pitcher plant

Question

I have a pitcher plant, it is producing leaves but not pitchers. What am I doping wrong?

Answer 1

Pitcher plants are VERY picky about their environment. Some are easier to grow then others, but most will do fine in a household.

Even with this, there are still many things to learn about these plants before taking on one of these.

First, it needs a very specific "soil". Often, what it comes in is not necessarily the best. They will want a mixture of long sphagnum moss and perlite. Since they do not take nutrition through their roots, these media must not ever contain nutrients, nor should they be fed in this fashion.

Keep these moist at all times, and never let them dry out. This will be the most likely cause of a lack of pitchers. The next leading cause will be a lack of humidity.

You can kickstart the growth by mixing a 1/4 solution of orchid fertilizer into water and spraying the plant with these. They will take in nutrients through leaves, and pitchers, so once they develop pitchers, this will no longer be necessary.

This article will offer other good tips for keeping these alive: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/pitcher-plants/hanging-pitcher-plants.htm