Carnivorous Plants/wat is this

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Expert: - 5/27/2009


Question

what am i
I know buying from death cubes is taboo but they were right
in front of me and i couldnt resist. The label says
serecenia purpuria, but i have a purple pitcher and this is
not that..i think its a flava..but im not sure..can u
confirm? do i put the distilled or rain water in this
pitcher or does it make its own?..its not a cobra
plant..minus the lil tongue part is it?

Answer
Hello Matt,

No, your Sarracenia is not a Purple Pitcher Plant or a Cobra Plant. The store you bought it from has it wrong, again. What you have is most definitely a Sarracenia though, so they have the genus correct at least. As a matter of fact, you have a nice looking Sarracenia minor there. Good going and good luck with it. Give it full sun and clean mineral free water. It has hoods over the pitchers, so it does not need water poured inside its pitchers. Thats the way you can tell is if the hoods extend over the opening (no rain gets in) or remain flared back (rain falls in and is actually funneled into the pitchers) from the opening.

Christopher

Christopher Littrell

Expertise

I am capable of answering questions about the most common carnivorous plants found in cultivation. I have no personal experience with Byblis, Drosophyllum, Aldrovanda, and Heliamphora. I have not cultivated gemmae forming pygmy sundews nor tuberous sundews. For information regarding those aforementioned species, I would suggest contacting other experts. I can answer questions regarding most species of Nepenthes, tropical and temperate Drosera, Mexican Pinguicula, Sarracenias, and Dionaea. I have some limited experience with growing Utricularia, Cephalotus, and Darlingtonia.

Experience

I have grown carnivorous plants off and on for about 27 years. I have made the same mistakes and suffered the same mishaps that many growers make as they attempt to separate the myths from the realities of growing these plants. Currently, I am successfully growing a variety of tropical sundews, a Nepenthes, several Venus Flytraps of varying ages, and Sarracenias. I have been successful in stratifying Sarracenia seeds and providing artificial dormancy requirements for my temperate plants when needed.

Education/Credentials
I hold a Master's degree in Educational Psychology. Over my lifetime, I have constantly read books involving the growing conditions of carnivorous plants. I hope to incorporate the educational aspects involved in psychology with teaching other people how to cultivate carnivorous plants.

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