Sarracenia purpurea or the Purple Pitcher Plant, has the widest range of all Sarracenia, with many of its forms and subspecies spanning across Canada, down into Mississippi and Florida. This particular form does best in cooler temperate climates, but may adapt to warm temperate climates as long as the pots don’t overheat during the summer. The pitchers of S. purpurea are much shorter than those of other Sarracenia species and grow close to the ground with their hoods turned upward in order to collect rainwater. The hoods are covered with bristles which cause insects to slip off the surface and into the fluids below where they are digested.
Description
Size and packing method: Small plants are about 1 inch across with juvenile pitchers, medium size plants are 2-3 inches tall with 1-2 semi-mature pitchers. Plants are shipped bare root, carefully wrapped in a damp paper towel. If selecting with soil mix, you will receive two cups of our prepackaged Carnivorous Plant Soil Mix in addition to the bare root plant. This quantity of soil is roughly enough to fill one 2.5 x 2.5 x 3.5 inch square pot.
Growing requirements
Light: Full sun
Soil: Carnivorous Plant Soil Mix, pure peat, peat-sand mix, or long-fiber sphagnum
Feeding: Feed bugs or fish food every 2-3 weeks, fertilizer such as Osmocote may be added to pitchers sparingly or Maxsea as a foliar feed may be used for plants with young pitchers
Humidity: 50-90%
Water: Keep soil damp at all times, provide water that is low in salts and minerals such as rain or distilled water
Temperature: 20-82°F – It’s best to prevent roots from freezing in winter by mulching around the plant. If growing in a warmer climate, prevent pots from overheating during the summer which can cause stress.
Dormancy: Growth stops during winter and leaf edges brown, allow 3-4 months at 50°F or less, give less light and keep soil damp, clip off old leaves once dormancy is over
Planting and adjustment instructions will be included with your shipment.
Gorman Reynolds II (verified owner) –
My pitcher plants look great I’ll be back for more in the future