I need help wintering pitcher plants over

[Vickie]

I have 2 and need help wintering them over in zone 6. I lost mine last yr. They are in pots. They are like this one

[Michiponder]

Hi Vickie

Been a few years since I have raised that type.  American pitcher plants and thier hybrids have been a hobby of mine off and on since I was a child.  they can be a little fussy about thier winter dormant period.  If they do not get thier proper dormant time they often do not thrive the next growing season.  That variety does not do well with it's roots wet in cold areas during the winter.  They like a slightly but consistently damp media and can tolerate temps down to just above freezing.  Above 40F seemed to work for me even though it did dip lower from time to time.  I have even used rose cones that were half buried in pine mulch to get them to survive here in MI.  If taken indoors they often start growing and by spring are far to gangly to recover very well.  You may want to consider using Saracenia Purpurea Purpurea as it is hardy all the way up well into Canada and comes in a few slightly different color forms and one variation that even thrives in alkaline marl bogs.  Do not confuse this variety with Saracenia Purpurea Gibbosa which is the southern form and not nearly as hardy.  Hope this helps.  They are beautiful plants especially when given lots of water and sun in the summer.

Mikel

[JoshS]

I'm not expert, but if that is a hybrid Sarracenia it should be hardy in your zone.  I've wintered Sarracenia outdoors here in Iowa (z4) and know a guy who grows them outdoors year round in St. Louis.  In my experience it is not the cold, but the drying wind that kills them.  If it were mine, I would sink the pots into the ground in a protected location (next to the east side of your house?).  Then when it starts staying near freezing, pile a good foot of mulch over them.

[Vickie]

Thanks both of you

[rdrboone]

I overwinter my Sarracenia and my yellow pitcher plants outside in the coldest part of zone 6.    I grow them in a 18" deep container buried up to the rim in the ground.  The medium that I use is long fiber 2/3 spaghum moss and 1/3 quartz sand.  They have gone through 3 winters here so far.  Last fall I did not get to mulch them before the winter set in.  They were covered with snow and ice all winter, from early November until March.  Not only did they survive, but I had 9 blooms on them this past summer.
  
Good luck with yours.
Ruth

[Vickie]

rdr if you do you mulch them in winter, how deep is the mulch? Do you cover them completely with mulch?

[rdrboone]

Normally, when I mulch them,  I just put 4-5 inches of  leaves over them and then cover the leaves with a layer of bird netting.   Since last winter here was one of our worst winters in 100yrs. (so "they" say) and my pitcher plants did not suffer, I am not going to do anything special with them this year.

Ruth