FREE: ~ L❀❀K ~ 5+ Incredibly Unique carnivorous Pitcher plant seeds - Eats Bugs in your garden!!!

Hi, very cool! My mom is very interested in this particular carnivorous plant. We would like to know if you can tell us the proper name, what zones, how to start the seeds for this plant and if its recommended for indoors or out (or either) Mom is wonderful and very natural with plants, trees, etc and is actually a Master Gardener. I'm disabled and she cares for me, so I love to get her unusual things when I can find them.
Thanks for your time, your auction and your response. (W&F) Holly

Sarracenia, or North American pitcher plants, are native throughout the east coast, from northern Florida through the New England states and the eastern provinces of Canada. These plants get their name from their pitcher-shaped leaves. They capture insects by producing nectar along the rim of their pitchers. When an insect starts to lick up the nectar, it tries to get more by reaching in the pitcher. When it loses its footing, it falls straight in!

The inside walls of the pitcher are very smooth, so insects are not able to crawl out. They also can't fly out because there isn't any airlift! Eventually the insect dies from heat exhaustion or dehydration. As the insect decomposes, the plant absorbs its nutrients right through its leaves. Mmm....

USDA Zone of Native Habitat: Zone 4-8
Sarracenia occurs naturally in mostly zone 8 where temperatures in winter can sometimes reach as low as 10°F (-12°C) for brief periods of time. Some species occur in zones 4-7. In cultivation it is always recommended to follow proper winter care when growing it in zones 8 or colder, regardless of a plant's cold tolerance. See below for more information.
Where to Grow
Sarracenia grows best outdoors as a container or potted plant. It makes an excellent addition to any sunny deck or patio. You may also grow it in a pond or fountain, but keep the crown of the plant above water. Because of its specific soil requirements, avoid planting it directly into the ground, unless you have created a specific type of bog garden.

Sunlight
During the growing season, grow your pitcher plant outside in full sun. Provide 6 or more hours of direct sunlight for vigorous growth.
If full sun is not possible, provide a minimum of 4 hours of direct sunlight with bright indirect light during the rest of the day. Your plant won’t be as vibrant or sturdy as one grown in full sun, but you will be able to maintain its overall health.

Heat Tolerance
Sarracenia is quite tolerant of the summer heat. It originates from areas where temperatures above 90°F (32°C) are a common occurrence in summer. (See above for information about its range.) However, in its native habitat, the soil temperature is moderated by a slow seepage of cool spring water.
If you grow your pitcher plant in containers, you will need to pay attention to soil temperature. While it may not be necessary to shade your plant during the hottest parts of summer, you may need to top water your plants daily to prevent the roots from over heating. Plants will over heat when the soil temperature approaches 110°F (43°). Monitor soil temperature whenever the daytime temperature rises above 100°F (38°C).
If you live in areas where temperatures routinely rise above 100°F (38°C) during the summer, you will need to search for growing instructions specifically for desert climates.

Water
Keep the pot in standing water at all times. Never allow the soil to dry out completely. Most pitcher plants tolerate moderately hard water (50 – 100 ppm). However, you will need to top water regularly and change the soil yearly to prevent excessive mineral buildup. Whenever possible, use mineral-free water for best results. If you grow your plant in a pond or fountain, keep the water level no higher than halfway up the pot. Avoid drowning the crown of the plant.

Soil
Sarracenia requires nutrient-free soil that provides good drainage and aeration. Use a standard soil mixture of 1 part peat moss and 1 part perlite. Never use potting soil, compost or fertilizer. These ingredients will kill your plant.


Winter Care
As winter approaches, your pitcher plant will slow down in growth and eventually stop growing. It’ll retain its leaves throughout the winter months, but the leaves will turn brown around the edges. This is perfectly normal. Pitcher plants require 3-4 months of winter dormancy triggered by cold temperatures (below 50°F or 10°C) and shorter daylight hours.

Even while dormant, your plant will still need to sit in a small amount of standing water to prevent its soil from drying out.

Don’t worry about overnight temperature dips as low as 20°F (-7°). While dormant, your plant can certainly tolerate overnight frosts with minimal winter protection. However, plants are very susceptible to freeze damage when grown in containers. You will need to protect your pitcher plant when the temperature falls below 20°F (-7°C) or whenever there is a combination of freezing temperatures and wind. Both types of winter conditions can certainly cause serious frost burn. To prevent frost burn, cover it with black plastic or a tarp, or move it into an unheated garage or shed. As soon as the freeze is over and the temperature climbs above 35°F (2° C), uncover your plant and allow it to continue its dormancy outdoors.

If you live an area where the temperature routinely goes below 32°F (0°C) for more than a week at a time, such as in zones 7 or less, you will need to winterize your container plants. Container plants can certainly tolerate brief freezes. But with prolonged freezes, your plants are at risk for frost burn.

Early Spring Care
When the temperature slowly creeps up and daylight hours become longer, your plants will gradually emerge from dormancy. Clip off all leaves from the previous year to make way for flower buds and new leaf growth. Look for flowers in late spring.


Feeding
Although some growers like to feed their pitcher plant, it is not necessary. Carnivorous plants have adapted to capturing insects on their own, and insects will naturally be attracted to your plant. If you choose to feed your plant, use recently killed insects. Do not feed your plant meat. Feeding is not at all required during the winter months when the plant is dormant.


Repotting
For a robust pitcher plant, repot it every year. Change the soil, and if necessary, put your pitcher plant in a larger pot. Changing the soil restores soil acidity, improves root aeration and strengthens the health of your plants.

Repot during late winter and early spring, especially if you want really robust plants in time for summer. In general, however, you can repot your plants at any time of the year. If you choose to repot at a time other than early spring, make sure you keep the rhizome intact.

When changing pots, use a tall one that will easily accommodate the rhizome and its long root system. Pitcher plants tend to grow faster and larger when their roots have room to grow. Large pots will also give your plants added protection during the winter.


Indoor Care
Because of sun requirements and winter dormancy, growing Sarracenia is not recommended indoors, including terrariums. They grow best outdoors as container plants or in bog gardens.

Sarracenia are fairly easy to grow from seed if you have patience. Each step in producing the seed, germinating it, and growing the plants takes patience. It can take 4 to 6 years to go from a just-pollinated flower to a mature, blooming plant. Don't even think about how old you will be or what you will be doing in 5 years. Just do it for the adventure. You never know for sure what you will get nor what will happen to you.

F&W

Sphagnum moss is generally recommended as the best medium for Sarracenia. Sphagnum moss is hard to find, very expensive, not harvested in a sustainable manner. Quite often moss sold as sphagnum is actually a sheet moss that can be toxic to Sarracenia.

Soil mixes with peat are quite adequate for Sarracenia. In fact S. rubra, S. psittacina, S. rosea and most hybrids prefer being in a peat mix. I grow S. psittacina in pure peat. Keep in mind though, with a peat mix you need to top water the plants and change the water in the trays frequently. How often depends on your water quality, how often you water your plants, and exactly which mix you use.

The most common peat mix is equal parts peat and silica sand. The peat needs to be sphagnum peat which is decomposed sphagnum moss. The sand should be fairly coarse and about the same size grains. Coarse, washed "play sand" can work but it has a lot of small particles. Horticultural sand and 16 mesh silica sand blasting sand are best. Sand may need to be soaked for a while in purified water to remove the salts in them. The salt gets into the sand during processing because water is sprayed on the material to reduce the dust. Breathing silica dust from sand is dangerous to your health.

Some members have great success using perlite instead of sand in their soil mixes. For me it has been nothing but disastrous. The difference seems to be their domestic water is low enough in dissolved solids they can top water their plants regularly from a garden hose. Breathing perlite dust is very dangerous to your health.

Germinating Seed

Sarracenia seed is rather odd. It has a waxy coating making it hydrophobic. I suspect it is dispersed in nature by floating on water. This also makes it difficult to germinate quickly. The seed can't germinate until you get moisture past the wax and seed coat into the embryo. You waited how many months to get the seed and you want the plants NOW! Relax.

There are all sorts of claims about quick methods of germinating Sarracenia seeds. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME OR SEEDS. Yes, you will get some germination but to get good germination you need to use the tried and true methods.
The tried and true way of germinating Sarracenia seed is to cold stratify the seed for 4 weeks. Storing the seed dry in the refrigerator isn't stratification. Stratification is storing the seed in a cold and damp environment usually with natural materials that may aid the process of convincing the seed it is time to start growing. The easiest method is to refrigerate seeds in a small plastic bag with a few strands of finely chopped sphagnum moss dampened with purified water. Live sphagnum is the best choice. The moss should be wet enough so that if you squeeze it you will see water but there shouldn't be any free water in the bag. If you don't have live or dried sphagnum moss and must use peatmoss, get it very wet then squeeze it to remove most of the water and make sure there is plenty of air in the plastic bag. The seeds need air. The seeds could die if the peatmoss is too wet.
Another method is to sow the seed directly in pots and store the whole pot in a plastic bag. Stratifying seeds can be stored in a refrigerator, garage, or other location that stays around refrigerator temperature and is out of the sun. Or you can use a tenting method. Seeds planted outside in unprotected pots have a tendency to wander into adjacent pots.

Sow seed on finely chopped sphagnum moss or peat mix in conveniently sized pots. If you stratified the seed in a plastic bag, spread it over the medium in the pots with your planting spoon. Standard 8.5 cm (3 inch) pots work well. Don't bury the seed. If you have it, use live sphagnum. Chopped live sphagnum works best for germinating seeds. However live moss can over-grow the plants later so you have to keep an eye on them and trim back the moss by plucking out the growing tips or transplant the small plants to other media. If you don't have live sphagnum, use chopped dried long fibered sphagnum (chop it before adding water) or a peat mix. Place the seed about 5 mm apart and use a number of pots to keep from having all the seed in one pot.

Sarracenia seedlings and yearlings in a terrarium. This terrarium has mirrors around it to reflect light diagonally so the pitchers get better light. It also makes it look like you have twice as many plants!

Max headroom is a major concern with Sarracenia in terrariums. These three year old plants put on a tremendous growth spurt.


Put the pots with seeds in plastic bags under florescent lights until the first signs of germination. If you leave 1 to 2 cm of head space on the pot, you can use plastic wrap and a rubber band instead of plastic bags. Don't put the bags in direct sun or too close to the lights as you would end up with cooked sprouts. A temperature of 20° to 25°C (70° to 80°F) is ideal. The seeds should germinate in 2 to 4 weeks.

After the seeds germinate the plastic wrap should be removed or the pots removed from the bags. Put the pots into a terrarium with some air circulation. Or if the weather is mild, just put them outside in a sunny location with your other Sarracenia.


Hope this info helps....Sorry it was so long!

Oh yeah, the one I have above is "Sarracenia Minor" or Hooded Pitcher Plant!