sarracenia dana's delight

15 years ago

My husband gifted me with 2 small sarracenia Dana's Delight plants for Mother's Day last Sunday. I've read up a bit, and plan to put them in larger pots so I can place them on the shelves in the pond with the water only reaching about 1/2 way up the pots. I will be potting them in 1/2 sand and 1/2 sphagnum peat moss.

I went back to the pond store where my husband bought them, but the owner was out on a job, and the 2 kids that were there, were brand spanking new there and not very knowledgable at all. The one helping me said to pot them up in regular soil (NO!), and to "just fertilize them with whatever you usually use on plants" (NO NO NO!!!).

Does anyone know if these plants spread at all? Right now they are in 3 inch pots and rather small.

Any other true growing tips would be greatly appreciated.

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Comments (6)

petiolaris
15 years ago
LOL! The kid definitely didn't know what he/she was talking about! Personally, I would mix peat and sand (pool filter works well)and add a layer of long fibered spagnum (LFS) on top. LFS is also known as orchid moss and can be found at Lowes. Peat should be the bales, like 2.5 or 3.0 cm, not Miracle Grow. Many people use large pots or barrel sized pots. They have rhyzomes, so think in terms of bearded iris in terms of spreading. Full and rain water is what they need, along with a winter dormancy.
LynneNY
Original Author
15 years ago
Ok, so after pondering a bit, I need to ask why not the Miracle Grow Spaghnum Peat? I do have several bags of it for other plantings, and really don't need an entire bale of peat.
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LynneNY
Original Author
15 years ago
Ok - now I see - went to the garage and read on the bag that there is fertilizer in that bag - ooops.
SanDiego_Cper
15 years ago
Miracle Grow Spaghnum Peat has fertilizer in it, which in all intents and purposes, poison for carnivorous plants including Sarracenias. Sarracenias are a little hardier than most CPs, however. I guess it is possible to "wash" the fertilizer out, but I never tried to risk it.

Miracle Grow perlite also has fertilizer in it. Pretty much most of the manufactures who produce small bags of prewetted spaghnum peat moss put fertilizer in it.

That is why you are somewhat limited to the bale of sphagnum moss. Just make sure you wet it well before you use it, which isnt as easy as it sounds. Bone dry peat moss is very hygroscopic.
taz6122
15 years ago
I think you mean hydrophobic? I've never had a problem with it after mixing it with perlite. Seems to take up water pretty fast for me. I always mix it dry then moisten it a little before potting up.
SanDiego_Cper
15 years ago
Sorry I meant hydrophobic.

There's a point where it goes from where it will quickly absorb water to where it will not take up water at all, unless you add a wetting agent or physically force the water uptake by kneading it for example. Sometimes the bales come slightly wet and there is no problem re-wetting them. But when they are bone dry, it can be a big pain re-wetting the peat moss. See the link below it pretty much sums it up:

See http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/peatmoss.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: peat moss chemistry