Question

Falling PItcher   Hi, both my Leucophyllias seem to have pitchers that are falling over for some reason. They're both relatively young (one is a small and a medium that I ordered through you guys) is this something expected or am I doing something wrong? I'm in nyc so the water is soft (~20ppm) and they get around 8 hours of direct sunlight (11am-7pm). They did go through a couple bouts of severe soil erosion to the extent that I had to semi repot them so I just want to be sure that the falling pitchers are to be expected given the circumstances. Pictures of one included!

Answer
Hi Andrew,

I know you say that the plant is getting around 8 hours of sun, but everything I see in your photo looks like low light.  Long wispy pitchers and lack of color are dead giveaways. Is there anything that shades this balcony at times such as a big overhang, or other buildings?  The only thing I can recommend if this is your only location is to put them further out on the balcony so that they are getting more sun, and not shaded by any overhangs or awnings.  Also, Sarracenia leucophylla will produce phyllodia (non-carnivorous leaves) in the mid summer when it really hot, and then produce nice big pitchers in the late summer and fall when the weather cools some.  This may be part of what you're seeing too.

Good Growing!

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