Hi! I’m a new pitcher plant owner, and super excited! I think I’ve done enough research, but I’m still kind of nervous about caring for them properly. I have them in a spot that they’ll get pretty bright sunlight for most of the morning and early afternoon, and mist with distilled water each day, but I’m still not too sure if they’re super happy. I got them in a little terrarium at a local nursery, and wanted to ask and see if they looked happy and if not, if anyone has any tips!
by Prestigious-Sun-7079
4 Comments
You don’t need to mist them, but sarracenia need deep peat so their roots can grow. Also a tray of water to sit in, about 2 inches deep or so, depending on the size of your pot.
Edit: the rest of those plants are not bog plants. They will die in the peat moss with no nutrients.
Definitely do not mist it, it also needs to be outside of that container preferably. These guys aren’t really high humidity plants and tend to do poorly in setups like these.
They want full sun, preferably outside if you have the ability to keep it out there.
Purpurea are one of my favorite sarracenia. That is a full sun plant. And it would do well in a pot, I like to make sure it’s at least 6″ deep. I have it sitting in an old baking dish of water. When you water, water overhead so some water gets in the mouths. This is not something you do with all sarracenia, but purpurea has low-growing squat pitchers designed for holding the weight of water. Depending on the subspecies or variety that you have, it can be dark purple, or green with a red vein pattern, and everything in between. Here is a picture of mine. The cold nights in the fall really deepens the colors on mine. It’s a Sarracenia purpurea ssp venosa.
https://preview.redd.it/onn4j0f1uuxg1.jpeg?width=1868&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d8b4f42fb9afa86c47dba4ad4c828b31959e9e00
That’s an American pitcher plant aka Sarracenia, which grows in bogs in cold to temperate areas. These must not be confused with Tropical Pitcher plants or Nepenthes, as their care is very different.
Sarracenia like nutrient deficient, acidic, consistently moist soil that mimics their bog habitat. The most common mix is sphagnum peat moss (not just sphagnum moss or other peat moss) and perlite. This is incredibly important as their roots will burn if there are too many nutrients in the soil. Additionally, they like long hours of sun, so outside or under grow lights is usually best.
From your picture I suspect you may have confused the two, as ferns and polka dot plants are more akin to the tropical conditions needed for Nepenthes (less direct light and more humidity). Did you buy the arrangement like that? In my climate I don’t think those plants would cope well in the same planter and my hybrid Sarracenia (similar to yours) is thriving outside with a lot of sun and consistently moist soil. My polka dot plants prefer shaded areas in my garden.
EDIT: I see you got them in the terrarium already. Interesting. I would only keep it in a terrarium under grow lights. I’m also not a fan of glass walls with direct sunlight because it could intensify the sun’s rays and burn the plant. But again maybe other growers know more than me about indoor growing.