One, Two, Three!

Day 182: I must be doing something right. Sarracenia rubra has not one, not two, but three blossoms coming! Can you spot the third one? It's hiding out behind the one on the right.

You might think that these showy and mysterious carnivorous plants are tropical, but in fact the Sarracenias are native to the United States and Canada and are quite hardy, despite their exotic appearances. Mine thrive on my back porch, and I only bring them indoors when nighttime temperatures dip into the low 20s. The secret to keeping them is in providing the bog-like conditions they favour. They like peaty soil, and their pots should be kept standing in an inch or two of water (depending on size) at all times.

The flowers are spectacular, peaking approximately two months from the time they break the ground (see my posts for 23 June last year), and hang on for four weeks or more, the vivid colour gradually fading to a sere brown. If you want a conversation piece for your garden, you couldn't do better than a Sarracenia.