What’s Coming Up In The Garden, 54: pitcher plant, Scarlet Belle

The space between the yellow pitcher plants and the ailing woodland stonecrop was empty and thus offering prime space for weed invasion, so I wanted to put something there that would add some variety as well as take up that space.

My daughter loves pitcher plants so I chose this native hybrid from one of our local native plant nurseries. It’s absolutely stunning! 

The nursery is sold out of woodland stonecrop but in the fall I’m going to do a new planting in this spot and give it one more chance to grow there. If it fails again, I’ll need to look for something different. Meanwhile I will let the pitcher plants do their thing and spread out if they will to become an even larger spot of interest and beauty.

More info:

Sarracenia 'Scarlet Belle' is a popular and brightly colored pitcher plant with a low-growing habit. Plants look stunning throughout the growing season. 

• Compact habit
• Intensely colored pitchers, especially in the fall
• Very unusual shaped leaves

Details

•  7 to 10 in. tall 
• Grows to 12 in. wide over 3 to 5 years 
• Clump-forming habit 
• Hardy in USDA hardiness zones 6, 7, 8, and 9

Flowering period

In central North Carolina, flowers open in late April before the new pitchers emerge.

How to grow

• Full sun 
• Plant in a peat-based growing medium
• Keep wet by growing plants with their containers sitting in a tray of water
• Don't fertilize, they catch their own
• Only water with rain, distilled, or reverse osmosis water

Care and maintenance

After a hard frost, the tips of the pitchers may turn brown. Trim off the dead parts of the leaf to keep plants looking attractive.

Where to plant

Large tubs and bogs.

When to plant

Scarlet Belle can be planted any time throughout the growing season.

When will my plant flower?

Plants are flowering size and will bloom their first year if purchased before April.

Native habitat and range

The parents of this hybrid grow in bogs and savannas in the southeastern United States.

Source and origin

A hybrid between S. leucophylla and S.psittacina created by the late Bob Hanrahan in 1985 and registered in 2002.

On the International Carnivorous Plant Society website, Bob informs us how he developed and named this beautiful pitcher plant hybrid.