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About this product
Sarracenia psittacina – supplied in a 12 cm pot
Plant Highlights: Unusual parrot-shaped pitchers • Carnivorous plant with distinctive ground-hugging growth • Thrives in consistently moist conditions • A fascinating addition to a carnivorous plant collection
Overview
Sarracenia psittacina, commonly known as the Parrot Pitcher Plant, is a distinctive North American carnivorous plant with a growth habit unlike most other pitcher plants. Instead of producing tall upright tubes, it forms low, spreading pitchers that lie close to the surface, each with a rounded, hooded opening marked by intricate red and green veining.
The specialised pitchers trap small insects, allowing the plant to obtain nutrients naturally in nutrient-poor conditions. Its unusual form and colourful foliage make it an excellent specimen for bright windowsills, cool conservatories or dedicated carnivorous plant displays.
Plant Details
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Botanical Name | Sarracenia psittacina |
| Common Name | Parrot Pitcher Plant |
| Plant Type | Carnivorous perennial |
| Supplied Form | 12 cm pot |
| Foliage | Low-growing green pitchers with red veining |
| Position | Bright light, including direct sun where possible |
| Watering | Keep consistently moist using rainwater or deionised water only |
| Growing Medium | Nutrient-poor carnivorous plant compost |
| Growth Rate | Slow to moderate |
Growing Guide
Place in the brightest position available, where the plant can receive several hours of direct sunlight each day. Grow in a nutrient-poor carnivorous plant compost and keep the growing medium consistently moist by standing the pot in a shallow tray of rainwater or deionised water during the growing season.
Do not use tap water or fertiliser, as dissolved minerals and added nutrients can damage carnivorous plants. Healthy plants obtain the nutrients they need by catching insects naturally.
Seasonal Care
This species benefits from a cool winter dormancy. Growth slows naturally during the colder months, and some older pitchers may die back. Keep the growing medium damp rather than waterlogged and remove old foliage in late winter before fresh growth begins in spring.
Good to Know
Unlike the upright pitchers of many Sarracenia species, the pitchers of Sarracenia psittacina grow close to the ground, where they are adapted to trap crawling insects as well as small flying insects.
Product Information
- Supplied in a 12 cm pot
- Carnivorous perennial
- Produces distinctive low-growing, parrot-shaped pitchers
- Grow in bright light using rainwater or deionised water only
- Best planted in nutrient-poor carnivorous plant compost
Indoor growing & care
- Plant type
- carnivorous
- Watering
- high
- Soil & drainage
- Acidic· Moist· Consistently moist
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