American Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia) Care Sheet

American Pitcher Plants (Sarracenia) are a beautiful and large family of pitcher plants throughout North America (even in colder Northern climates). Here are some key tips for providing top notch care to your Sarracenia:

Light

Sarracenia will thrive in full sun, but can grow under powerful artificial lighting. They will show their best features in the sun – especially in the summer for many.

Water

Moist soil: They crave consistently moist soil. Use a tray method: place the pot in a tray filled with rainwater, distilled water, or reverse osmosis water. Keep the tray about 1 inch full.

Watering: Use rainwater, distilled water, or reverse osmosis. Tap water over 50 PPM TDS is usually harmful to carnivorous plants. You can water the plant using the tray method and if it has dried out, water from the top, but avoid pouring too hard as you want to avoid accidental trap activation.

Humidity: While not essential, higher humidity (50-70%) is recommended during the growing months.

Soil

Carnivorous mix: Use a specially formulated carnivorous plant mix, pure sphagnum moss, or a peat:sand mixture. Never use regular potting soil (even the peat from MiracleGro is tainted with fertilizers) as it contains nutrients that harm these low-nutrient soil demanding plants. Any fertilizers that are in the pre-mixed soil will likely kill the plant.

Drainage: Good drainage is crucial to prevent root rot. Choose a pot with drainage holes and keep the plant in a water tray that keeps the plant wet at all times.

Feeding/Fertilizer

I strongly recommend against fertilizer for Sarracenia. The general advice is to avoid fertilizing larger Sarracenia as it can slow their growth down. 

Temperatures

These plants do very well outdoors with warmer weather typically, but can handle colder weather. They will generally experience 3-4 months of dormancy in the winter. You can leave them outside during this time. Trimming pitchers during this time is recommended. If you live in a climate with below freezing temperatures frequently in the winter, you should cover the top with pine needles to help protect the rhizome from any winter mishaps.