Expert: Christopher Littrell - 9/19/2007

Question
Hi,
I am from iran,
I recently got a sarracenia purpura from canada,
because here the whether is not like the whether it needs for living I have to keep it indoor,
would you please tell me how I can keep it indoor and what kind of condition I have to prepare for it?
and my next problem is that when I was bringing it here all the liquid in its leaves drained out and now it havent any leaf with liquid to digest insects what should I do for this?

thank u very much
Mohammad KaramiNejad - IRAN

Answer
Hello Mohammed,

Yes, you would have to keep your Sarracenia purpurea indoors there as they do not like temperatures over 100 degrees generally. They do like lots of sunlight, so keep it in the most well lit window you have and add at least one or more compact florescent light bulbs of 100 watt equivalent or 40 watt shop light tubes, the four foot long variety, over the plant. Sarracenia purpurea is really more like a garden plant as it needs much more light than a normal houseplant. If you see the new leaves grow with purple coloration, you are giving it enough light.

Keep the plant watered all the time. Sarracenias like a lot of water in a large tray under the pot. Up to half of the pot bottom can be sitting in water all the time. Make sure to water the plant with distilled, rain, or reverse osmosis water. Tap water often has too many minerals that can harm the plant.

Do not worry about the fluid that spilled out of the pitchers. That fluid is mostly water that falls in the leaves from rain... so just spray some distilled water over the plant to fill the pitchers about half-way with water. The plant will secrete some digestive fluid in the water when insects fall in and drown.

The next biggest problem will be dormancy since Sarracenias are North American plants that experience cold winters. They need a rest period from about November to February in cold low light conditions in order to survive for longer than a year or two. In nature, they go dormant every winter and live for decades. What you can do is start simulating dormancy in November by giving the plant one hour less light per week until it only gets 8 hours a day, then place it in a cold area, like a refrigerator, not the freezer, or in an ice chest with ice water bottles around the pot. If your region gets cold all winter, down to 30-40 degrees, the plant would do fine in a cold room or garage. The idea is to keep the plant about 40 degrees in temperature all winter. When it goes dormant, it will not respond much to light, so being in the dark will not hurt it so long as you lower the light slowly in November. At about the start of February you can warm the plant up and place it in 8 hours of light, then add one hour per week until the plant gets 12 hours or more light per day. After that the plant will grow normally again until next winter. In winter, give the plant less water, allowing only about half an inch of water in the tray, but keep the soil always barely moist. Never let it dry out completely.

Each year, repot the plant with sphagnum peat moss and perlite in a 50/50 mix, making sure that the soil has no fertilizer added. The good moss to use usually says premium Canadian sphagnum peat and is a dry bale about 2 feet across wrapped in plastic. Never fertilize the plant, just let it catch flies and ants.

Look forward to seeing a nice flower next spring after it comes out of dormancy.

Keep up the good care of your Sarracenia,

Christopher