FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hello FlyTrap Forums, sad post this time

My entire Sarracenia purpurea is drying, despite being in the same water it's thrived in. I was suspecting the peat moss I potted it in this spring was fertilized, I really fear that's true now. The water tray is still full of tannins, and I see algae every now and then - Problem is, I have no soil to pot it in, and I can't get peat or spagh

The soil is about equal parts unknown peat/perlite/sand

Can Sarrs be potted in anything that isn't peat or spagh?

You said that you tray water it and it is still dry. That sounds like rhizome rot… If you want you can buy a TDS meter and check the ppm of the soil. You first check the ppm of the water that you use. Then water the plant from the top until it leaves through the holes of the pot. Then you collect that water and check it. If it reads above 50ppm then you want to flush the soil. If you can’t buy a TDS meter then just flush the soil a lot. For rhizome rot you have to take the plant from the pot and check carefully the rhizome. If it’s mushy or spongy to the touch then take a sterilised scissors or knife and cut that part. If the inside is brown then it rotted. If it’s white then it’s healthy and alive. If it’s brown cut away as much of it as you can until you see white. Then apply a fungicide ( I don’t know which one ) and transplant it in new fresh soil because the old one is probably infected.

Thank you, it could definitely be rhizome rot...
I have neither TDS meter, spare soil or spare water at the moment, so I feel like I can't afford to check it now

Where are you located? And can you post a photo of your plant?

I'm in Denmark. I attached a photo in the post, does it not show up.

Its there. I can see it.

Kevin01 wrote: ↑Mon May 15, 2023 9:19 am Hello FlyTrap Forums, sad post this time

My entire Sarracenia purpurea is drying, despite being in the same water it's thrived in. I was suspecting the peat moss I potted it in this spring was fertilized, I really fear that's true now. The water tray is still full of tannins, and I see algae every now and then - Problem is, I have no soil to pot it in, and I can't get peat or spagh

The soil is about equal parts unknown peat/perlite/sand

Can Sarrs be potted in anything that isn't peat or spagh?

Could be the peat is fertilized. Could be the sand has limestone (or other similar bad stuff) in it. Could be both. Any new growth? If so, how does it look?

If you can find it, you can try coconut coir. Some people have pretty good luck with that, assuming they rinse it thoroughly. I've also read about people doing well with sawdust of all things.

One more possibility: Is anything focusing/reflecting light on your plant? I have a Sarracenia purpurea ssp. venosa plant that got scorched due to sunlight reflecting off a window (it got the regular dose of sunshine plus a 10-minute searing blast of light). Your plant looks a lot like mine.

Try watering from the top and flushing your plant at least once a week that may help reduce any contaminant build up, otherwise, the brown leaves could be the older leaves dying off.
They will grow in any acid, nutrient-free medium, but sphagnum or peat is the easiest way of doing it.
Cheers
Steve

Was it entering dormancy? My other Sarrs had their pitchers turn brown and I cut them off. Do purpurea lose their pitchers? Just saw the original post was from May last year. Still wondering do all Sarrs lose their pitchers potentially in winter?

Jedikinigit wrote: ↑Tue Jan 23, 2024 12:15 pm Still wondering do all Sarrs lose their pitchers potentially in winter?

I think a lot of it depends upon the plant itself and the conditions it is under when going dormant. I have some that turned brown and look almost dead and others that look like they do not know what dormant means.

Jedikinigit wrote:Was it entering dormancy? My other Sarrs had their pitchers turn brown and I cut them off. Do purpurea lose their pitchers? Just saw the original post was from May last year. Still wondering do all Sarrs lose their pitchers potentially in winter?

Not all sarracenias lose their pitchers. Some of them like leucophylla or minor look good over the winter and they may have some old pitchers functional and untouched after the winter. On the other hand, some species like oreophila or flava lose almost all pitchers and that's normal. Oreo can throw its pitchers off even before autumn.

Regarding purpureas, it also depends on a particular plant. I have only a few of them, but my White Ghost stopped growing in autumn and it has only two alive leaves right now, but the rhizome looks good. However, some of my ssp. venosa still have nice pitchers, only some of the oldest leaves are partially dead.

I would not recommend to cut off all pitchers of purpurea unless it is a big and healthy plant. I used to remove only dead leaves in winter or spring. I follow the simple rule - if a leaf looks dead, I just try to pull it out and I do not use too much strength for that. If the leaf cannot be torn out this way, it is not fully dead and I just cut off its brown part. Btw, purpurea's pitchers can survive up to two years.