How to overwinter sarracenia?

[applestar]

I bought a couple of S. purpurea this spring and they've been happy in my little bog garden. I also succumbed to temptation and bought S. x "Judith Hindle" The card that came with it (www.vanbloem.com in MN) says "Hardy zones 6-8" but I've seen some catalogs mention hardy to zone 7. The zone map line dividing Zone 6 and 7 practically runs right through my town so I tend to think of my area as Zone 6.

What is the correct procedure to overwinter "Judith Hindle"? Should I do what I did with the VFT -- wait until the plant goes dormant after a hard freeze, then put the pot in a cooler in the garage? This is what I did last year (for the first time) and despite my trepidations about the blackened foliage, they came through like champs and grew back and some this year.

Since S. purpurea is native to this area, I'm assuming I don't have to do anything -- just leave it out in the garden...

I had a little bonus -- a little tiny sundew started growing in the same pot that one of the S. pupurea is growing in. I accidentally pulled it out, thinking it's a weed/grass, then realized my mistake and tucked it back in. Luckily, there was minimal damage and it's now about 2x as big as when I first discovered it. Now I'm afraid to pull anything else from those pots so there are quite a few weeds growing in there

[TheLorax]

Yes, the Sarracenia purpurea can be left outside year round regardless of whether or not you have a northern race or a southern race. You might want to provide it with a decent layer of white pine needle mulch. About 4" should be fine. No need to toss the whole plant in the frig.

The 'Judith Hindle' is a hybrid-
[[[Sarracenia leucophylla {Raf.}] * [Sarracenia flava {L.} var.rugelii {(Shuttlew. ex A.DC.) Mast.}]] * [Sarracenia purpurea {L.}]] "chipola" (this suffix refers to the last mentioned species but is not a cultivar epithet!). (...) In [Sarracenia 'Judith Hindle' {D'Amato}]

Ever heard of hybrid vigor? This plant qualifies. It's hardier than any of its parents so you can leave this one out year round also. I'm a zone 5 and this survives outside year round quite nicely. Albeit... with a heavy layer of mulch that I roll off in spring.

You might have received a temperate species Drosera as your bonus baby. If you can post a good clear photo of your little bonus Drosera, chances are good I can tell you which one you have even if it isn't an indigenous temperate species.

[applestar]

Thanks! -- that's good to know. As for white pine, my neighbor has a whole row of them planted just on their side of the property line. SO natch, the branches are reaching over to our side and creating more shade than I'd like (I'm going to have to move some of my blueberry bushes). BUT, the silverlining is that there are plenty of pine needles that I can gather for mulch. (Hmm. there'll be MORE if I move my brushpile... I intend to use a lot of that for hugelkultur (sp? too lazy to check) this fall/winter anyway) Do you apply the mulch at the usual time -- I.e. after good heavy frost/the ground freezes? (ballpark -- last weekend of Nov. for me).

I'll try to get a picture of the sundew tomorrow, but I *think* it looks like D. filliformis -- no discernible paddle shape in the leaves at all, just very thready looking.

[TheLorax]

I begin applying the mulch long before the first heavy frost. One of the reasons for the mulch is to break the rapid freeze/thaw cycling. Sometime in late September, I lay down about an inch or two of pine needles. The plants are out of active growth at that time anyway. By the time the oaks in the white family have dropped, I add a second layer of oak leaves. Then I follow that up with another layer of pine needles and I begin sandwiching/layering. There's no set time for this, I follow leaf drop.

The layering method has the added benefit of leaching acids down into the underlying medium as well as being able to be rolled off easily in spring. You start at one side and literally roll and off it comes in one compressed sheet. Pretty wild.

One thing you might want to do would be to add 1T of apple cider vinegar to a gallon of water and water your plants well before you apply the mulch.

Here's the deal- these plants really don't have much of a root system per se. The roots are there to keep them grounded in wind as well as to uptake water. Remember, they get their nutrients from other sources. You allow these to get hit by a good heavy frost in a garden setting and you're at risk for them heaving out of the ground. In a natural setting, they would have companion species to ground them. You don't have that benefit.

What you described sounds like filiformis (one L not two in case you want to search for images) but... it also sounds like quite a few plants that aren't carnivorous too. Call the nursery where you bought the plant and ask them. They might know. As far as not weeding in those pots, do weed in those pots. These plants don't need the competition from non-community species. If you waste a desirable hitch hiker, it's ok. Besides which, I think you may have already pulled the one desirable bonus baby already. Good catch if it is filiformis. D. filiformis can come in a red form as well as a green form (anthocyanin free) so don't let a green form throw you off. It's probably D. filiformis var tracyi. A green form might have to be overwintered in your frig. Actually, the red form might be best in your frig too.

This is probably one of the best FAQs for carnivorous plants-
https://www.sarracenia.com/faq.html
It's an easy read and I think you'll get a lot out of what he has shared.

You got me. What's "hugelkultur"?

[applestar]

Sorry this is going to be brief -- I went to a native plant sale today... trees, shrubs, forbs, I got them all. All that bending, crouching, leaning, and shifting pots to get a better look... then of course, after I got home, I just HAD to position everything where I'm thinking they'll go ... and, now, I'm starting to stiffen up. I expect I'll get a click in my neck, too, from permanently carrying my head tilted to one side to read the plant tags.

Here's a photo of the little bonus:
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image2787.jpg[/img]

hugelkultur -- there's a thread in Permaculture

[TheLorax]

Nice little bonus you've got there.

Congratulations on your D. filiformis var tracyi!

That won't make it outside over winter. To the frig it goes!

editing to add- Don't make me work! Gotta link to the thread on hugelkultur?

[applestar]

Oh, puhleeze!! Wouldn't want to overtire your poor mouse/trackpad/trackball wielding hand and clicking fingers.
Here ya go! https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=823

Thanks for the positive ID and the overwintering tip!

[TheLorax]

Thank you, thank you very much for giving my poor lil mouse a rest. I probably wouldn't have found that thread anyway since it was started back in 2004. Good find.