Question

vibrant/faded pitchers   Hi, I have had one of your Sarracenia Leucophylla Tarnoks since July and it started producing beautiful reddish pink pitchers since September, but their vibrant color quickly fades after a week or so to white with brownish red venation. I live in san jose, CA in a zone 9 where the humidity can be very low on hot days but increases at might. they are in an 8 inch pot and I keep the water table half way up the pot regularly with distilled water from Walmart. their soil is 50/50 peat and perlite and they are under full direct sun all day. their growth is vigorous and they catch an amazing amount of bugs. is this fade in color a problem? and if so what can I do to maintain their vibrant color?

Answer
Hi Ryan,

Good news and bad news.  Good news, there's nothing wrong with your plant.  Bad news, this is just how this variety grows.  New shoots start off red, then brighten to the pure white and red characteristic of Sarracenia leucophylla.  The Tarnok variety seems to do this more than many typical leucos, but it is very normal.

What you do have to look forward to is how big a clump of Tarnoks can get.  We have a clump in our bathtub bog garden in the nursery that has a rhizome clump almost a foot across.  Since you have a longer growing season, you should see very nice large late season pitchers as the plant gets bigger.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.growcarnivorousplants.com