Question
Species: common purple pitcher plant.
lighting: Full Sun  8+ hours
Location Knoxville tennessee.

Guys.... How do I insure a good crop of seeds for the above mentioned plant?  I have some really nice pods but last year I had very very few seeds....  they were there but they never matured inside the pods.

Dex


Answer
Hi Dex,

Seed production is a pollination issue.  When the plant(s) are in bloom you can increase seed production by manually pollinating the flowers.  Insects often do it, but if it is very rainy during blooming sometimes they don't.  Also you need two flowers in bloom at the same time, preferrably on different plants, for cross-pollination.  Since we are past the blooming period for this year, this would be a good topic to look up in some books on carnivorous plants over the winter.  It helps to have visual diagrams to show you how to perform manual pollination.

Good Growing!

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