Question
Purple pitcher plant
Hey guys! I have a young purple pitcher plant. I'm not sure if it's a ssp. purpurea or venosa ,but assumed it was a ssp. purpurea. I live in North Attleboro, Massachusetts and did some research and saw that this species grows naturally in the wild here. Therefore, I left it outside on my front porch where it gets 3 hours of direct sunlight. When I first got the plant it was in a tiny "death cube" so I took it out and repotted it into a 3 inch pot with a mixture of sphagnum moss, peat moss, and perlite with distilled water. Soon after that, the leaves of the plant started dying ,but I assumed that it was preparing for winter dormancy since it's late November. Then I heard in a video that sarracenia purpurea ssp. purpurea is supposed to retain it's leaves throughout the winter. What do you make of this? Am I doing something incorrectly?
AnswerHi Victor,
Not at all. This is a very typical appearance for a plant that has been in low light combined with naturally going dormant. If the leaves start to brown, just cut them off. You're fine to leave it outdoors for now. Since it is in a small pot, give it protection when your temperatures start dropping below the mid-20's.
You should see new growth commence in April or May.
We have more information on winter protection in our volume #1 DVD, and our e-book. More general information on growing Sarracenia can be found on our website also.
Good Growing!
Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com
