Question
Should I add water to the Tarnok pitchers? I mean inside the pitchers to form a pool. If I should, how much? Thanks!

Answer
Hi John,

No.  Upright Sarracenia don't have water in them.  As insects fall in the pitchers the plant secretes digestive enzymes from the walls of the pitcher tubes.  Only Sarracenia purpurea and Sarracenia rosea catch rainwater.  This is a very common misconception often printed in books and other places that you can add to the giant list of common carnivorous plant myths and misconceptions.  

My first book I read on cp showed an illustration of a Sarracenia flava with a water pool.  When I got my first flava, I could never figure out why no water was in it, and when I tried to fill it the plant would actually absorb the water out of the tube.  If you think about it, that's why Trumpet Pitchers have lids.  They're umbrellas to keep too much rain from getting in.  It varies from umbrella type lids like S.flava, S. leucophylla, and S. oreophila to more enclosed opening like S. rubra and S. alata, to fully closed like S. minor, and Darlingtonia.

Good Growing!

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