"Year in the Life" part 2

[scottychaos]

Hi, I know that you will cover this later in the year, but can you tell me about the timing of the cutting down of the Sarrancenia?

I am trying to work out what to do at the end of this year, also, what size in litres are your bogs?

Fix

Fix,

you can read how I do the "autumn cut down" here:

http://gold.mylargescale.com/Scottychaos/CP/page2.html

thats from a few years ago, but I do it the same way every year.

basically I cut everything down right before the plants are put away for winter dormancy..literally minutes before!

I pick the day, based on the weather forcast, (if the next 5 days show night-time lows below freezing)

cut the plants down, wrap in plastic, and carry the pots to the basement stairs.

(or the fridge, in the case of the link above)

and I have no idea how large the bogs are! ;)

I never measured..I will measure the top diameter, bottom diameter, and height to get a rough estimate.

thanks,

Scot

Edited April 10, 2008 by scottychaos

[fitheglasscatfish]

Thank you, your website pictures have given me some inspiration. This year I think that we will move over to having a bog in the mini pond type shape that you have there, that way I can move the plants in to the shed if the weather is set to be very bad over the winter months- also it will still be portable as Kit and I are not sure we will be in this house long term.

Thanks for the info- I have so much to learn at the moment.

Fix

[Tommyr]

Fix,

you can read how I do the "autumn cut down" here:

http://gold.mylargescale.com/Scottychaos/CP/page2.html

I love that page Scott! I can attest to the fact it works too, I've been refrigerating mine for 2 years now myself.

[scottychaos]

April 11, 2008

8 week update.

Its time to talk about...THE BURN!

the infamous CP sunburn.

"the burn" happens every spring to my CPs..and if often happens to new plants that arent used to full sun.

Lets say you buy a new VFT from Home Depot or Walmart (please dont ever buy anything at Walmart..Walmart is Evil) but lets say you did anyway..a VFT or Sarr that comes in the little pot with the clear plastic cover...you know the ones.

those plants have been growing inside somewhere for months before you buy them..they havent been getting nearly enough light..

they are not acclimated to full, direct sunlight..and they NEED full direct sunlight!

so what can you do?? well..you put them in the full sun.

but those leaves that are on your plant when you buy it and bring it home are wuss-leaves, they cant handle the sun..

they BURN in the sun!

they get a literal, brown sun burn..its pretty obvious.

The same thing happens with my plants every spring...because they have been indoors since February,

they are not acclimated to full-sun outdoors..they are going to burn too.

Some people say you should "acclimate slowly" to avoid the burn....hmmm, maybe, but I dont buy it. IMO those

leaves cant handle the sun no matter how slowly you acclimate them, as soon they spend one hour in direct sun,

they are toasted.

so I never bother with "slow acclimation"..I just stick my plants in their "summer spot" and let the Sun have at them.

yes, some of the leaves burn..it cant be avoided. IMO it does not harm the plants at all.

a few burned leaves does not a damaged plant make.

yes, it harms those particular leaves, but one individual VFT or Sarr plant is made of many individual leaves..(or pitchers) over the course of the growing season..sacrificing the early indoor wuss-leaves to a small burn is IMO a small price to pay for the greater benefit of getting the plants in the full-sun they require for the rest of the year...its just another price to pay for doing business at this latitude. Any and all new leaves that appear

from now on can handle the full sun, because they were "born" into the full sun..the new leaves do NOT burn.

So my plants have been outside 6 days now, sitting in full direct sun.

lets take a look at that sunburn:

yeah, it looks bad, but I honestly dont think it does any long-term harm to the plants..

because the WHOLE plant is never burned..just the parts that are directly facing the mid-day sun..

and the back sides are never burned. and new leaves quickly appear that do NOT burn..

as soon as a good stand of new pitchers is up, I cut off the burned leaves...

my plants have received this burn every spring for 15 years, they are still happy and healthy..

I compare it to a human sunburn.. its unpleasant, but its far from fatal..

here are some "before and afters"

Those are UNburned leaves..photo taken mere minutes after the plants went outside last weekend..thats how the leaves grew growing indoors for 7 weeks..(and remember, those leaves did actually recieve direct sunlight through the window!)

The same leaves, 6 days later.

VFTs unburned.

Same VFTs 6 days later.

The VFTs dont burn quite as badly..

and also notice some of the GOOD red coloration has quickly appeared as well!

(in addition to the obvious brown of the sunburn.)

The VFTs and pitchers had none of the Red coloration when growing indoors..they were solid green.

So after only 6 days in the sun, they are already "coloring up" nicely.

Before..indoors..very very green, hardly a hint of red. (and those are mostly Judith Hindles! they should have lots of red!)

After..most of that red-brown coloration to the pitchers is the GOOD coloration..its not all burn.

yes, the burn happens..its very real..but in my case, there isnt much that can be done about it..its ugly for a few weeks, but the plants quicky adapt and start putting out the "strong leaves" (as opposed to the wuss-leaves) that soak up that direct harsh sunlight just fine. In another month, the "burn season" will be but a memory, and the plants will be very happy they are out in the direct sunlight.

Scot

[scottychaos]

April 15, 2008

When I put the plants out on the deck 9 days ago I said:

"Yes, we could still get freeze, frost or snow, but I will deal with that

if/when it happens..meanwhile, the plants will be happy to be outside."

sure enough..the expected "April Freeze" has happened..not a big deal though.

Sunday night the overnight forecast was for 32F 0C, with the next few nights after that forecast to be below freezing..so I carried the bogs into the garage. There they will sit until tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon. I could carry them back outside for the days, bringing them in at night, but its still pretty cold when I leave for work in the morning, so I just dont bother! ;) they will be fine in the garage for 3 days. Here are those low temps:

Those lows of 29F and 26F (-2 and -3C) are cold enough to warrant bringing the plants in from the cold...yes they could probably handle it fine, they get cold-snaps like that in the wild..but I figure if I can protect my plants from freeze and frost, I should just do it! :) its better to not let them freeze if you have the option...If I had plants outdoors in an in-ground bog, they would just have to take their chances! ;)

If the night-time lows are in the mid-30's, but not below freezing, 35F 2C, I dont bother to bring them in or protect them..mid-30's is fine for leaving them outdoors.

Tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday) I will put the plants back on the deck..and the forecast for Wednesday onward shows nice and warm..nightly lows back in the 40's and 50's..

(7-12C)

Scot

[scottychaos]

July 4, 2008

FOUR MONTH update! :grin:

Wow..the growing season is half over already!

4 months down (Mar-April-May-June)

4 to go (July-Aug-Sept-Oct)

Happy 4th of July!

I already trimmed away nearly all of the "weak floppy spring growth", the pitchers that grew indoors in February and March..the pitchers from "the burn", as seen in earlier posts.

Now we are deep into the middle of the summer season, and all the Sarr pitchers and VFT leaves are fresh, non-burned leaves.

First up, (above) a new addition to my collection! :)

a nice big S. minor clump from --------- (I cant say the nursery name here..I will put the name in the webpage version of this documentary.)

A look at all three mini-bogs.

the "Judith Hindle Bog"..

containing mostly..yes, you guessed it, S. 'judith hindle'..

these all came from a big PFT sale a few years back..

there are also two S. leucophylla hiding in the back, and VFTs around the front.

An overview of the whole collection..

Judith Hindle bog on the left.

Middle bog contains a big Leah Wilkerson, plus my three beloved S. excellens,

VFTs in the front again, and a few other random sarrs.

Right bog is a mish-mash of Sarracenia, Leucophyllas mostly, random hybrids,

and my S. rubra ssp. alabamensis AL-02 from the ICPS.

speaking of the rubra.

a bugs-eye-view.

and thats the Mid-Summer update!

not a heck of a lot to report on..except "the plants are happy and eating bugs like crazy!"

more updates to follow as the season continues..

Scot

[scottychaos]

July 15th.

Here is my largest VFT so far this season, and one of my largest ever:

37mm

one and 7/16 inches.

just a shade under 1.5"

1.5 to 2 inches is considered the realm of the large VFT..

I still have never seen one documented over 2"..

(reports of 3" VFTs are just wishful thinking.)

(this was posted in the "whats your biggest VFT" thread:

http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99220 )

Scot

[scottychaos]

August 31, 2008

Late Summer Update!

Its the last day of August..

Summer is winding down.

We are now 6 months into the growing season, only 1.5 to 2 months left before the big winter sleep.

We had a beautifully cool few weeks in mid-August!

temps in the mid-70's! (24C) fabulous for this time of year! :)

Im not a fan of Summer heat..

I cant stand 90 degree (33C) summer days..ugh.

It was very unusually cool for this time of year..

I think we have only run the AC maybe 3 or 4 days all summer..

it was very sunny though, which was nice for the plants.

now, for early September, we are heating back up to typical summer temps..

the next week is forecast for highs in the upper 80's..(31C)

Summer isnt over yet!

The plants have had a great season out on the deck..still filling up with bugs!

things are starting to look a bit "worn out" though..pitchers are browning, VFTs looks a bit tattered..

but thats normal for this time of year..

I think I only did one "clean-up" of the plants this season, cutting away of the dead and brown leaves..the bogs have not been touched much at all...

im just letting them "do their thing"!

Here is a look at things on the last day of August..

2 more weeks of Summer to go. (according to my personal calendar! ;)

then Autumn arrives on September 15th..

the plants will stay outdoors through the cool days and nights of October, until the first big freeze of winter hits..usually late October or early November..then they go into the stairwell for the winter again.

the green chicken wire is squeezing the purps a bit..

I might try skipping the wire next spring..

Last spring (2007) I had problems with a robin picking at the moss and pulling out plants.

(which was the reason I installed chicken wire)

I suspect she was gathering materials for a spring nest.

But the bogs were freshly created that spring..now they are well established and the surface isnt as "loose"..

I might try it without the wire mesh next spring, see how things go..

I would much prefer it wasnt there..

Scot

[Tommyr]

Excellent photos as usual! Excellent plants!

[scottychaos]

October 11, 2008

Mid-Autumn update!

Its now the middle of October..the 2008 growing season only has a few weeks left to go..

Everything is looking pretty ratty and worn-out..which is normal for this time of year..

The poor VFT's! they look terrible!

actually..they are perfectly fine!

they are supposed to look that way in the fall!

If your VFTs are all nice and green in October, you are probably hurting them with kindness..

I only "neatened up" the bogs twice this year, by cutting away the old dead growth..

once in late spring at the end of the "burn season" when the sun-burned indoor growth had been replaced by new outdoor growth..then one more time in mid-summer..maybe July.

So right now they have gone a few months without any major tending on my part..all I do is keep them watered and let them do their thing naturally..

Did I say "everything is looking pretty ratty and worn-out"?

well..not everything!

The S. leucophylla are putting on a fabulous Autumn display right now! showing off those gorgeous "fall pitchers" that the luecos are famous for:

Nice!

that's the one impressive Autumn display among the Sarrs..

(all the rest look like the VFTs..very tired, brown, and ready to sleep after another great summer!)

We have had one light frost so far, a few weeks ago, but I didn't bother to move or protect the plants..I just let them get frosted..its good for them! I wont bother to move or protect the plants unless it going to get into the 20's overnight..32 degrees and one light frost wont hurt them at all..

(the only exception is my lone D. capensis pot..it is already inside for the winter)

Most nights over the last few weeks have had lows in the 40's and 50's..thats fine.

they stay out until nights seriously begin to fall below freezing on a regular basis.

I will make the decision to "put them to bed" for the winter when that begins to happen..

we arent quite there yet..

The next update will be a big one!

it will be the annual "putting the plants away for their winter dormancy" process..

coming soon..only a few more weeks to go.

Scot

[scottychaos]

November 2, 2008

Putting the plants away for the winter!

Probably the single "busiest" day of the entire "CP year" has arrived again..

the annual "putting the plants to bed day"..

I always leave the plants out as long as possible..late October or early November..

until nights start falling below freezing on a regular basis..

This year the date is November 2.

there have been a few frosts already, I just left the plants out in the first few light frosts,

its fine, they can handle it.

but we did get a few lows during the last few weeks that dipped down to a around 27F (negative 3C),

so I did move the plants into the garage for those nights.

First step..

about a week ago I took the plants out of their water trays, and I tipped the bogs on their side to drain:

I do this so the media isnt soaking wet all winter..I want them to be slightly drier over the winter than during the growing season..

so I give them a week or so to dry out a little bit..

then..the big event..CUTTING away of all the growth! :0o:

I do this because the plants are wrapped tight in plastic all winter, they are in pitch-darkness, 35 degree (+2C) temps,

and they simply do NOT grow all winter..at all.

they dont need their leaves, and all that extra greenery would only encourage fungus to grow,

so I snip everything away, right down to the ground.

the bogs are lined up, ready to go:

the scissors come out, and after about 45 minutes of cutting, we have this!

All those lovely pitchers, and all the nutritious bugs they still contain, go into the compost pile, to feed next years flower gardens:

Now its time for the wrapping..

I use regular black plastic trash bags, stick the bogs in sideways:

Twist up the ends of the bag so its air-tight, and tape it down with regular clear plastic packing tape:

In addition to the three mini-bogs (which contain only Sarracenia and VFT's)

I also have four other pots that need to join the bogs in dormancy.

One D. binata clump, a D. filliformis, a S. flava 'veinless' and the big S. minor clump:

Open up the stairwell and clean out all the spider webs with a broom:

Put all the plants in place:

Close both doors..and the plants are ready to snooze away the next three and a half months..they wont be seen again

until the middle of February. (I sometimes check the temp over the winter, but its always nice and cool..and even when

its 0 degrees F outside (negative 18 C) its still around 35F (+2C) inside their little chamber..its perfect!)

the view from outside the stairwell:

Its also the day for putting away the rain water collector, it wont be needed again until spring:

the "normal" downspout is replaced, and the water bin is cleaned out and stored in the shed for the winter.

The "CP corner" on the deck looks barren and lonely:

And the trees are ready for winter too:

Autumn is a short season around here..it only lasts about 6 weeks,

and by November 1st, its pretty much over, and winter is here.

And thats it for the 2008 growing season!

but its not the end of the "year in the life"! ;)

there are still 3.5 months to go in the year..

They plants have merely started their "fourth quarter"..

only 75% of the year is over..the remaining 25% is very important to the long-term

health of the plants..

now we wait for winter to pass by...

Scot

[scottychaos]

its SPRING again!

The "year in the life" has come full circle!

(well..as I said a year ago..its Spring for my plants, but definately not Spring for me!

it is 8 degrees F (negative 13 C) outside as I type this on March 3rd..there is still a good month of winter yet to go)

But the plants are ready to come out!

I took them out on February 22 this year..a week later than usual, but only because I was too busy the weekend before..actually, I have been considering just keeping them in the stairwell until April! but im still not sure how that would work..and since the plants have had plently long enough dormancy already (3.5 to 4 months by late February) its fine them for them to come out now..

Another sucessful winter's sleep!

everything appears alive!

they sit in front of the sliding glass doors until they go back outside for the season (usually mid-April)

In the fall, as I was cutting off all the pitchers, I marked a few Sarracenia for re-planting in the spring..I had several smaller plants that were crowded in among much larger plants, and the larger plants were shading them too much, so im going to dig them out and plant the smaller plants into their own container, creating a 4th large mini-bog. They are all smallish "mixed hybrids"..As soon as we get a warm enough day, I will drag the bogs out onto the deck and do the repotting. I want at least a 40 degree day (+4C) to do that! there are no 40 degree days coming anytime soon.

These 4 smaller pots are the S. minor clump, a pot of D. filliformis, the D. binata clump (which STILL needs repotting! I didnt do it last year!) :-(

but this spring Im going to cut it in half and create two D. binata pots.

and the 4th small pot is a S. flava 'veinless' that is going to get repotted into to the new sarracenia bog.

So thats all for now!

I will update the re-planting whenever I get to it..hopefully in a week or two..I would like to do it before all the plants start serious new growth.

then that will probably be the end of "year in the life 2008"!

a full year documented.

thanks,

Scot

[scottychaos]

Update!

March 14, 2009

Time for a repotting..its overdue.

Got some new peat moss:

Im going to take some sarrs out of the three large minibogs and make a 4th, smaller minibog,

which will contain the "misfits"! ;)

then the three big bogs will be mostly all one variety of Sarr..plus VFTs..

One bog will be Leah wilkerson and three S. 'excellens'

One bog will be all Judith Hindle.

One bog will be all Leucophylla.

and the forth, new bog will be a mix of sarrs..

and oh yeah, im also separating out the Sarracenia rubra ssp. alabamensis AL-02 and giving it its own pot.

The D. binata pot REALLY needs to be repotted!

im going to cut the mass in half, seperate the two halves, and re-plant both in a larger pot,

to make more room to grow.

the binata pot after repotting:

And the new minibog:

containing random sarrs taken out of the larger bogs.

[scottychaos]

Update!

April 24, 2009.

The plants have been outside more this March & April than usual..

because its been unusually warm this spring!

so I have been leaving them out if its warm enough, bringing them into the garage if nightime lows fall below freezing..

This is good because they get good light, but the cold temps (35-45-55 degrees F for a month or so) means they have been growing

very slowly, compared to past years when they are indoors and warm in early spring..

but thats fine! I would prefer they are outdoors in bright sun with cool temps,

rather than indoors with inadequate light but warm temps..

Here are some pics for late April:

I had to put the ugly chicken wire back on.

the mother robins are unstoppable..they love the spagnum moss for nesting material.

I think the wire mesh is going to be a fact of life for me..

the CD's help, but not 100%.

the S. minor clump is sending up a lot of flower stalks!

the repotted D. binata clump:

[scottychaos]

And finally..the last update for this little project! :)

May 29, 2009

We have come full-circle with the "Year in the life"..February 2008 to February 2009, and a few months beyond..

Its now May, and everything is flowering and slowly coming back to life..

its interesting to note how far behind the growth is this year, compared to last year

and other past years, because the plants were outdoors in the cool March/April air this year..

but as I said, I don't mind! its all good.

I waited awhile to make this last post because I wanted some good pics to end the series with! ;)

the plants generally look pretty boring in the early spring, so I waited for some nice photo potential to develop..

Here you go, the Sarracenia minor clump in bloom!

and thats everything for "Year in the life 2008-2009"..

thanks for watching!

hope it was useful and interesting..

thanks,

Scot

[scottychaos]

Webpage updated!

http://gold.mylargescale.com/scottychaos/CP/index.html

page for Spring 2009 was just added.

Sorry for updating this CPUK thread so late, adding a bunch of posts in June..

I couldnt log-on for awhile..so I just now finished updating..but now im done! ;)

I am now officially finished with the "year in the life"..

thanks for watching!

Scot

Edited June 15, 2009 by scottychaos