Question
QUESTION: I believe I  have white fly on my sarracenia and there are purple pitcher plants next to them. The bugs are covered in a white fluffy substance. When I pick them off and squeeze them there is a red substance that comes out. I have to use tweezers to pick them off as they are really small.  If a picture would help I could take one and post it on a follow up email. Could you please tell me what I can use to get rid of these. I didn't want to use just anything as I fell that is not a good idea.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Lou

ANSWER: Hello Lou,

It sounds like scale insects. There are many varieties, but the type your describing is common where I live. They are tiny insects that suck the sap out of plants. They attach to the plant and then produce an armored shell over themselves of various look and texture according to species.

The easiest way to get rid of them is just as your about to overwinter your plants in dormancy. Just clip off all the leaves that have scale on them. You will usually want to clip most of the leaves back down to only a few inches of the ground anyways on your Trumpet Sarracenias for dormancy, so this works well.

You can use a variety of substances as well. I have heard of alcohol swabbing over the infected areas, which will kill the insects. Neem oil sprayed liberally over the plants before dormancy might be effective as well (especially Neem oil with pyrethrins, which is a good all around pest and fungus control for your Carnivorous plants).





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QUESTION: My plants don't seem to go into dormancy as they are on my bedroom window.I believe that they don't die back, some of the pitchers die back. I keep the house cool in the winter and they still don't die back.So far I haven't had any problems but this one oh yea I had what looked like a caterpillar eating the bottom of them. I picked them off and haven't seen anymore of them. Do I still use the the above things that you suggested?
I live in New York on Staten Island. I don't think that I can plant this variety outside as I think they would die.
Thank you for your help.
Lou

ANSWER: Hello again Lou,

I can assure you that Sarracenias do require Winter dormancy. Without a Winter dormancy, they will eventually weaken and die off. Without full sunlight outside, or very strong florescent light with very bright window light, they will also suffer slow starvation.

How "cool" do you keep your house in Winter? If it is not cool enough, the plants do not enter dormancy and will spend more energy during a low light period, weakening slowly. Sarracenias are North American plants. Sarracenia purpurea, the Purple Pitcher Plants grows as far North as Canada, colder than your climate. Most Trumpet Pitcher Plants grow in zone 4-10 across various areas of the United States. In any event, you will need to keep them cool, down to at least 40-60 degrees, all Winter to ensure that they do have at least some light dormancy. If they are not getting that each year, they will weaken and die off after a couple of years at most. If they are in a window, it is likely they are already suffering from low light unless the window is very big and if it does not filter out some of the intensity and full sun wavelengths. Modern windows filter out some of the light the sun emits.

I suggest you obtain a few books on Carnivorous Plants, perhaps even the videos from cobraplant.com on growing these plants. The more information you have, the better.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: So I can put the Sarracenias outside during the winter and there will be no problems with them. Can I leave them in the pot when I put them outside? I'm not sure if the Sarracenias is a trumpet or some other type.
I'll take some pictures of them so you can see which one I have. You will also see how bad a problem I have with the scale.
So far the Purple Pitcher plants are doing very good. Do the Purple Pitcher plants need to go outside during the winter also?
Thank you for your help.
Lou

Answer
Insulation will be one potential problem in pots. Placing the plants outside during Winter can be done, but you will need to insulate them from below freezing weather. Yes, I know, zone 4 (what Purple Pitcher Plants can thrive in) is way below that temperature, but in pots, plants do not have the same insulation as they do in the ground in the wild, so that is why they need to be placed in a cold garage, mulched, or near the slight warmth of a building. You will also need to continue watering them a bit less than in the growing season, but enough to keep them moist. That is the main problem with freezing temperatures is that they tend to freeze dry plants that need moisture. It is helpful to have some light, but less than 8 hours of ambient light per day. This cues them that it is still winter while providing some slight energy during winter and keeps mold from growing on them.

As an aside, I had the exact same problem with one of my Trumpet pitchers, a S. oreophylla hybrid. It had a few dozen scale insects on it, so I clipped off all of the leaves, just leaving a few inches above ground, and then overwintered the plant in 40 degree temperatures. Next spring, there were no more scale as they had been removed with those old leaves that would have died off anyways.

Yes, Purple Pitcher Plants do need dormancy also, they are in the same genus of Sarracenias and can be cross pollinated with other species of Sarracenia Trumpet Pitchers. Purple Pitcher Plants tend to do better after a good, cold winter.

Please do follow up with some pictures so I can see your plants and your set-up. Light and winter dormancy are crucial for these plants.