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Sarracenia |
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Common name |
pitcher plant |
Family |
sarraceniaceae |
Life cycle |
perennial (Z6?) |
Flowers |
various |
Size |
10-36" |
Light |
sun-part shade |
We hadn't previously entered the wacky world of insectivorous plants, so we're trying to correct our oversight with the purchase of two varieties of pitcher plant: Sarracenia leucophylla 'Tarnok' (white-topped pitcher plant) and Sarracenia x 'Scarlet Belle', a red-tinted hybrid of S. leucophylla and S. psittacina. Both were sunk into our pond's filtration bog, each in its own plastic container filled with peat moss. And they looked positively cute. I've seen hardiness ratings for S. leucophylla of zone 6, whereas Scarlet Belle, at zone 8 hardiness, appeared doomed to failure. But in fact, Belle survived (for two winters now), while Tarnok perished. Not sure if that had anything to do with winter hardiness – it's quite possible that it didn't appreciate just how permanently wet its soil was (perhaps even standing water at its crown).
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| Spent stalks still stand starkly upright on a sunny day in February |
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| 'Scarlet Belle' |
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We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston. About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Sarracenia
Visitors to this page have left the following commentsFG1000 | Feb 06, 2009 | Have you check if your plants are just dormant? They go dormant this time of year and spring back in spring This plant briefly returned from dormancy in spring, then gave up the ghost. Most likely because it was in standing water, which bog plants don't like. |
John | May 15, 2010 | I may be due to having the fact that they do best in a growing medium that has no nutrients, basically peat moss with a little silica sand and vermiculite. Mine are often in standing water(captured rain water) for days at a time. I do the exact opposite for these plants than any of my other plants. Too much water, no fertilizer and they grow very well in The Dallas area. |
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