Any experience with pitcher plants?

[csdude55]

These are new to me, I first heard about them a few weeks ago. I have a ton of ants, and lucky me, I'm suddenly super allergic to their bites! Swollen face, Epipen, the works... I was never allergic before, but last year I had a single bite that sent me to the emergency room :-O

And well, pitcher plants are carnivorous, and attract and eat ants 3

Pic:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Sarracenia_oreophila_ne3.jpg/220px-Sarracenia_oreophila_ne3.jpg

They're not common in my area at all, so when I saw one at the local plant nursery, I snatched it up. Mine is only about 6" tall, though, so that pic is a best-case-scenario.

What I DIDN'T know, though, is that they seem to do best in a bog or water garden. That kind of changes things for me, my biggest ant area is 100' away from my pond, full sun, and dry as a bone! That's where I WAS going to put it, but now I'm trying to figure out how to utilize it near my pond (where it's part shade).

I really don't want it in the pond itself; then it couldn't get the ants. I can put it in a pot that's simply near the pond (I'll have to bring it in for the winter, anyway), but then it wouldn't get enough water, would it?

What's the healthiest option for it?

 

[addy1]

I put down a piece of left over liner,a hole about 12 inches deep. Stabbed some holes (not many) in the bottom made a mix of sand and peat moss. We are wet here so the holes allow some drainage. If in a dry spot no holes. Fill with water, i.e real wet soil, let it slowly dry, then wet again. They like a wet dry environment. Mine do better here than in the pond bog, the few I had there died.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

I have several, all planted in my pond but either on the island, or on shelves where the crown is well above the water line. I don't protect them or bring them in over winter (zone 7a, not sure about the winter hardiness of other species?) Addy's idea about creating a soggy area for yours out in the dry zone is a good one, but I have no first hand experience with creating an artificially wet area for one. I just wanted to mention, though, that the ones I have seem to attract more flying insects than ants - I've never actually seen an ant on or near one. (But then again, I have tons of skinks that hunt the perimeter of the pond, so ants don't stand much of a chance around there)

 

[addy1]

Mine survive freezing, me forgetting to water if it is dry. I do see ants on them a bit, but most of my ant fight is when we are harvesting honey. I put out granules around the house to keep the ant nests out in the yard.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Yeah, I could see honey being a big attractant. Seriously, though, we see the occasional, random ant around here & never spray or put out anything to deter them. We let the zillions of lizards & skinks take care of that problem! Heck, we very often get a skink inside the house, which I wouldn't mind if I could just get them housebroken!!

 

[poconojoe]

This is from the Cranberry Bog nature preserve in northeastern PA. It's a giant peat moss bog preserve with wooden decks for you do walk on. It's a huge place. Tons of pitcher plants. The winters are pretty harsh here, so unless there are different varieties, your plant should be OK as long as the planting conditions are correct.

 

[Nevermore44]

That is the worst when allergies pop up later in life! It seems that anyone you talk to says "I never was allergic growing up to anything... but now... "

I love my carnivorous plants! I have three bogs that I grown them in (southern ohio). As mentioned though, a majority of their prey are flying insects. By the time I remove old pitchers before winter kicks in... the bogs have an odor about them of rotting bug smell.. composed of a lot moths, yellow jackets, wasps, stink bugs. I do see ants too... but in the grand scheme of things, it wouldn't be a noticeable difference to their numbers.

 

[poconojoe]

That is the worst when allergies pop up later in life! It seems that anyone you talk to says "I never was allergic growing up to anything... but now... "

I love my carnivorous plants! I have three bogs that I grown them in (southern ohio). As mentioned though, a majority of their prey are flying insects. By the time I remove old pitchers before winter kicks in... the bogs have an odor about them of rotting bug smell. I do see ants too... but in the grand scheme of things, it wouldn't be a noticeable difference to their numbers.

Very nice! Thanks for sharing your pictures!

 

[addy1]

Yeah, I could see honey being a big attractant

When we start extracting, it is a constant battle. Until then they stay out of the house, mostly. I do get them in the basement where I have lots of frames from the bees stored.
They will have a nice little trail right into the house. That is with spraying around the outside constantly and spraying inside.

 

[csdude55]

Awesome pictures, thanks!! And this have been very helpful information.

@BKHpondcritters, you and I are neighbors... I'm in Rock Creek We chatted last year, I think, when I was talking about my excess of pickerel rush. So what works for you should (in theory) work for me. I have plenty of lizards and black snakes (and just found a King snake a few days ago!), but black ants and, more recently, fire ants are still everywhere >:-(

So you guys and gals have me thinking about building a bog in my front yard. I've been wanting to do a second, larger fish pond in the front yard, but I have some obstacles:

* I'd have to remove 2 oak trees and roots, so we're talking about renting heavy equipment;

* the yard has a decline, so I'd have to level it all out and resow grass;

* and unlike the back yard (with the current pond), the front yard isn't protected by a fence, so any fish would be at risk of a larger variety of predators. I love the wild deer, rabbits, and wild turkey that visit (although I haven't seen turkey since coyotes showed up a few years ago) so I don't want to fence the entire yard, which means that I'd have to dig the new pond pretty deep to let the fish get away...

Maybe a bog is a better option for the front? But I know nothing about a bog, so I'm gonna do some research and maybe start a new thread specifically for it.

How fast do the pitcher plants multiply? They sell for around $20 /each and the nursery had 4 or 5, so I don't know whether to hang on to one and expect it to grow quickly, or if I should go buy the others and fill up the bog like @Nevermore44 did.

 

[Nevermore44]

They typically make a few new growth points a year and then get larger/taller pitcher (species dependent). Not a fast process by any means. You can many times get cheap divisions in the winter through early spring when people (ebay) and CP nurseries are repotting. The cheapest are the ones that they lost ID's for ... so they sell in batches.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

@csdude55 Howdy neighbor! I remember now that you were not too far from my neck of the woods.

My experience is also that they slowly spread where they're happy & after a few years they even put up exotic flowers in the Spring. I must admit that I have had one or two fail to thrive and/or just up & die on me, even when in the exact same area/environment as ones that are doing well. But I do love them for the unique look they bring to the pond area.

 

[seandelevan]

I just stuck mine in between some rocks near the edge of the pond...bare root and all...and it tripled in size in 2 years. Divided it into 3 more plants early spring....prob could have divide it 2-3 more times. The divisions I crammed into rocks as well and they have already doubled.

 

[csdude55]

Do you mind posting a pic, @seandelevan ? I'm curious how that looks. Right now, mine's just sitting in a clay tray of water near the pond while I figure out a way / get the money to build a water garden.

 

[seandelevan]

Do you mind posting a pic, @seandelevan ? I'm curious how that looks. Right now, mine's just sitting in a clay tray of water near the pond while I figure out a way / get the money to build a water garden.

here ya go...this is the mother plant and sits in about 2-3 inches of water surrounded by rocks...it even over winters like this...well at least it has the last 4 years.