FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Do you need to top off the pitchers? I know that people put water into purpurea pitchers, but i dont know about the purpurea hybrids.

Good question. I'd like to hear more about this, too. I know that Purps seem to have a different "digestive" system in which water gets in the pitchers, and the bacteria that live in the water help to break down the trapped bugs. I don't know if hybrids work the same way.

A good generalism is, if the lid grows over the pitcher, it's there to prevent rain ingress into the pitcher, however, if the lid looks skyward then it is there to catch rainwater and channel it into the pitcher. So if they look skyward fill the pitches about a quarter full every now and then, its not essential all of the time.
Again another generalism but useful, is, if the lid is over the pitcher then the plant probably makes its own digestive fluids and rainwater would dilute it and render it less effective, but if the lid is skyward the plant probably requires bacteria to break down the prey, and turn it into a nutritious soup absorbed by the leaf.
Cheers
Steve

Makes sense. It also explains the shape of the pitchers. Growing in a low rosette pattern allows the pitchers to rest on the ground should they overfill. A hooded, upright Sarr pitcher would fall over if filled with water.
Just to satisfy my curiosity, I need to look up some articles regarding Purp hybrids and the dominant traits of their digestive methods.
Thanks, Steve!

My curiosity won out, so I made a call to Rocket Farms in CA this morning to see if they had any info on the Purp hybrids they are selling. The first thing the guy told me was to completely disregard the care info on the plastic box, use DI water, and keep it sunny and wet. No kidding.
Unfortunately, he had no knowledge of CP species and couldn't tell me anything about which hybrid they distribute. He said he'd ask around the nursery and see if anyone knew more and would call me with any info.

Gary wrote:The first thing the guy told me was to completely disregard the care info on the plastic box, use DI water, and keep it sunny and wet. No kidding.

Wow. At least there is somebody there that has the information. It is really a shame that they won't update their packaging. I understand that there is a cost with it, but they are, intentionally or not, killing the plants with their instructions.

I think they are just distributors for the CPs, they drop-ship on demand from their wholesale division which gets the plants from an anonymous grower. I imagine they have no control over the package. The two that I bought are very happy to be out of jail and are coloring up very nicely. I went back for a third but they were either sold out or had returned the remaining plants for credit.