Found in wetlands and damp forests across North America, the purple pitcher plant has a highly unusual feature – it is carnivorous! The pitcher-shaped leaves are able to trap and then digest insects that are unfortunate enough to fall into their liquid-filled interiors. The species’ reliance on insects for its nutrients means it can thrive even in very nitrogen-poor settings. Boasting a red-purple hue and an odd, whimsical shape, the purple pitcher plant has become a much-sought ornamental plant.
| Common name | Huntsman Cup, Northern Pitcher Plant, Purple Pitcher Plant, Sweet Pitcherplant |
| Botanical name | Sarracenia purpurea |
| Family | Sarraceniaceae |
| Species | purpurea |
| Origin | Eastern Canada and United States |
| Life cycle | Perennial |
| Plant type | Carnivorous |
| Hardiness zone | 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 |
| Sunlight | Full Sun |
| Maintenance | High |
| Soil condition | Clay |
| Soil ph | Acid |
| Drainage | Poorly Drained |
| Growth rate | Medium |
| Harvest time | Fall |
| Flowering period | Spring |
| Height | 9 in. – 1 ft. 6 in. |
| Width | 9 in. – 1 ft. 6 in. |
| Flower color | Gold, Yellow |
| Leaf color | Gold, Yellow |
| Fruit color | Brown, Copper |
| Fruit type | Capsule |
| Leaf benefit | Showy |
| Flower benefit | Fragrant |
| Garden style | Native Garden |
| Uses | Container |
I. Appearance and Characteristics
Sarracenia purpurea, the purple pitcher plant, northern pitcher plant, turtle socks, or side-saddle flower, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae.
Like other species of Sarracenia, S. purpurea obtains most of its nutrients through prey capture. However, prey acquisition is said to be inefficient, with less than 1% of the visiting prey captured within the pitcher. Even so, anecdotal evidence by growers often shows that pitchers quickly fill up with prey during the warm summer months. Prey fall into the pitcher and drown in the rainwater that collects in the base of each leaf.
Prey items, such as flies, ants, spiders, and even moths or hornets, are then digested by an invertebrate community, made up mostly by the mosquito Wyeomyia smithii and the midge Metriocnemus knabi. The relationship between W. smithii and S. purpurea is an example of commensalism.
S. purpurea also traps juvenile spotted salamanders with enough regularity that nearly 20% of surveyed plants were found to contain one or more salamanders in a 2019 study. The salamanders were observed to die within three to nineteen days, and may be killed as the small pools of water in the plant are heated by the sun. A single salamander could provide hundreds to thousands of times the nutrients of invertebrate prey, but it is not known how efficiently S. purpurea is able to digest them.
Protists, rotifers (including Habrotrocha rosa), and bacteria form the base of an inquiline food web that shreds and mineralizes available prey, making nutrients available to the plant. New pitcher leaves do produce digestive enzymes such as hydrolases and proteases, but as the individual leaves get older into their second year, digestion of prey material is aided by the community of bacteria that live within the pitchers.
Species of Sarracenia grow in nutrient-poor, acid bogs. Its range includes the Eastern seaboard, the Great Lakes region, all of Canada (except Nunavut and Yukon), Washington state, and Alaska. That makes it the most common and broadly distributed pitcher plant, as well as the only member of the genus that inhabits cold temperate climates.
How Sarracenia traveled so far is still a mystery. From what is known so far the Sarracenia has a median seed dispersal distance of 5cm, which is not far enough to explain the plant’s widespread occurrence throughout North America. It is endangered or vulnerable over much of the southern part of its range. The species is the floral emblem of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Most varieties along the Gulf Coast of the United States that were once identified as Sarracenia purpurea have since been reclassified as Sarracenia rosea.
II. How to Grow and Care
Sunlight
The purple pitcher plants are sun-loving plants that need full sunlight during the growing season. So, provide your plant with adequate sunlight in a bog garden or indoors. For your plant to properly form and develop, direct sun leads to healthy growth.
For inside the home, find a sunny spot at a south-facing window. Still, for the last resort, you can place your plant at the east or west-facing window, but it still needs direct sunlight for a few hours.
Temperature and Humidity
While direct sunlight is essential to grow purple pitcher plants, it thrives in moderate to warm temperatures. The best temperature is between 50°F to 90°F. When it comes to humidity, your carnivorous plants thrive in high humidity levels.
So, it helps to mist your plant often or invest in a humidifier if you do not have a greenhouse.
Watering
When buying pitcher plants, remember that they thrive in wet conditions in their natural habitats. Hence, it helps to simulate the same growing conditions indoors.
Compared to most other plants, the Sarracenia species need frequent watering, at least once or twice a day. Still, as with any houseplant, you should not leave the roots soggy, resulting in root rot.
The best is to check the soil daily and not let it dry out completely. We recommend using distilled water or rainwater where possible. If you need tap water, we recommend leaving it for a day or two, allowing the chemicals to evaporate.
It is essential to provide your plant with acidic water, so mineral or bottled water without limestone will not do as it has too many minerals. You should not use water from ponds or fish tanks as the nitrate concentration is too high.
The only time you reduce watering is resting during the cold months. Another essential note in growing your plant in plastic containers is remembering the drainage holes for escaping water to run freely from the pot.
Soil
When grown indoors, the purple pitcher thrives in well-draining soil in shallow plastic pots with enough drain holes. To achieve the best results, mix one part peaty soil with one part lime-free horticultural sand and some sphagnum peat moss.
The pH value helps keep the soil at an acidic level between 3 and 5.
Fertilizing
Your purple pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea, does not need feeding. The reason is that your plants get nutrients from common pests in the household.
Still, if your plants have nutrient-poor soil, you can add fertilizer like a slow-release feed three times a year to promote growth. We recommend a fertilizer used for bromeliads and orchids.
So, as with your other houseplants, you need not feed your pitcher plants during the growing seasons.
Planting Instructions
Purple pitcher plant is easiest to grow in plastic pots or any other large plastic container. It can be grown indoors or inserted into soil in a container. If planting outside, plastic containers are recommended, as they will ensure that your plant has ample amounts of water. This will also reduce your watering and is economically sensible and eco-friendly.
Before planting, add a mixture of peat and sand to the hole for drainage and nutrition. Purple pitcher plant needs a deep hole of 30 to 41 cm, with at least 25 cm spacing between plants. When planting, the crown of the rhizome should stick out just above the soil.
Pruning
Purple pitcher plant can thrive without pruning. However, sometimes it is necessary to remove certain parts to increase the overall health and create a fuller plant. Prune blossoms if they wilt. Use sharp garden scissors to remove the bloom stalk at its base. If the leaves have turned yellow and wilted, cut off them at the base where they meet the stem of the plant. Remember to disinfect your garden scissors between plants to reduce any possible cross-contamination.
Propagation
Purple pitcher plant does not self-pollinate; it needs natural pollinators such as bees, or hand pollination. You will need to collect and transfer the pollen from the anthers (the male reproductive parts) to the stigmatic surfaces (the female reproductive parts) in order to fertilize your plant. This should be done during the fall.
Mature plants can be propagated by rhizome division. Multiple joined rhizomes are produced by the plant over several growing seasons. These rhizomes should be divided during their resting period over winter and individually planted. You can also use this method to separate the rhizomes that have not produced pitchers yet and stimulate their growth. Stimulate the growth of new crowns by incising several shallow notches at the top of the rhizome, from which new crowns should develop.
Repotting
You seldom need to provide your purple pitcher plants with a larger container. A general rule is to transplant your exotic plant every two to three years to refresh the potting soil. These plants thrive on the lack of nutrients and in compost made for carnivorous plants.
Overwintering
The Northern pitcher plant needs a period known as the cold winter dormancy period between November and February. In the natural habitat of the purple pitcher plants, the temperatures dip below the zero point, and you need to provide your plant with a cold season.
You can place your plant in an unheated greenhouse to overwinter. But for indoor growing, it helps to put them in a colder area like a garage, shed, or next to a window. These plants are hardy, and the rhizomes can withstand frost.
Another notable thing during the dormancy process is the growth dying off, which turns black or looks tatty. You can remove the dead growth and leave your plant until spring arrives, but remember to keep watering and checking the soil.
Pests and Diseases
Common pests include aphids (Aphidoidea) and thrips (Thysanoptera), which can be found feeding on the plant’s sap. The larvae of the pitcher plant mining moth (Exyra fax) specifically target Sarracenia species, where they burrow into the pitcher walls, causing damage. Control of these pests involves manual removal or the use of appropriate insecticides, taking care to choose options that will not harm the plant or the environment it lives in.
III. Uses and Benefits
- Ornamental uses
Sarracenia purpurea is cultivated as an ornamental plant. It is fairly hardy, but requires a reliably damp soil in a sheltered position, with full or partial sunlight. The subspecies S. purpurea ssp. purpurea has received the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.
- Medicinal uses
It was used as a medicinal plant by Native American and First Nation tribes in its northeastern and Great Lakes distribution ranges, including the Algonquin, Cree, Iroquois, Mi’kmaq (Micmac) peoples, primarily for use in treating smallpox by means of a root infusion. A 2012 study suggests Sarracenia purpurea is effective as a treatment for viruses in the Orthopoxvirus family, including the smallpox virus, through inhibition of early virus transcription.
- Biocontrol uses
Sarracenia purpurea pitchers have been investigated as a biocontrol for the Asian Hornet Vespa velutina in Europe, as they act as natural bottle traps in which hornets have been observed to be trapped in. The hybrids used in the study, S. juthatipsoper and S. evendine, were deemed too unselective, but the researchers proposed trying other pitcher plant species which may be more effective.
Find Where to Buy the Best Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea)
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