Pitcher plant flowering

Pitcher plants are carnivorous. Their flowers must stand away from the plant on long stems so the pollinators do not become dinner before they provide service.

We went to a lecture several years ago on the topic and the man who spoke was very enthusiastic. He promised that the only way to kill these plants was to pay too much attention to them. I figured I had a chance to keep them alive. We bought several types by mail order and have tended them the last few years.

I took them to the kids' class when they were younger. My kids would to explain how the plants trapped bugs and then all the kids would run around catching ants and plopping them into the plants. The flytraps were the most exciting.

Unfortunately my sister in law replanted them last year in a flower bed and now all the fly traps are dead and only one variety of pitcher plant remains. (That is a long story that no one wants to hear.)

There is one variety of pitcher plant left. The dried leaves are not indicators of a dead plant; the leaves dry up when they have completed their function and are replaced by new leaves.