Pitcher plants are one of the most unique looking garden plants out there. Highly carnivorous, these plants are great for controlling pests like insects and bugs. Learn how to care for your own pitcher plant with the great plant guide below.
How To Grow Pitcher Plant
Also known as a Nepenthes plant, this plant looks like something straight out of the jungle, it’s actually native to the United States, thriving in places like Mississippi. If you don’t live in the South, it is recommended that you grow your pitcher plant as a houseplant. It can be very tricky to care for outdoors. Some different varieties of Pitcher Plant will do better outdoors than others. To grow outdoors, your plant will need consistently moist, acidic soil. Place your Pitcher Plant in an area of your home that gets direct sun in the morning hours, but is shaded in the afternoon.
How To Grow Pitcher Plant: Indoor Care
Pitcher plant care, especially indoors, is actually exceptionally easy. I have my Pitcher plant in front of an Easter facing window, and I water the plant every 3-4 days, depending on how the first few inches of soil feel. When watering, make sure that water runs out the bottom of your pots. This will ensure your plants are being watered fully, without a risk of developing root rot. Because these plants love to be kept as moist as they do, it is crucial to plant them in a well-draining pot of sorts. When growing indoors, your pitcher plants shouldn’t have to be fertilized. After all, Pitcher plants thrive naturally in areas with poor soil quality.
Pitcher Plant Hanging
Because of their appearance, Pitcher plants actually look exceptional in hanging baskets! However, if you plan to grow yours this way, you should pick a variety that looks especially gorgeous when hanging. I recommend the Nepenthes stenophylla and the classic Nepenthes alata. Mist your hanging pitcher plants daily for an impressive show of coloring all day long. Plus, when they are hanging in this manner, you can see when the “pitchers” fill up!
Pitcher Plant: Outdoors
When growing Pitcher plants outdoors, there are a few things that you should know about the process. First, Pitcher plants require very acidic soil, test your soil PH with this guide to make sure that yours will thrive, and correct if it won’t. Additionally, if you are looking for a unique water garden plant, this is it! The Pitcher plant thrives in water and does well in pond-like environments.
Pitcher Plants: Propagation
Looking for an easy way to double your Pitcher plant? Try propagation! All you need to do is take a stem cutting (a piece of the plant with at least three leaves on it) sprinkle the ends with rooting powder and fill a planter with damp moss. Place the ends on the damp moss (laying down, just as you would succulents) and mist the ends daily so they root. You should have cuttings ready and rooted in as little as two months.
My plant is 2 years old, produces the start of pitcher but then ends become brown. Plant is 4 ft high. Please tell me why pitchers don’t develop. Thanks
My pitcher plant is two years old and this year the pitchers are not maturing . They show but don’t grow. The plant is healthy. How can I improve?
Thanks
I just purchased my pitcher plant and it has some black spots on the leaves. What could be causing this?
When pitcher plant’s leaves are turning black, it is usually the result of shock or a sign that the plant is going into dormancy. Something as simple as a change in conditions the plant experiences when you bring it home from the nursery can cause shock. A pitcher plant can also go into shock when any of its needs aren’t being met. Is it getting the right amount of light? Pitcher plants need at least 8 hours of direct sunlight every day. It will thrive outdoors in hot, humid climates. Does it have enough water? Pitcher plants like to be thoroughly wet. Set the pot in a shallow dish and keep an inch or two (2.5 to 5 cm.) of water in the dish at all times. Not just any water will do. Pitcher plants need filtered or purified water. Are you feeding your plant? If you set it outside, it will attract its own food. Indoors, you’ll have to drop a cricket or mealworm down the pitcher from time to time. You can buy crickets and mealworms at a bait shop or a pet store. Here’s another tip to help you avoid shock (and black pitcher plant leaves): leave it in the pot it came in. It will be fine for a few years. Transplanting a pitcher plant into a new pot is an advanced skill, and you should take lots of time to get to know your plant first. If the pot is unattractive, set it inside another pot.