A couple of weeks ago, at a county show nearby, there was a bloke in a
little white van, wedged in among the legions of Barbour vendors. He
was selling carnivorous plants, and I was particularly taken - taken
enough to shell out £7 for one - by the "slug-eating plants" that
occupied one of his tables. They were described as peat-bog dwellers
of North America/Canada, cold-hardy down to -8 deg C or so, and
slug-eaters: the more they eat, the bigger they get, up to a couple of
feet across or so.

So now I have this plant in my possession, certain questions spring to
mind. Like: given that (in a pot context) it likes to sit in a saucer
of (rain)water, how are the slugs going to get across the moat? I
would like to plant it out in the garden, in a simulated peat-bog
micro-environment. Is this a reasonable thing to do (for instance,
sink a large container filled with peat, plant it in that and keep it
well watered at all times)? And like: is it possible to propagate this
plant? The thought of dozens of slug-eating plants dotted around my
allotment is almost too awesome to contemplate .....

Andy
--

Hell! - don't worry about old "raving Dave" Ullrich ...
Basically he's a sociopath who can't see a red rag
without regarding it as a personal insult.
Bill Taylor, sci.math

(Andy Spragg) wrote in message ...
So now I have this plant in my possession, certain questions spring to
mind. Like: given that (in a pot context) it likes to sit in a saucer
of (rain)water, how are the slugs going to get across the moat? I
would like to plant it out in the garden, in a simulated peat-bog
micro-environment. Is this a reasonable thing to do (for instance,
sink a large container filled with peat, plant it in that and keep it
well watered at all times)? And like: is it possible to propagate this
plant? The thought of dozens of slug-eating plants dotted around my
allotment is almost too awesome to contemplate .....

Andy

I have a S. purpurea myself, however it's not been in a position for
slugs to get at it to be able to say whether it eats them or not. I
guess it probably would, along with flies and wasps. The pitchers fill
with rain water and then the beasties drown when they tumble in.
Your idea to sink a pot into the ground sounds pretty feasible.
Remember to use an undrained plastic one though. And mix the peat with
some washed sand as well. And definitely use rain water, unless you
live in a soft water area as they are intolerant of the high mineral
content of hard water.
S. purpurea grow from a rhizome and once your one gets a bit bigger
you'll be able to divide it up yourself.

For more info check out the faq at www.sarracenia.com

Good luck

Alastair

The message
from (Andy Spragg) contains these words:

(snip the slugbuster plant)

So now I have this plant in my possession, certain questions spring to
mind. Like: given that (in a pot context) it likes to sit in a saucer
of (rain)water, how are the slugs going to get across the moat? I
would like to plant it out in the garden, in a simulated peat-bog
micro-environment. Is this a reasonable thing to do (for instance,
sink a large container filled with peat, plant it in that and keep it
well watered at all times)?

I've planted an old washing up bowl (no holes)a couple of inches
underneath a bog-loving plant so that it could make up its own mind
about the choicest spot for the roots.

Janet.

"Nathaniel" wrote in message
s.com...
Andy Spragg wrote:
*A couple of weeks ago, at a county show nearby, there was a bloke in
a
little white van, wedged in among the legions of Barbour vendors. He
was selling carnivorous plants, and I was particularly taken - taken
enough to shell out £7 for one - by the "slug-eating plants" that
occupied one of his tables. They were described as peat-bog dwellers
of North America/Canada, cold-hardy down to -8 deg C or so, and
slug-eaters: the more they eat, the bigger they get, up to a couple
of
feet across or so.

So now I have this plant in my possession, certain questions spring
to
mind. Like: given that (in a pot context) it likes to sit in a
saucer
of (rain)water, how are the slugs going to get across the moat? I
would like to plant it out in the garden, in a simulated peat-bog
micro-environment. Is this a reasonable thing to do (for instance,
sink a large container filled with peat, plant it in that and keep
it
well watered at all times)? And like: is it possible to propagate
this
plant? The thought of dozens of slug-eating plants dotted around my
allotment is almost too awesome to contemplate .....

What you have described is the common "pitcher plant". It is insectivorous.
I doubt if it will manage to devour a slug. It is *not* hardy. Your -8 deg
C is a load of codswallop. Minimum temperature +5 deg C (41 deg F),
according to the RHS Encyclopedia. It will grow into a plant about 12" high
and 12" diameter.

Franz

"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...
I doubt if it will manage to devour a slug. It is *not* hardy. Your -8 deg

A report on ananova about a different variety which will eat slugs:
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_569881.html

Also according to this site, they are frost hardy:
http://florawww.eeb.uconn.edu/acc_num/199800089.html

--
Martin & Anna Sykes
( Remove x's when replying )
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~sykesm

"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...
I doubt if it will manage to devour a slug. It is *not* hardy. Your -8 deg

A report on ananova about a different variety which will eat slugs:
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_569881.html

Also according to this site, they are frost hardy:
http://florawww.eeb.uconn.edu/acc_num/199800089.html

--
Martin & Anna Sykes
( Remove x's when replying )
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~sykesm

What you have described is the common "pitcher plant". It is
insectivorous.
I doubt if it will manage to devour a slug. It is *not* hardy. Your -8
deg
C is a load of codswallop. Minimum temperature +5 deg C (41 deg F),
according to the RHS Encyclopedia. It will grow into a plant about 12"
high
and 12" diameter.

I've been growing these for years, and yes, they do eat slugs, and they are
most certainly hardy, especially the variety you mention, as I've had them
survive every Scottish winter undiminished for the past 4 years. Are you
sure you're not thinking of Nepenthes tropical pitcher plant?

They're not the best sarracenia for general insect catching though. I have a
bunch of the very hardy sarracenia flavas that devour thousands of flies,
wasps and hoverflies every year!

Regards,

Stuart Forbes
Edinburgh, Scotland

What you have described is the common "pitcher plant". It is
insectivorous.
I doubt if it will manage to devour a slug. It is *not* hardy. Your -8
deg
C is a load of codswallop. Minimum temperature +5 deg C (41 deg F),
according to the RHS Encyclopedia. It will grow into a plant about 12"
high
and 12" diameter.

I've been growing these for years, and yes, they do eat slugs, and they are
most certainly hardy, especially the variety you mention, as I've had them
survive every Scottish winter undiminished for the past 4 years. Are you
sure you're not thinking of Nepenthes tropical pitcher plant?

They're not the best sarracenia for general insect catching though. I have a
bunch of the very hardy sarracenia flavas that devour thousands of flies,
wasps and hoverflies every year!

Regards,

Stuart Forbes
Edinburgh, Scotland

It is *not* hardy. Your -8 deg
C is a load of codswallop. Minimum temperature +5 deg C (41 deg F),
according to the RHS Encyclopedia

S. purpurea ssp. purpurea (the northern form of S. purpurea) is hardy to well
below -15F/-26C; the RHS Encyclopedia is in error.

It is *not* hardy. Your -8 deg
C is a load of codswallop. Minimum temperature +5 deg C (41 deg F),
according to the RHS Encyclopedia

S. purpurea ssp. purpurea (the northern form of S. purpurea) is hardy to well
below -15F/-26C; the RHS Encyclopedia is in error.

"IntarsiaCo" wrote in message
...
It is *not* hardy. Your -8 deg
C is a load of codswallop. Minimum temperature +5 deg C (41 deg F),
according to the RHS Encyclopedia

S. purpurea ssp. purpurea (the northern form of S. purpurea) is hardy to
well
below -15F/-26C; the RHS Encyclopedia is in error.

The RHS Encyclopedia does not mention S. purpurea ssp purpurea.
Neither did the OP and neither did I.
I have never known the RHS Encyclopedia to be as far wrong as this!

Franz

The RHS Encyclopedia does not mention S. purpurea ssp purpurea.
Neither did the OP and neither did I.
I have never known the RHS Encyclopedia to be as far wrong as this!


They probably don't mention the other 4 or 5 subspecies either, but
nonetheless, S. purpurea is found in northern New England and into Canada where
temperatures dip well below -10F. They should correct the entry as it is
misleading. The northern subspecies is not easy to cultivate and requires a
cold winter dormancy. The southern subspecies range north to New Jersey and
will also experience temperatures below 0F. The largest populations are near
Mobile, Alabama where temperatures at this time of year easily go below 20F. I
doubt that they will prove effective in capturing slugs.

"IntarsiaCo" wrote in message
...
It is *not* hardy. Your -8 deg
C is a load of codswallop. Minimum temperature +5 deg C (41 deg F),
according to the RHS Encyclopedia

S. purpurea ssp. purpurea (the northern form of S. purpurea) is hardy to
well
below -15F/-26C; the RHS Encyclopedia is in error.

The RHS Encyclopedia does not mention S. purpurea ssp purpurea.
Neither did the OP and neither did I.
I have never known the RHS Encyclopedia to be as far wrong as this!

Franz

The RHS Encyclopedia does not mention S. purpurea ssp purpurea.
Neither did the OP and neither did I.
I have never known the RHS Encyclopedia to be as far wrong as this!


They probably don't mention the other 4 or 5 subspecies either, but
nonetheless, S. purpurea is found in northern New England and into Canada where
temperatures dip well below -10F. They should correct the entry as it is
misleading. The northern subspecies is not easy to cultivate and requires a
cold winter dormancy. The southern subspecies range north to New Jersey and
will also experience temperatures below 0F. The largest populations are near
Mobile, Alabama where temperatures at this time of year easily go below 20F. I
doubt that they will prove effective in capturing slugs.