07/27/2024
PLANT TRIVIA — Named after the famed Canadian Botanist Michel Sarrazin of the 17th Century, the Sarracenia Pitcher Plants are one of the five genuses of Pitcher Plants in the world. Consisting of eight individual species, and numerous hybrids, variations, and cultivars, the Sarracenia, or the North American Pitcher Plants, are one of the few diverse genuses of pitfall traps, falling behind the Heliamphora of South America, and the Nepenthes of Asia.
Pitcher Plants are one of the four types of carnivorous plants, utilizing what are known as “PITFALL TRAPS,” meaning they use wells of water contained in pitcher, vase, or funnel-shaped leaves acting as insect or leaf-litter traps. These pitchers grow either from an underground bulb (Sarracenia, Darlingtonia, Heliamphora), or from vines produced by a main climbing stem (Cephalotus, Nepenthes). The Sarracenia are themselves unique among the other kinds of carnivorous plants, and yet they are some of the most well-designed catchers in the Carnivorous Plant World. Here, I’ll list out some well-known species and their trapping features.
SARRACENIA PURPUREA — The Newfoundland, or Purple Pitcher Plant — forming squat pitchers 6” tall with a lid bent backwards to allow rain in, this is the most common of pitcher plants, growing from Georgia to New England for the Southern Subspecies (ssp. Venosa), and from New Jersey throughout Canada for the Northern Subspecies (ssp. Purpurea). The lid is covered in downward-pointing hairs and nectar glands, attracting bugs and causing them to slip into the well of water at the base of the pitcher, where they drown. The Purple Pitcher has very weak digestive fluids, so it relies on help from either bacteria, or the Pitcher Plant Mosquito (Wyeomyia Smithii) to help the plant digest its food (similar to chewing food for an old lady with no teeth).
SARRACENIA FLAVA — Yellow Trumpet Pitcher, or Huntsman’s Horn — This is one of, if not the easiest species of pitcher plants in the genus, and is the most variable of all species. The pitchers are named due to the yellow-colour they produce, growing from North Carolina down to Florida and Eastern Texas. The pitchers can be two feet tall, but can grow to 4’ tall (roughly a metre), and use their lids as umbrellas to prevent rain from diluting their stomach fluids.
SARRACENIA MINOR — Hooded Pitcher Plant — This is my personally favourite species, producing 1-2’ tall pitchers (Okee Giant produces 4’ pitchers in Florida), appearing like a grinning cloaked monk. The bugs wander inside, but attempt to escape by flying into a series of windows on the backs of the pitchers, which allow sunlight inside. The bugs fail to escape, and tumble down to the plant’s well. A similar plant to use this method is the Cobra Lily (Darlingtonia) of Oregon and California.
SARRACENIA LEUCOPHYLLA — White-Topped Pitcher Plant — An elegantly-styled pitcher plant growing in the Southern States, S. Leucophylla produces green pitchers at first, before developing white speckles that top the pitcher, producing what looks like an alien crystal flower in green meadows. Some variations produce red veins with white pitchers, while others, like Hurricane Creek White, produces white pitchers with little to no red colour. The variation called “Tarnok” produces large pitchers with flowers that resemble giant pine-cones.
This is just a handful of species in the Sarracenia Genus, and with them are countless hybrids, variations, and cultivars that have been known throughout the Carnivorous Plant world. Their flowers, too, have become well-known for producing either fragrant scents or beautiful designs. The Newfoundland Pitcher Plant has been claimed as the Floral Emblem of the Canadian Provinces Newfoundland and Labrador, and even got its spot on the One-Cent in the 1930s. These plants are not only beautiful, but like most carnivorous plants, they are very simple and easy to grow.
CARE:
SOIL — Sphagnum peat moss, with horticultural/silica sand or perlite (1:1)
WATER — Distilled (Mineral-free), Rainwater, RO (Reverse Osmosis), or Water collected from a Dehumidifier. Keeping the pot in a tray of water 2” tall is highly recommended. Do not dry the plant out!
SUNLIGHT — Full Sun. Like the Venus Flytrap, these are sun-soakers, but can be grown under LED grow lights, or (if space is available) on a sunny windowsill facing the East or Southeast.
POTS — Grow in 4” plastic pots for smaller plants, 6-8” pots for medium plants, and 12-14” pots for large plants. They produce long running bulbs called rhizomes, and from them can produce multiple growing plants of the same parent, clumping in one pot (this is normal!)
CLIMATE — Sarracenia grow from the Subtropical US to the Cold Climate of Canada. S. Purpurea is known to survive temperatures as low as -30˚C.
DORMANCY — Sarracenia, like the Venus Flytrap, are known to enter a Winter Dormancy. Best idea is to put them in a cool place such as a windowsill in a basement or cool garage. S. Purpurea can survive in the cold winters in bog gardens under the snow, but any species from the southern States must be brought indoors to rest during the winter.
CARE DIFFICULTY — Very Easy to Moderate. Recommended Plants are Sarracenia Flava and Sarracenia Purpurea.
FLOWERS — If your plant is newly-potted, it is best to remove the flowers when they’re an inch or two above the plant’s crown. If your plant has been well-established for a year or two, it’s your choice whether to keep the flowers for a beautiful display, or to produce seed from them (using a paintbrush to manually pollinate the nodding flowers).
SEEDS — Growing Sarracenia from seed is both slow and sometimes risky, but well worth the effort. To start them, they must be cold-stratified in the fridge in a humid plastic bag full of sphagnum moss. They can be stratified for 3-5 months, and once done, they can be separated from the moss (or a moist paper towel) and placed in a pot of carnivorous plant soil. Seeds will sprout two to four weeks after being planted, and take 3-5 years to grow into tall mature plants.
If you have any questions, feel free to comment/message below, and I can answer them!
HAPPY GROWING!
