Question
Hi, I need to know if it would be appropriate for me to cut back any of the pitchers on my Judith Hindle plant before I mulch it. It mostly has small to medium-small pitchers on it. But it also has 2 or 3 modestly large pitchers on it. Would it be harmful to it to cut back any pitchers since it has purpurea parentage in it? I realize that since psittacina and purpurea are slow growing and slow to lose their leaves that one should not cut pitchers unless they're damaged. I want to know if that also applies to hybrids and cultivars with them. I do want my pitchers to have good hygiene before I mulch them and I'm also expecting lows in the 20's within a few days so I thought I should get this concern addressed. Thank you and happy Thanksgiving!

Answer
Hi Daniel,

You can safely cut back the pitchers on Judith Hindle.  Being a complex hybrid it responds differently than its parent plants.  If you're going to be mulching and covering them for the winter, it is beneficial since you'll have less foliage for mold to grow on.  However, (I forget where you're at; North Carolina?)if you are just going to cover the plants during brief hard freezes the way we do here in Oregon, you can leave leaves on the plant that still look good if you want to have some winter foliage.  In that case just cut off leaves that are browning.

In late winter, we actually cut all the leaves off of both our Judith Hindles and Scarlet Belles.  First time we did it, it was for convenience, and I though it would set them back some.  Not at all.  They looked better than ever the following summer.

Good Growing!

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