Trumpet Pitcher (Sarracenia) Care Guide

Light Requirements

Know the correct lighting requirements for your plant. This will be the difference between growing and THRIVING!

Sarracenia needs FULL SUN to thrive. These plants need full unfiltered sun for a minimum of 8 hours per day to get those deep vibrant colours in their pitchers.

They are best grown outdoors but protect from strong winds and heavy rains as this can cause the pitchers to topple over and break.

You can grow them on a very bright sunny windowsill, provided they get at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day, but may not be as vibrant as when you grow them outside.

For more info on the different types of light types, refer to the HOLY COMMANDMENTS Page

Acclimatization

When you bring your new babies home, help them to acclimatize by following this simple step.

Considering the “stress” the plant has gone through during shipping, placing them in an area that gets bright dappled light or morning sun only for a week before moving them to their new spot is always advised.

It is not uncommon for several existing pitcher tops to burn and start to brown from the top down, but you can cut this off as it dies to keep the plant looking good. This is quite normal and they will grow new pitchers when they acclimatise. By acclimatising the plant, although pitcher death still occurs, it’s not as severe and a lot less stressful on the plant.

I always spray a little Novion into the pitchers when I receive new plants, just to give them a little boost, but be careful not to overfill the pitchers as this can cause them to topple over and break. (A free sample vial is sent with every order to assist with acclimatization and ease Abiotic stress.)

Watering Requirements

ALWAYS USE PURE WATER such as Rain, Distilled or R.O Water.

Sarracenia LOVE lots of water. Always keep them in a tray of R.O, Distilled or Rain Water.

Depending on the size of the pot, it is best to let the pot sit in about 3 to 4cm of water. (Around 20 to 25% of the pot height maximum.) This will prevent the soil from becoming anaerobic, and prevent root/crown rot.

It is ok to let the tray dry out between waterings, as this allows air into the soil. However, NEVER let the soil become dry.

For more information on Watering refer to our HOLY COMMANDMENTS Page.

Potting Media Requirements

A nutrient-deficient soil is a must for all carnivorous plants.NEVER use soil with fertilizers.

Sarracenia do well in your standard carnivorous soil mixture. (1 part peat moss to 1 part Perlite)

These plants do well in larger sized pots and will only need to be repotted once the rhizome reaches the end of the pot, or the roots grow out the drainage holes at the bottom.

Carnivorous Soil Mix for Sarracenia can be purchased from the Accessories page.

For more info on Soil & Potting refer to the HOLY COMMANDMENTS Page and my BLOG ON REPOTTING.

Feeding Requirements

Carnivorous Plants are formidable hunters and do not need to be fed, but if you REALLY cannot resist...

When grown outdoors they will catch all the food they need. (Sunlight is more important than food as they get most of their energy from Photosynthesis.)

Sarracenia are probably the MOST voracious hunters out of all the carnivorous plants and you will often find the Pitchers filled to the top with dead bugs in various stages of decay. You can feed Dried meal worms, blood worms or fresh dead bugs placed into the pitchers, as well as dried fish pellets, but only if they are not catching their own food. Too much feeding can cause the pitchers to die.

Refer to my blog on Feeding for a picture of just how fill these pitchers can get!

They will also benefit from a mild foliar fertilizer spray like Novion, which can be sprayed directly onto the leaves and in the pitchers.

Novion can be purchased from the Accessories page.

Pest Control

Just like any other plant, Carnies are sometimes prone to Pests and Diseases. However there are very effective ways to help them.

Primary pests of Sarracenia are scale, thrips, mealybugs, with the biggest pest being Aphids.

Aphids can deform newly developing pitchers rather quickly and create ugly bending deformed pitchers.

Depending on how bad the infestation is, cut off any badly deformed pitchers so the plant can put its energy into growing new, healthy leaves

Isolate the plant to prevent infecting others and spray with a mild Insecticide.

I recommend Rosecare 3 by Efekcto. This utilizes both a systemic and contact insecticide.

This needs to be sprayed on the plant every week for 3 weeks, and this should solve the problem. Avoid spraying in the pitchers if possible.

Temperature Tolerance

Some like Warm Sunny Days, others prefer cool night time temps.

These are warm-temperate plants meaning that they need warm summers and cool winters. They can tolerate temps ranging from -5 degrees up to 30 degrees Celcius. In hotter climates, ensure the plant never runs out of water.

They can be kept outdoors all winter, but if you live in an area with extreme cold and hard freezes, storing your plant in a cool, sheltered place such as a garage is advisable.

Winter Dormancy

While some plants grow all year round, for others that Winter Snooze is an absolute necessity. 

Sarracenia’s do require a winter dormancy. The plants will die back to almost nothing except a few stalks above the ground.

Reduce watering by allowing the tray to dry out for a few days before refilling, but never let the soil dry out completely. Let the surface of the soil get damp, before filing the tray again, but only fill the tray half what you normally would. This will allow the soil to be more damp than wet during winter, which is perfect.

Refer to my blog for more info on Winter Snoozes.