Carnivorous Plants/purple pitcher

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Expert: - 5/11/2007


Question
Oh, and speaking of purple pitchers, where can I get them? I can't seem to find one anywhere! (they're out of stock)

Answer
Hi Sarah,

Some places might still be waiting for their Purple Pitchers to come out of dormancy. I see that cobraplant.com will have some next month and californiacarnivores.com seems to have them in stock now. There may be other nurseries out there that you can order from but right now, the plants should still be just waking up. Sarracenias tend to like to sleep in a month or two longer (Purple Pitchers are slow growers too) than other carnivorous plants right after winter. for instance, my Venus Flytrap has already grown spring leaves two months ago and has flowered and produced seeds while the Sarracenia rubra I have is still just now starting to grow new spring leaves.

Keep looking and you will find them for sale soon.

Carnivorous Plants

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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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