How to Grow Sarracenia pitcher plants from seed

Store dry seed in the fridge for extended viability until you are ready to sow them. When you are ready to sow your seed, they first need to be cold stratified. Stratification imitates the cold and moist conditions seed would experience outdoors in the winter. This triggers the seeds to sprout once temperatures warm up in the spring. By imitating this process in the fridge you can germinate Sarracenia seeds any time of the year. In order to stratify your seeds:

  1. Add about 1/2 teaspoon of pre-wet peat moss to your seed bag and mix it with the seed. Close the bag and press the contents to help wet the seeds.

  2. Seal the bag and put it in the fridge for a minimum of 4 weeks.

  3. Sprinkle the seeds on top of a pre-wet soil mix of fertilizer free peat moss. The seeds should not be buried as they need light in order to sprout!

  4. Put the pot sitting in a tray of rainwater, distilled or reverse osmosis water. Never let dry. May be kept sealed in a ziplock bag until germination begins

  5. Expect the seeds to start sprouting within a month or two depending on the soil temperature

  6. Seedlings CAN be fertilized to speed their growth. We recommend Maxsea all purpose fertilizer at a rate of a leveled 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water. You can fertilize the soil every two weeks, flushing the soil out well on alternating weeks with pure low mineral water to prevent toxic buildup of salts in the soil, which can kill your plants. Other fertilizer brands for orchids or acid loving plants may also work with this technique at a rate of 1/4th strength recommended for indoor plant use, but we have not tested other brands and you attempt this at your own risk! Although not as effective as soil fertilization, you can also just spray the leaves with this dilute fertilizer biweekly to reduce risk of toxic buildup in the soil.

    7. If desired, seedlings can grow without a winter dormancy for up to two years. After this time you should allow them to have a winter dormancy for their long term health according to the instructions we provide for established Sarracenia plants.