Questions about outside planters

TrEv

TrEv

Seedling
I would like to know what would be the optimal way to keep my carnivorous plants outside in the summer, but bring them inside for the winter, since I live in Quebec and get lots of freezing and snow in the winter.

The species I have are as follows:
-Northern Pitcher Plant(I already keep this outside in the winter) -Sarracenia Judith Hindle (New)
-Sarracenia Flava ornata(New) -Sarracenia Minor -Nepenthes Ventrata -Nepenthes Smilesii(New
-Round leaf sundew(I already keep this outside in the winter) -Cape sundew(New) - Venus Fly Traps

My question is mostly about potting. Since I need to bring my plants in for the winter, what would be better.

-To keep all my plants separately in holed pots in a saucer full of rain water but lose water to evaporation.
-Keep them in smaller but taller water logged pots
-Plant them in a larger water logged bog garden pot but uproot them once winter settles in
-Plant the separate pots in a larger water logged bog garden pot so less stress is caused to the plants when I remove them from the bog pot for winter.
-Another idea I have not thought of. Suggestions and information welcomed

thanks in advance.

TrEv
 
@WillyCKH Would you recommend having them in pots with holes in the bottom but in a saucer full of water or a taller pot where the bottom is water logged but is only moist at the top?
 
I would recommend using pots with holes and group them together in a big water tray unless the plants are big enough to earn their own big pot. It's easy to manage when you need to fill up water, you just need to check few places instead of all of them in individual saucers. :)
Here's my setup last year:
IMG_20180531_162042.jpg
 
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Yes, you can find those in most garden store, hydroponic stores. They are called 1020 trays, they fit standard size 2.5", 3.5", 5.5" square pots, which makes it very easy to arrange and organize your plants when you have more than a few!
 
If you do decide to go the holeless planter route, you can.there is a problem though with mineral buildup and aerobic something soemthing which basically slowly hurts your plants. To stop this you can buy a handheld water pump and mountly pump out the water from a reservoir. Or if your like me and have a small planter, you flood it and tilt if on its side to drain and repeat till you feel it's okay.
 
I do what Willy does except instead of trays, I use random plastic storage containers from Walmart (you can get short ones but you still might want to drill a couple of holes in the side to make sure the water level isn't too high). I would definitely recommend keeping the plants in separate pots. It's easier to move them around (you don't want to have to lug a huge planter inside if you can avoid it) and if you end up with any problems with individual plants then it's really easy to deal with.

I agree with Raymond in that you have to be careful not to end up with anaerobic conditions, but like he said, all you have to do is periodically empty out the water and you're okay. Last year we had such dry conditions for most of the summer that I really didn't have to empty out the stagnant water because it evaporated pretty quickly but it's still something to be aware of.

For me, the biggest problem isn't the watering issue. It's keeping the wildlife from attacking them. I kept my Sarracenia in a big cage last year (it looked ridiculous but I had no choice lol)...
 
Thank you for the information on drainage. It is definitively something I will consider in my setup. I don't think I will have any problem with wildlife. I live on the fourth flour of my apartment. The only thing that could potentially get up here is birds.
 
My big pots have the big clay balls at the bottom covered by mineral wool cubes and then peat/perlite. A PVC drainage tube goes right to the bottom. I use it to monitor the water level with a dipstick and to drain as needed with a siphon.
 
Another question I had was about the soil. Is it ok to mix 50% LFS with 50% perlite instead of 50% peat and 50% perlite? I can buy good quality LFS for carnivorous plants more easily than buying good quality peat.
 
TrEv said:
Another question I had was about the soil. Is it ok to mix 50% LFS with 50% perlite instead of 50% peat and 50% perlite? I can buy good quality LFS for carnivorous plants more easily than buying good quality peat.
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I mean you can, but it would be more expensive and Perlite may float to the top more easily. Just make sure what you're buying is actually LFS, I don't know how you can find good LFS more readily then good peat. If true then I need to go to your source and buy a whole lot! :D
 
My garden store has a great selection of products for orchids and carnivorous plants. The only thing though is that they stopped having CPs in stock. But the lady they hired for plant maintenance is very knowlagable for CPs.
 
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