How to Grow Pitcher Plants

The native Pitcher plant, Sarracenia, comes in many varieties including hybrids. These insect eaters grow between 4 inches tall for the Parrot Pitcher and up to 3 feet for the Yellow Pitcher. Insects react to the plant's nectar by entering into a funnel. Eventually they die in a liquid pool at the funnel's base which is then digested by the plant to provide nutrients. Read on to learn how to grow Pitcher plants.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pot
• Drain saucer
• Peat moss
• Perlite
• Sphagnum moss
• Charcoal
• Orchid bark
• Purified water
• Scissors
• Mulch
• Protective cover

1. Grow potted Pitcher plants outdoors during the growing season. They go dormant during the winter, but can't survive extended below freezing temperatures.

2. Place the plant in a sunny location receiving at least six hours of direct sunlight. Ideal temperatures range between 60 to 85 degrees.

3. Provide good drainage soil composed of a one to one mixture of peat moss and perlite or combine Sphagnum moss, charcoal and orchid bark.

4. Water the soil always maintaining wetness during the growing season with a drained pot sitting in 1 inch of standing water. Use only purified, distilled or rainwater.

5. Clip off all the dead leaves with scissors when the winter dormant period begins. Leave any developing pitchers in the pot or provide thick mulch of leaves and cover with plastic or a container in hardiness zones six to eight during the winter months when left outside.

6. Move the potted plant to the basement or other cool area during the months of dormancy in frigid areas and keep the soil moist. Best temperatures range around 40 degrees during this period of three to four months.

7. Divide and re-pot the plant when the pitcher comes out of dormancy for new plants and repeat Steps 1 to 7.

Tips & Warnings

• Buy only grown nursery plants for best results. Contact your local nursery for availability or order online through carnivorous plant suppliers.
• When growing inside place the plant in a southern exposure window or provide 12 to 14 hours of artificial light.
• Read the label for your zone and procedures for dormancy.
• Tropical Pitcher plants, such as the Nepenthes or Monkey Cups need a greenhouse to grow properly. A greenhouse that successfully grows orchids produces the right environment for the Nepenthes.
• Never fertilize a Pitcher plant; the plant gets its nutrients from the bugs it catches.
• Don't use potting garden soil--it will kill the plant.
• Never let the Pitcher plant's soil dry out, even during dormancy keep water in the drain saucer.