Question about pitcher plants?

I bought a pitcher plant a few weeks ago and it was at first totally green, but now it's turning slightly red and veiny. Is this normal? Also, there doesn't seem to be much fluid in the bottom of the plant, but then again it is a small plant

Question about pitcher plants?
each species of pitcher plant is a bit different - the true color has come with age -I have a red and veiny pitcher plant , but also a green one and one with purple veins - they are distinct species - check the name with pictures of ones in the wild - the colors may attract specific insects? -incidentaly the bodies of any insects that fall in will be eaten but the exoskeletons remain intact - the rest of the insect is liquified.
Reply:the reddish hue is equivalent to us people getting tanned - it was getting less light in the store than it gets now. it is good when these plants are nicely colored rather than just green. but remember that they need high air humidity. they come from the raiinforest! as a rule if you have them in ambient air it is too dry for them (the air, this has nothing to do with watering the soil) and they will produce no new pitchers (the leaf tips from where the pitchers grow will just dry out). if you live in a country where air is not humid all the time, you should consider having them in partially closed glass tank to enable the air retain humidity. if it is a small plant a large jar is a good idea. spraying them is no good unless you did it several times daily on and on, every day... when they grow in the wild, they tolerate direct sun, but at home they can suffer from dry air if they are exposed to too much sun and to ambient air.





water in the pitchers should be replenished (although you dont read this in popular manuals) or it shortes their lifespan. they should be half-full





remember - no fertilizer!





check www.sarracenia.com, great pages for all carnivorous plants keeping.
Reply:Yes, as they get older they change color
Reply:Sarracenia purpurea, Northern Purple Pitcher plant, may be what you have. It is one of the common commercially-grown varieties. The new growth is green, and as the modified leaf, or 'pitcher', grows and hardens off it changes to a puprlish or maroon color. As for the dry interiors of your pitchers, in the wild, they would normally fill with rain water into which the plant then secretes digestive enzymes. The care tags on commercially-grown sarrecenias usually instruct the new owner to fill the bottom of each pitcher with water. Water without chlorine should be used. If you are in a northern climate where the furnace will be running for many long long long wintry months, the pitchers should not be allowed to dry up. All sarracenias are damaged easily by and recover slowly from drying out.


Here is a great link for information about your pitcher plant:


http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/aqu...


One last note: Temperate-zone sarracenias have evolved to go dormant in the cold or frozen months. If yours seems to dimminish with the shortening days, no need to worry. Set it in a cool room and keep the growing medium moist BUT NOT WET. Good luck!