How to Grow Pitcher Plants? These Plants Can Catch Insects Too

The pitcher plant gets its name from having an organ resembling a pig cage (the pitcher). Its body is divided into the petiole, the leaf blade and the tendril; the tendril can curl back to form a pitcher shape, which it uses to catch insects. Some people find this interesting and want to grow one. So, how do you grow a pitcher plant?

I. A Brief Introduction to the Pitcher Plant!

1. What does a pitcher plant look like?

The pitcher plant is a perennial vine, roughly 3 m or more tall. Its leaves are generally long and oval, and at the end of the pitcher tendril a pitcher-shaped or funnel-shaped structure forms, with a lid on top. Pitcher plants generally bloom only after growing for many years; the flowers are usually green or purple and rather small.

2. How does a pitcher plant eat insects?

The pitcher plant has a pitcher-like organ. At the mouth of the pitcher there is a lid that can open and close. The pitcher mouth is fairly smooth, and there is fluid inside the pitcher. The inner wall of the pitcher mouth secretes a sweet, fragrant nectar; when insects smell the fragrance they crawl over to eat the nectar, and because the pitcher mouth is smooth, the insects slip down into the pitcher, where they are drowned by the fluid secreted at the bottom, broken down, and gradually absorbed.

II. How Do You Grow a Pitcher Plant?

1. Soil: loose, fertile and airy.

For growing pitcher plants, a loose, fertile and airy leaf mold or peat soil is best. If grown in a pot, you can mix peat soil, sphagnum moss, charcoal and fir bark shavings.

2. Propagation: cuttings, layering or sowing.

Pitcher plants can be propagated by cuttings, layering or sowing. Here we introduce cutting propagation: first, cut a branch with 2-3 growth buds and insert the branch into the growing medium, with the buds exposed above the soil surface; then place the medium with the inserted branch in a high-humidity environment and slowly wait for the branch to take root and grow new shoots.

3. Daily care

(1) Temperature: the optimum growing temperature for pitcher plants is 25-30°C. In winter the temperature must not fall below 16°C; below 15°C the plant stops growing, and below 10°C the leaf edges suffer frost damage, so heating measures must be taken.

(2) Humidity: pitcher plants like fairly humid areas, with humidity of at least 60%. To raise the air humidity, you can cover the whole plant with a transparent plastic bag, or place it in an aquarium, or set it in a corner; as long as ventilation is reduced, the humidity will rise. You can also mist the plant frequently; during the growing season, mist 4-5 times a day.

(3) Light: the pitcher plant is a semi-shade plant. Do not keep it under strong light, otherwise you must provide proper shading to prevent the leaves from being scorched; nor should you keep it in a dark place, otherwise the leaf pitchers form slowly and small. It can be placed in bright, indirect light.

(4) Watering: pitcher plants do not have high demands for water content; the soil is best kept loose and not squeezable to release water. Therefore, do not water too much. You can also use the immersion method to supply water, as long as the soil stays loose and does not release water when squeezed.

(5) Nutrition: the pitcher plant is an insectivorous plant and can obtain nutrients by catching insects or small animals, so during the growing period there is no need to specially feed it insects. Of course, plants grown indoors usually do not have enough insects for the pitcher plant to catch, so you can spray the plant with a diluted instant foliar fertilizer, or apply a slow-release fertilizer to the soil.

III. What Other Plants Can Catch Insects?

1. Sundew (Drosera): found in Yunnan, southwestern Sichuan, western Guizhou and southern Tibet, growing on hillsides, mid-slopes, hilltops and along streams in grassy clumps, shrub thickets and open woods at altitudes of 50-1600 m. Its leaves are half-moon-shaped or semicircular, with edges covered in glandular hairs; when an insect touches the glandular hairs, the other glandular hairs curl at the same time, surrounding the prey completely.

2. Waterwheel plant (Aldrovanda): in China it is found in Heilongjiang province, growing in water. At the base of the small leaflets of its pinnate compound leaves grows a spherical trap, which bears glandular hairs and trigger hairs; when an insect touches the hairs and trigger hairs, the trap rapidly swells, the valve at the trap opening opens accordingly, and the insect enters the trap with the water flow.

3. Venus flytrap: it survives only in the coastal plain of southeastern South Carolina and the northeastern corner of North Carolina in the United States, growing in moist sandy or peat wetlands or swamps. At the tip of its leaves grows a trap resembling a “shell” that can secrete nectar; when a small insect ventures in, the trap quickly snaps it shut.

4. Pitcher plant (Sarracenia): found in southern Canada and the eastern coastal regions of the United States, mostly growing in swampy wetlands. Tubular leaves grow from its rhizome, with a lid like a hat. The leaves can secrete a kind of nectar; the pitcher mouth bears dense downward-growing hairs and a waxy, smooth rim, and there is fluid at the bottom of the pitcher. When insects are attracted in by the nectar, they get stuck on these hairs and then slide into the pitcher and drown.

The above is an introduction to how to grow pitcher plants; you only need to pay attention to the basic requirements for their growth. Besides the pitcher plant, there are other plants that can catch insects, and this article introduces four of them for you. We hope they are useful to you.