brick of "orchid moss". It is actually sphagnum moss, good stuff. Just soak it in in water and cover your bog. That will hold in a lot of the water.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

For temps, that what mine are right now pretty much. Where are you located?

If the pitchers are big enough to fit food in, get some freeze dried blood worms or something and feed it a little. That will give them a little boost but its pretty much a waiting game.

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The peat is 100% peat with no ferts.

I am using regular distilled water and and then it gets rain water but with almost no rain in the month of June and not much more so far I water daily.

I may try that moss but now that I've moved it water really hasn't been so much of an issue.

I am in Northwest Ohio.

The three small pitchers are not open and the ones that the supplier cut back are about half brown and dry. Should I cut the dead parts off? I've been really afraid to mess with them and I really don't want to kill them...

jbradt said:

I have to agree with Pappy here... I think that soil drainage is probably at least part of the issue. Keep in mind that I don't have a lot of experience with NA CPs, but IME with my bog, they grow better when the soil allows for drainage but holds some water in the bottom, below the bulbs of the plants. Everything that I can find about sunlight says that they are a full sun plant, so I don't think that sunlight is the problem. If you haven't replanted recently, I would try to freshen up the media with some APS or sphagnum moss. Personally, I try to stay away from perlite these days. It floats to the top of the mix (which basically defeats the purpose) and has a tendency to get algae and look awful. Lightening up the mix would give the plant a better ability to obtain the water you put in the bog.

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The original bog was new as of this spring and I moved the plants out of it about a week ago. I found that the plants didn't really develop new roots. Really the root balls weren't much bigger than when I first put them in.
Honestly this was not what I was expecting... Everything I'd read made it seem pretty easy to keep them and even easier outside.