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Pitcher plants(Nepenthes spp.
Pitcher plants can be grown outdoors year-round in tropical climates or indoors as houseplants in cooler climates.
Pitcher Plant Care
Here’s how to care for pitcher plants in your home or garden.
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Light
Whether kept indoors or outdoors, pitcher plants need lots of bright, indirect light.
If you’re keeping them as houseplants, that means a bright, sunny window.
Outdoors, give plants a few hours of direct sunlight with dappled light the rest of the day.
A combination of equal parts long-fibered sphagnum moss and perlite works well.
Water the soil directly rather than adding water to the plant’s pitchers.
Pitcher plants require high humidity in the 70 to 80 percent range to consistently produce pitchers.
Consider growing these plants in alarge terrariumornear a humidifierto maintain sufficient humidity.
However, indoor pitcher plants require regular fertilizing so that thrive and grow.
There are a couple of different ways to fertilize indoor pitcher plants.
Another is to use fertilizer pellets, dropping a single pellet in each pitcher when it first opens.
Propagating Pitcher Plants
Pitcher plants can be propagated using stem cuttings.
Here’s how to propagate pitcher plants.
You’ll also want to consider repotting to help manage pest issues.
Plan to repot your pitcher plant with fresh growing medium in spring or early summer for best results.
Choose a pot that’s just one or two inches larger in diameter than the previous pot.
Avoid terracotta pots, which can wick away moisture too quickly and dry out the growing medium.
Overwintering
If your pitcher plant grows indoors year-round, there’s no need to worry aboutoverwintering.
Examine your plant regularly for signs of pests or disease symptoms and treat it quickly if any issues arise.
However, many yellow leaves at once can indicate an issue like overwatering or insufficient nutrients.
Widespread browning of pitchers could be due to larger issues, like a lack of humidity or inadequate watering.
Not enough light or low humidity could be causing this issue.
Watering frequency for pitcher plants depends on your plant’s individual conditions, not a set schedule.
