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Cutting old Sarracenia pitchers


Pesiolino

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Hi, all

I have already gone through all my Sarracenia and removed all dead, and damaged growth. As to prevent any Fungal attacks during the darker months.

I'll probably remove/cut off, anything else that looks unsightly when I begin to repot in 2-3 weeks time.

:wavey:

Langy

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I have also read that one reason why they don't cut everything down to the ground is because the leaves that haven't died will be useful toward the end of photosynthesis when dormancy ends. Is that true or speculation?

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I cut the dead pitchers down as they die off. I only remove the brown dried parts though and anything green is left on the plant. Once the new growing season begins and I have a few new open pitchers on the plants any remaining pitchers from the previous year are removed completely. I leave the phyllodia intact throughout the new season though, they don't usually start to die off until the following winter when new phyllodia take their place.

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I do the same thing - at the end of the season, I gradually trim back dying pitchers leaving the green parts on the plant. I do this in a couple of major runs through and then ongoing trims through the Winter.

In the Spring, I do find old pitchers can detract from the beautiful pristine new growth and so lose the rest then.

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Any green tissue can photosynthesise when the temperature gets above 6C, at any time of the year.

Why 6C? I would understand on freezing why not, but what draws the line at 6C? Would 5C really be too cold compared to 6C?

I have never heard this so I am eager to learn the why of it all. I appreciate any expanation you can offer, if you have the time. :wink:

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Why 6C? I would understand on freezing why not, but what draws the line at 6C? Would 5C really be too cold compared to 6C?

I have never heard this so I am eager to learn the why of it all. I appreciate any expanation you can offer, if you have the time. :D

Me too. smile.gif

Regards,

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I do not know the specifics but, if I remember corectly, the process of photosynthesis stops at 6c not due to water freezing but the molocules do not have enough energy to form sugars.

(CO2 + H2O + energy = CHn + O2) Temperature equals energy in the world of chemestry.

Plants combine Carbon Dioxide and water to form Oxygen and sugars. To do this they use light and chlorophyll to force the CO2 and water together, but the CO2 and water must have enough energy (heat!) to combine. As the temp drops bellow a certain point they will no longer combine even when the light and chlorophyll brings them together.

Feel free to pick this to pieces, this is dragging out a bit of old chemestry for the dark recesses of my memory...

Cheers

George

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Thanks for that!

I've been looking on Google but can't find much mention of it. I just remember from school that many plants have trouble photosynthesising at 6C and below, although I'm sure some plants such as conifers can go a bit lower.

There's plenty of information around though, strangely, that photosynthesis is at its most efficient at 30C.

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6C sounds right to me to, but I owuld not be surprised to learn that some plants can go lower than this and still photosynthesise.

30C sounds right to for maximum efficiency. At the nursery I work at we run the houses at 28-32C for maximum growth.

Cheers

George

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  • 1 month later...

The energy in that equation is also / is light. That is why plants require the light. They harnes the energy from it and use it to do the opposite reaction to our respiration (binataboy's equation) but im sure that the temperature needs to be at a certain point for all this to happen as particles dont move very fast at 6C ect.

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I would instead think of the probability that a molecule (any of the cicle from CO2 to glucose)could attach itself to the enzyme to form the weak bonds it needs to arrive at the energy necessary to catalyze its reaction with water at 6°C. Pratically speaking water makes the whole thing and 6°C water sounds like "slow" to me.

The energy of the hydrogen bonds between the molecule and water is substituted by the enrgy of the bonds of the molecule with the enzyme, and in those bonds water is escluded. it is a sort of energy passage between water and the enzyme.

But these are just thinkings..

now you are saying: this boy is crazy! Not, I've just done the biochemestry exam........ :lol:

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