FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I just got back from a week away, and found that in my absence over half of the pitchers on my beloved purpurea have started to brown at the tips!

I've done some research and think it might be the result of overwatering (I gave him some water to sit in before I left, not thinking that temperatures would drop the way they did whilst I was away), but am not totally sure! I lifted the little guy out of his pot to check his roots, but being so new to growing carnivorous plants I'm not quite sure what's healthy and what's not!

Any information/ advice would very much be appreciated!

Looks pretty normal to me. Old pitchers will die off eventually as they are replaced. Purpurea can grow in deep water so I highly doubt sitting it in a tray was a problem. Mine always get flooded to the point where they are almost submerged underwater for days.

What conditions do you grow it in? inside? outside? what kind of light does it get?

SundewWolf wrote:Looks pretty normal to me. Old pitchers will die off eventually as they are replaced. Purpurea can grow in deep water so I highly doubt sitting it in a tray was a problem. Mine always get flooded to the point where they are almost submerged underwater for days.

What conditions do you grow it in? inside? outside? what kind of light does it get?

That's good to hear! Is it fairly normal for so many to kick it at once? 7/ 12 of the prominent pitchers on this plant are going at the same sort of rate.

He stays inside near a South facing window (he gets around 2/3h of direct sunlight in the morning). I've recently started to supplement the area with a grow light for a few hours a day as I've noticed that some of the succulents I keep with him have started to stretch, but I try to keep him out of its direct glow. I'm debating moving him and my VFT outside (he'd be sitting on a ledge just outside of a North facing window) for the winter, thoughts?

Hi HS
Purpurea are very hardy outdoor plants (down to -20C and more) and love being very wet indeed, so your standing in water isn't a problem, 2/3 hours of direct sun through a window is insufficient for its needs. The roots look OK - whats your medium?

How long have you had it and has it always been in that location?

It should be outside but in the Northern Hemisphere, but at this time of year it will be heading towards dormancy, if you put it outside it will require acclimating to sun and temperature. Dont be surprised if you get some more going pitchers going crisp and the colours darkening to red. Whereabouts in the world are you?

Outside on a north window ledge, in a pot, in winter, sounds cold for a VFT and possibly the purpurea (depending on where you are in the world), constant freezing and thawing can kill the plants. You can put them outside (the VFT is a lot less hardy but I have had them down to -17C before now in a bog with a big thermal mass) but try a more sheltered position.

Cheers
Steve