Velvet Pitcher Plant

Velvet Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia hybrid 'Velvet') is a carnivorous plant with a low rosette of hooded green tubes, shading to pale green white at the top and veined heavily with blood red. It stays 15 to 30cm high, and its colour deepens in autumn. Insects that slip into a pitcher cannot climb back out.

Why you'll love it

• Green tubes, red veins. Green pitchers fade to pale green white at the hood, and the heavy red veining gives them a velvety, bloodshot look.
• More colour with autumn. The veining deepens as the weather cools, which makes it a fine plant for the end of the year.
• A self feeding plant. Hairs inside each tube stop insects from escaping, so it feeds itself and needs no fertiliser.
• Genuinely cold hardy. It needs a cool winter rest, and it can survive snow and ice without harm.
• A plant with a story. Few plants start a conversation like one that eats ants, and children are fascinated by it.

Where it works best

Pots in a saucer of rainwater. The easiest way to grow it is a single pot standing in a saucer on a sunny step or table.

Bog gardens. Plant 20cm apart in a shared bog tub or wetland garden with other bog plants.

Cool climate courtyards. It is a wetland plant for areas with a real winter, and it makes a feature on a sunny balcony.

Growing Velvet Pitcher Plant in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun and a cool winter. The plant needs at least a month of low single digit temperatures, so it does best in cool temperate and cooler warm temperate districts. Frost free subtropical gardens do not give it the winter rest it needs. It can survive snow and ice.

Soil. Use an acid mix, ideally equal parts sphagnum or peat moss, horticultural sand and perlite. In nature this soil is called pocosin. The mix must be extremely low in phosphorus and nitrogen, so never use a fertilised potting mix.

Water and feed. Keep the soil wet through the growing seasons by standing the pot in a saucer of rainwater. Do not fertilise. In mid autumn, drain the saucer and keep the soil damp until spring.

Pruning. There is no pruning to do. Remove pitchers that have turned brown and dry, and new ones will replace them.

What to expect when it arrives

We sell Velvet Pitcher Plant as tube stock, a young plant in an 80mm deep tube that establishes quickly. A young plant produces small pitchers first, and it takes a few seasons to reach full size. Tube stock comes from our grower and is not always available. When the grower has none, the tube shows as sold out on this page, and the notify button emails you the day it is back.

Plants travel upright and settle fast. Pot up soon after delivery in a bog mix of sphagnum or peat moss, sand and perlite, then stand the pot in rainwater.

Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Exotic and rare plants
• Plants for pots and containers
• More plants for full sun
• Browse tubestock plants

Common questions

Does Velvet Pitcher Plant need a cold winter?

Yes, at least one month of low single digit temperatures. It can survive snow and ice, so cool temperate gardens suit it. Keep it outside for winter.

What soil does it need?

An acid, boggy mix of equal parts sphagnum or peat moss, horticultural sand and perlite, extremely low in phosphorus and nitrogen. Do not add fertiliser.

How do I water it?

Stand the pot in a saucer of rainwater through the growing seasons. In mid autumn drain the saucer and keep the soil damp until spring.