Sarracenia Care

Sarracenia , also called North American Pitcher Plants, are bog plants.  In nature, they can be found throughout the southeast and one species can be found as far north as Southern Canada. A bog is a type of wetland eco system characterized by wet, spongy, poorly drained soil.  Bogs are typically acidic and very low in minerals and nutrients.  They are often fed only by rain and runoff.  There is usually very little vegetation growing, other than grasses.  In order to be successful cultivating Sarracenia, we need to try to duplicate the natural environment.

 

The colorful pitchers you see look like flowers, but they are actually modified leaves.  Sarracenia do bloom in the spring (once mature) and produce a colorful and unusual flower.  They often do produce a nice seed pod which can be harvested in the fall.

 

Because of the nutrient-poor conditions where sarracenia live, they have evolved to thrive on the nutrients they trap for themselves.  Consequently, fertilizer or rich soil must never be used with any bog plants.  Our soil mix is a 50/50 blend of peat moss and perlite.  Make sure the products purchase do not have added nutrients. Sand can be used in place of peat, but it needs to be clean, washed sand, such as swimming pool filter sand or course silica sand.  We often top our pots with course silica sand to prevent peat from splashing onto the sarracenia during heavy rains but it’s not necessary. 

 

Water in a bog is acidic and mineral-free, so water you provide to your sarracenia must be the same.  Use either distilled water or rain water.  City water is never safe but on occasion, well water might be.  Get a TDS meter from amazon (about $15) and check your water.  TDS stands for Total Dissolved Solids.   If your water measures less than 50ppm, it should be fine for your sarracenia and other bog plants.  Sarracenia need to be kept damp at all times.  Not soggy wet, but comfortably damp.  Keep the pot sitting in a tray of water with the water no more than ¼ way up the side of the pot.  In the winter, we use even less water.  Be especially cautious with Leucophylla.  They are prone to rhizome rot if they are in too much water.  Sometimes we top our pots or bogs with live sphagnum moss because it’s a good indicator if the pot is getting too dry.  If the sphagnum looks dry, chances are the sarracenia needs some water.

 

Sarracenia prefer full sun but will do fine with less, as long as they get 6 hours a day.  They can handle sun all day long in South Carolina with no problems at all.  The more sun they get, the more colorful they will become.  We do have one of our bogs in an area that does not get much sun throughout the day.  The plants are healthy and growing, but their colors are more subdued.

 

Sarracenia are hardy perennials, and do go dormant in the winter.  As we said before, the pitchers are modified leaves and as with all plants, leaf decline and death is normal.  If a trap has captured too many bugs throughout the summer, it will often develop an ugly discolored area on the outside of the trap.  We call this indigestion.   It’s normal and not harmful although this pitcher may die off soon.  As long as the pitcher has green in it, leave it on the plant.  Trim off brown as it develops but if it’s green, the plant is still deriving benefit from it through photosynthesis.   As the pitchers die back in the fall, trim them off. During the winter and early spring, tug these old brown leaf bracts off the rhizomes to help prevent rhizome rot.  They tug off pretty easily in most cases. 

 

Pests are not usually too much of a problem for sarracenia but can happen.  Root mealy bugs hide underground and can be discovered when you are removing old leaf bracts.  Deformed pitchers is often a sign of pests such as aphids and thrips.  A good systemic pesticide is the best measure for all pests.  Orthene is reported to work well.  BioAdvanced 3 in 1 also works well on most pests.  Avoid using any pesticides when the sarracenia are in bloom so that you do not inadvertently kill pollinators. Also use sprays only in the evening as some sprays can cause foliage burning in the sun.  Sarracenia also are prone to powdery mildew in hot, humid conditions.  An antifungal spray can resolve that, such as a Sulphur spray.  We have found that small areas of powdery mildews can be cleaned off using a paper towel dampened with hydrogen peroxide or diluted vinegar but leave it in the shade for a bit so the sarracenia doesn’t burn.  A big issue we see is caterpillars!  They darn things bore into the seed pod and destroy it.  Watch out for them!  A BT based spray is harmful only to caterpillars and won’t harm birds or bees.  While we are on the topic of pests, lets discuss mosquitos.  While they are not a pest that bothers sarracenia, the water tray you keep your sarracenia in may become a breeding ground for mosquitos.  There are two approaches you can take.  Either dump the water and change it out frequently or use mosquito dunks. Mosquito dunks are totally safe for pets and only kill mosquito larva.  They also come in a smaller “bits” product for smaller containers of water. 

 

Some Sarracenia produce shorter stocky pitchers that handle rain and winds perfectly well.  Some don’t handle heavy rain or wind quite as well.  Remember in nature, Sarracenia grow in huge clumps and support each other somewhat.  In a pot in your back yard, this may not be the case.  Some of the Flavas and Leucophylla grow VERY tall indeed!  If you find that the pitchers are trying to fall over, they can be staked up.  we use plant stakes from Amazon.  It’s a metal stake with a circle on top that the pitchers and slip into.  They come in various heights, are inexpensive and last for years.  If pitchers fall over after a rain, they may have simply taken on too much water.  Pick the pot up and dump the pitchers out and they should stand right up.  One variety of Sarracenia known as Purpurea has a totally different growth habit, forming fat pitcher that lay flat on the ground and hold water.  This is normal for them.  Unlike upright pitchers, they need this water to aid in digestion so do keep a little water in these pitchers

 

Now you know everything there is to keeping sarracenia healthy and happy in your own yard.