Sarracenias leaf pullings

[Richard Hole]

Hello

I am in the process of dividing and Sarracenias and doing leaf pullings.

I have a greenhouse with 50% white Solarweave plastic. In the greenhouse I have a mister that cuts on when the gauze on the balance arm loses weight due to the evaporation of water on it so the mister goes off many times a day. It is only a light fog that lightly dampens the leaves.

With Sarracenia leaf pullings would it be much of an advantage to grow them in this misted greenhouse or would they grow just as well in my other greenhouse that is also covered in 50% white solarweave plastic but does not have the mister going unless the temperatures go above 30 degrees?

Would I have to use fairly young leaves or ones that have not fully developed or would older leaves also work provided they are still green?

Should I cut most of the leaf off and when they are planted have the leaf standing vertically if they grow that way? Sarracenia psittacina would be placed almost horizontally.

Would I only bury the very base of the leaf where it attaches to the crown so that the bottom of the stem may only be about half and inch below the surface of the soil?

Is rooting hormone much of an advantage?

I also read:
"Not all Sarracenia species propagate via leaf pullings either. Sarracenia purpurea and Sarracenia psittacina are the best candidates for leaf pullings. Strike rate is about 50%. The other species don't respond to leaf pullings."

Is that your experience?


Your help is appreciated
Regards Richard.

[Richard Hole]

Hello

Has anyone every tried striking Sarracenia leaf pullings in pure water and if so, how does the strike rates compare to using a growing medium like peat moss? If they could grow in water it would save a lot of room and time preparing the growing medium and planting the cuttings in the propagating trays. I heard that the strike rate of Sarracenia leaf pullings can be a bit low so a lot of time and space would be wasted if they are planted in a growing medium. Water would be simpler to just get the initial roots starting to grow and then those that produced the roots could be planted in a growing medium like peat moss and perlite.

I read Nepenthes can strike in pure water so I thought Sarracenia might as well. If anyone has reported success with Sarracenia, did they have the cuttings in a sealed bag or container or did they find distilled water was an advantage. This may save changing the water as often as this would take time.

Regards Richard.