Basics to growing Sarracenia (Care questions)

So was the seedmat and 24/7 lighting your secret to such vigorous growth early on? I've got one, but wasn't sure if the plants would appreciate the heat on the feet.
 
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Unfortunately, as I was trimming down the sarracenias I had found these discoloured brown sections on the crowns of the s.flava I got from Lloyd . This turned out to be rhizome rot, leaving me with only two intact divisions.
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They (old Rhizomes) do go brown and corky, not only in winter but at any time of the year, I don't know what causes it, could be old age, a pathogen, or something I know naught about, but the main rhizome dies by degrees, leaving only the new growth points, which also die if the rot is not cut out. The new growth points strike readily enough in Sphagnum and are kept wet, but if you catch it early in the main rhizome, where it starts, normally where there are no growth points, generally at the oldest part of the rhizome, a simple cutting out of the corky bit to healthy growth and pot up in new medium, does the trick.
Most of mine sit out in the UK all year, including seedlings, so get frozen and are normally quite happy (apart from minors, psittacina and rosea that seem to be more tender and have a tendency to rot), but they do occasionally get rot. It's the ones I mollycoddle in the greenhouse that seem to get it worse, whether that's because they are softer, I don't know.
Cheers
Steve
 
Thats really interesting! Does that mean that plants in the wild may "self destruct" so to speak without the removal of old rhizomes? I wonder if its a cultural aspect that couses this to occur.
 
They don't actually self-destruct but the growth habit can cause some problems. If you are lucky enough to grow a large plant and don't split it, their growth habit is to grow from the centre out, with new growth points increasing the diameter of the plant. As it does this essentially the centre becomes an old rhizome with no growth points, and this then starts to rot eventually, as it cant grow new shoots or do anything else.
Cheers
Steve
 
Pruning/Trimming

I like to leave last years dying pitchers on the plant right threw the winter as I feel it might help insulate and keep frost off the rhizome. I don’t do a lot of trimming but early spring I will trim as much of the dead leaves off as possible without cutting live tissue to let the light into the plant. Whatever your winter dormancy method, I don’t recommend trimming live tissue before dormancy.
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HI,I don't think if was the seed mat. once I got the grow tent, I did not use a seed mat. The secret of growing sarracenia fast is lots of good led light, repotting often and fertilizer in the pitchers as they grow (Maxsea). Repotting is very important. I have some that I neglected and they are still small after 2 years!
 
The indoor grown vft will acclimatize meaning the indoor grown leaves may die out especially if the sun is very hot during peak summer. The late summer sun probably should be ok now.
 
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