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Sarracenia (North American Pitcher Plant)

-Introduction-
Introduction currently underwork.

-Basic Care-
The Basic care for Sarraceina is pretty much the same as for "Venus Flytraps" and Temperate "Sundews." The only difference too me is that Pitcher plants can endure the cold winter more than both the Temp sundew and Venus Flytrap. Below like the other caresheet's we'll discuss the three (3) basic care for the "North American Pitcher Plant" and some other "care" that includes "winter" and "heat". Thank you for enduring my horrible "grammar."

• 1). Soil!!!
  Ahh.. yes! number one.. Soil! Like other Carnivorous Plants "North American Pitcher Plants" need special soil that is low in nutrients and has a little acidity. The reason for this is where they are found in the wild "bogs" are very low in minerals an the soil is very poor. So they had too adapt to their environment. which brings us to how the pitcher's formed an the purpose for them as seen in the introduction. But remember for the soil.. Low nutrient! an no Fertilizer what so ever unless you know how to grow these plants an how to "fertilize" them. Oh and No!! Miracle-Grow products! The best thing too grow with them is Peat and Perlite mix "standard mix" this is the universal soil for all CP's. but below I listed some soil mixes from users here on this forum. Enjoy!
  
  • Soil Mixes
  • Standard (1:peat, 1:Perlite)
  • HB Mix (1:Peat, 1:Perlite and 1:Silica Sand) By: HackerBerry
  • Steve's Standard Miix (50% sphagnum peat moss, 30% coarse silica sand, 20% perlite) By: Steve_D
  • "easy mix" or "lazy man's mix" (100% peat moss) By: lozone31
  You also need to Change your soil yearly to refresh the quality so that minerals won't build up an harm your plant
  
  
  2).SUN!!!
  Number two... Sun! Well, as you all know Sarraceina Pitcher Plants need more like require Full Sun! which is 6+ (or more) hours of DIRECT sunlight. Which the plant needs to do the process of Photosynthesis as seen below. I wouldn't recommend this plant to be use with Fluorescent lights (it just seems wrong). if grown using Fluorescent or in a window you'll notice that the plant isn't as Colorful as it should and it may even look sickish. These Plants are native to North America an should be grown outside and enjoy natural sunlight to make them happy. As for me i leave them out all day from morning till night 24/7.
  
  • Photosynthesis
    CO2 + 2 H2O + photons → (CH2O)n + H2O + O2) (carbon dioxide + water + light energy → carbohydrate + oxygen + water)
  • Remember- Full sun which is 6+ of DIRECT SUNLIGHT
  
  3). Water!!!
  Number three(3).. Water! Sarraceina "North American Pitcher Plants" Need Water that is PURE! That mean it need water that's low in Minerals or none at all. The Best source of this is either Distilled water, Rain water or RO water. Avoid using Tap water, River water or Well water for they may contain a very high mineral contain. To test you're water quality you can use a TDS (Total Dissolved Soil) tester, you can find one online at Amazon. Unlike Venus Flytraps.. Sarr's enjoy being waterlogged they can thrive in being completely under but i wouldn't recommend this due to the fact of "mold" and "fungus." The best thing you can do is top water your plants so it can flush out the minerals that are located in the soil. Below we'll list the thing's you've learned in this section.
  • 
    -Use-
  • Distilled water, RO Water or Rain water
    
    -Avoid-
  • Tap water, River water and well water
    (unless you know its save to use)
    
  • (Learn)- Best to top water your plants for optimum health

-Common Problems-

• Brown Spots on pitcher
  Are caused by Decomposing insect this is perfectly normal an happens in mid summer
• Copper Color on the rim of lid of the pitcher
  Also known as "Crust spots" its caused from dried up nectar from heavy nectar secretion on a thin layer in the rim of the lid. This is perfectly Normal.
• Pitcher's Turning Brow on the Top
  Is caused by the plant going into dormancy early. Most Pitcher plant's go into dormancy really early as late summer this is perfectly normal.
• Dried up leaves
  This is usually caused by Dehydration. To get rid of it just rehydrate your plant.
• Deformed Leaves
  This is caused by "Aphids" to get rid of them use a Systemic Insecticide avoid using soap based products. Below is products you can use.
  • Systemic Insecticide By Ortho
  • Neem Oil (organic)
  • Pyrethrin Products
  • Avoid Soap Based Products it could several harm you're plant!!!

Allen,


hope this help's
this will be updated regularly


Soil mixes are own an Copyrighted by Hackerberry, Steve_D and lozone31 and cannot be reproduced without permission or consent of the creater
Images provided by Google
© 2009 FlyTrapCare.com
© 2009 Allen C.

wow cant wait till you finish wen r u going to finish the ceph caresheet

so on a water dish is sufficient?

Yeah, a water dish is just fine. Its good to let it rain on your plants once in a while too (or top water if it is dry times), it keeps everything nice and flushed out.

Awesome!

this helped a lot!

Let's remember that it's Sarracenia...

thanks for the info !

i have 2 american pitcher i believe and whats happening to mine is the "hoods" on them are turning brown getting rinkles and messing down the tube, then the tube turns brown and wrinkly and starts to slowtch, what could be the cause of this? i grow in a terrerium, with a 75w grow light that is 14 in. above the plants

do deformed pitcher ALWAYS caused by aphids?

I have a Tarnok and I wanted to know if it has to have a dormancy. Just got it Tuesday.

Yes, all Sarracenia need a dormancy period.

My Dana's Delight keeps growing fast when it's sitting on the porch outside my bedroom. Is it all right to bring the plant indoors for the winter here in zone five when the plant can stand in front of the transparent sliding door that leads to the porch?

Unfortunately, with or without snow, I don't dare sit in my wheelchair if it's on the porch. By the way, I need to bring in my VFTs because a squirrel stole another one. So the thief may find out what it's like to play paintball with a six-foot gimp.

I have to live trap my squirrels and relocate them. After catching over 30 of them I began to paint their asses red to see if these suckers are coming back!

Thanks for this
very helpful