the sarracenia specias can devour any type of flying bugs. Yellow jackets do seem to harm a bit on Sarracenia's trumpets. but they are not mainly a problem. the problem on Sarracenias are Mealy Bugs. they look white in color. they usually hang out on the Sarracenia's lower trumpets/leaves.
a pesticide is used to get rid of these pests.

sarracenias can devour hundreds of different flying insects in few days. the more they devour, the faster they grow. make sure to grow it outside in full sun. these are sun loving plants. don't worry about the Yellow jackets, these are not the main pests for these magnificent plants

Xymox, Thank you for your kind reply. I'm really excited about getting to know this amazing plant family a little better! I guess one a good place to start, is this forum.

Thanks again, Pat

Particularly in the late summer, yellow jackets seem to abound. Have you considered sundews, butterworts or bladderworts?

They'll eat anything that fall in. INCLUDING mice.

Tom

petiolaris,
YES! I'm so enthralled with these plants that I most certainly will be looking to try out some others come spring! I plan on making bog areas along side my ponds to grow them in.
I am currently getting my 'non hardy' outdoor plants put in our root-cellar for the winter. The instructions I've read for the sarracenia said to put it in a pot, set it in a tray of water and put the whole thing in a plastic bag. Does anyone dissagree with this? I certainly don't want to take a chance of loosing my baby.

Thank you all, Pat

The instructions for the sarracenia are wrong. why would they want you to put the whole plant inside a plastic bag? that will make it wilt from the heat or cause root rot from all the enclosed environment.

These plants loves indeed having flooded soil and they LOVE full sun during the growing season.

Sarracenia plants are best kept outdoors at all times.

LOL! xymox and I tebd to echo the same guidance, which is interesting since we are 3,000 miles apart and live in very different climates.

Anyways, this can be a bad time of year for people to begin collecting CP's, especially if one lives in the north, as I do (Buffal, NY). A lot of us are preparing to get our dormancy type plants (VFT's, Sarracenias, a few temperate sundews, cobra lily,...) ready for the next several months.

Indeed, Sarracenias need lots of light and water and being outside is the best thing for them. I keep mine in buckets and hanging baskets, filled with sand, peat, and long fibered sphagnum. They are outside from April through October. Any more than that in my locale and they could be hardpressed to survive unless heavily mulched. In a few weeks I will be toting them up to the cold attic and they will be placed by a southwest window sill for the winter. They will only be sparingly watered. By late winter, when the photoperiod has increased enough to stimulate new growth, they will begin to wake up and send up new leaves. That's just one approach. People in warmer climates can leave them outside all year round.

As to covering with plastic, was it stated or implied as to why? Was it for acclimation to its new home?

If you're interested in other CP's, I'd be happy to send you a buffet of easy starter plants, but I really prefer to wait until the spring. I am almost tapped out of the variety and quantity I had during the summer.

Below are pictures of the minibogs, (to give you an idea of what one approach can look like) taken from last month:

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Woops, I'm sorry I forgot to mention that I live in northwestern Montana in zone 4. So all but the hardiest of CPs need winter protection in our area. My plans for the bog areas will come next growing season. My plans for right now are to put the plant in the root cellar with the rest of my tender perenials. I re-read my former post and see how I misled you into into thinking that I meant to leave the plant outside in a plastic bag, in a bog for the winter.
Our root cellar is cool and of course dark, but does not freeze inside in the winter time. The idea of the plastic bag was to keep the plants soil from drying out while it is in dormancy. But I'm sure that I can omit the bag and just check on it occasionally to make sure that it stays moist.
The plant has been growing outside since I purchased it about two months ago. I have left it out so it can go dormant naturally. I plan to leave it in the cellar until late March or early April. Do you think that will be okay?
Petiolaris; I thank you for posting the beautiful pix. Your plants are lovely, and I will keep your offer in mind till spring.
I appreciate the responses from both of you.
Thanks - Pat

what are the temperatures during the winters in northwestern montana? i remember seeing some pics and reading that sarracenia can withstand snow aswell. i saw some pics in www.cobraplant.com.

some of these guys' sarracenias were frozen solid with snow and still came back stronger & healthier after being repotted before waking up.

if your weather snows a bit, as long as there's no snow storms, you may leave your plant outside. Still, there's no need for using the bag around the plant. as long as you keep your plant's soil moist but not soaking wet, that's what matters. they may still expect some light during the winter.

a cellar may be cold but if it's dark then they will go under a really deep dormant period without any sunlight or bright light at all.

if i alived in a northern area, i would leave my plants outdoors all year round. just watch out for snow storms or snowy winds or harsh winters. if those happen, bring in your plants into the cellar. good luck!

I wouldn't entirely trust keeping the plants outside for winter, in the northern climes, at least not withoutheavily mulching them with peat and pine needles. They're just a bit out of their element, without a little help.

I'm not terribly comfortable with a dark environment for the winter and that is because in nature, the plants are experiencing sunlight and sunshine throughout the winter and are responding to decreasing and then increasing photoperiod. Does you root cellar have any windows? Would you have an attic with windows?

Yes, barely moist is what you want to achieve. Being in buckets, as mine are, even if the surface is dry, the soil beneath is slightly moist.

Thank you for the compliment! We can "talk business" next spring.... but still discuss the plants in the interim!

You definitely don't want to keep your plants outside in the winter. Where I live in MN, I lose Zone 4 plants every year if they are left outside unprotected; so CPs are for the most part out of the question outdoors in an MN winter.

You'll want to bring them inside. The rootcellar is fine. I let mine get much much dryer in the winter. I think I give them a little water every week or two. I also give them about 8 hours for some CF daylights. My Cobra Lilly is the only one that goes dormant and sits in a little water all winter.

I'm going to try a few things this year. First off, I'm going to empty the pitchers as best as I can before putting them in my basement. I may even cut off most or all the pitchers as some have suggested. All those rotting bugs will likely lead to fungus in a root cellar. Good luck!

Joe

Xymnox, and Petiolaris; Our temps usually get down to - 20 degrees BELOW ZERO, or more, for a few days every winter. The coldest I've ever seen has been 32 below. And that was only on one occasion, a long time ago - whew. We usually get a blizzard or two every winter also. And when it's twenty below with a stiff north wind blowing not much but the hardiest survive without protection. The wind can drive the cold in deep.

Joe; Thanks for the info! I would have never thought about dead bugs possibly rotting in the pitchers. And I can see how they might be a problem. So I think I will go ahead and cut mine off too. I noticed there are still some yellow jackets stuck in them. Do you think I should leave the tiny pitchers or cut off the whole works? I will certanly NOT leave the plant in a plastic bag as originally planned either.

Thanks again guys, I really appreciate all of the ideas
---- Pat

An they say Buffalo is cold.... In nature, nobody does any pruning for the plants. But we provide artificial environments and a little help is necessary. I would remove / cut off anything that is dead (yellow jackets) and black or brown (plants). Leave the greenery. That will help the plant out when the new growing season begins (photosynthesis). Once you move them to the root cellar, can you set up a timer such that you can reduce the photoperiod to keep in synch with reality and then increase it toward the end of December?

Pretty much what I did...cut off most of the large pitchers and emptied out all of them. I left the really small pitchers that don't appear to have anything in them. I also gave everything (Flytraps and North American Pitchers) a spray down with a sulpher fungicide. Any pitcher with any black or brown was removed completely.

I also let all these plants take 3 light frosts (-29F minimum) before putting them to bed for the winter. I've never let that happen before, but I'm thinking this will get them a deeper sleep perhaps. Someone else gave me the idea about the light frosts, but I'm not sure if he meant it for flytaps too. According to Savage Garden, eveyone should be OK.

Good luck!
Joe