When it arrives
Your plug tray
Pot each plug in a peat/sand or peat/perlite mix in a plastic pot with drainage holes. Stand in a tray of rain or distilled water in full sun. Small plugs make small pitchers; size builds over several seasons.
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Real dishes from our Field Notes recipes, shared by the people who made them.
Copper Top grown by our community
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- Mature height
- 20.0 in
- Mature spread
- 20.0 in
- Bloom
- Late-April – peak Mid-May
- Fragrance
- Mild
- Deer
- Resistant
Lavender companion · grow guide
How to grow Copper Top
Pitcher Plant · Sarracenia flava
Pitcher plants need full sun, wet acidic peat-based soil, mineral-free water (rain or distilled) and a cold winter dormancy. Never fertilize or use tap water.
Check my zone & planting dates
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Full sunLight
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High waterWet tolerant drainage
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pH 4.0–6.0Soil
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Zones 5a–9bHardiness
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20″ tall20″ wide
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ResistantDeer · rabbits resistant
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Not known toxicPets
Huckleberry saysTell me where you grow and I’ll check if Copper Top will thrive there.
Hardy in zones 5a–9b
Pot up in spring as growth starts; bog-garden plantings in spring.
Your year with Copper Top
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When to plant
Pot up in spring as growth starts; bog-garden plantings in spring.
How deep
Set the rhizome horizontally at or just below the surface, with growing points just above the soil.
Spacing
One per 6–8 in pot to start; in a bog, about 12 in apart.
Soil
Peat moss mixed about half and half with coarse sand or perlite; no potting soil or compost · pH 4.0–6.0
Fix-it tip: Use only sphagnum peat with clean sand or perlite. No fertilizer, lime, compost or regular potting mix; minerals and nutrients burn the roots.
Sun
Full sun (tolerates very bright light; grow lights with reflectors).
Too little sun means weak, floppy, poorly colored pitchers.
Don’t give up on it
Is it alive? What spring looks like
In spring, flowers usually appear first, before new pitchers. The new pitchers follow in late spring. Last year's pitchers turning brown over winter is normal dormancy.
Spring
Trim old pitchers; flowers then new pitchers appear.
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Summer
Full sun; keep tray full of rainwater.
Fall
Growth slows; pitchers begin to brown.
Winter
Cold, damp dormancy near freezing.
Watering
First season: Stand the pot in a tray with 1–2 in of rain or distilled water and keep it topped up.
After that: Soil must never dry out. Use only rainwater, distilled or reverse-osmosis water—never tap or softened water.
Feeding
Don't fertilize, and don't feed it meat; it catches its own insects. Fertilizer can burn roots and rot the rhizome.
Pruning & deadheading
Trim brown, dead pitchers back in early spring before flowers and new growth emerge. Cut off only the brown parts during the season.
Dividing
Divide crowded rhizomes in early spring, just before growth starts, every few years.
Winter
Needs a cold dormancy of about 3–4 months. Most are rated to zone 7; S. flava (highland forms) to zone 6 with heavy mulch. In Michigan, overwinter pots in an unheated garage or cold frame, kept damp and near freezing.
Summer heat
Loves heat and full sun as long as it stays wet. Top up the water tray often in hot weather.
New pitchers brown and crisp
Likely cause: Dried out, or tap water minerals
What to do: Keep the tray full of rain or distilled water; repot in fresh peat mix.
Weak, floppy, green pitchers
Likely cause: Not enough sun
What to do: Move to full sun or stronger grow lights.
Plant declines after a year indoors
Likely cause: No winter dormancy
What to do: Give a cold, damp dormancy of about 3–4 months each winter.
Too wet or too dry?
Brown, crispy new pitchers: dried out or minerals from tap water. Black, mushy rhizome: rot, often from fertilizer or warm, wet dormancy.
Watch for
- Aphids and scale on new pitchers
- Mealybugs
- Rhizome rot (fertilizer, minerals)
Pets & wildlife
Not listed by ASPCA; no known toxicity reported. Discourage pets from chewing any garden plant. ASPCA lists the related California pitcher plant as non-toxic.
Deer: resistant · Rabbits: resistant
Finnegan saysStill not sure what’s wrong? Ask Plant Health — describe it or add a photo.
In a container
Good in pots · 1 gallon+
Best grown in plastic or glazed pots (not terra-cotta) standing in a tray of rain or distilled water. Tall pots suit tall species.
Indoors
Outdoor plant
NC State notes it won't thrive as a houseplant; it needs full sun and a cold winter dormancy.
Winter chill
Needs a cold winter
A cold winter dormancy each year is essential for long-term health and spring bloom.
Growing it on
Plugs from the tray
3–4 inch pots for 3–5 weeks, until roots hold the soil
Garden bed or a 1 gallon pot
Time to move up? Slide the plant out: if white roots wrap the outside of the soil, it’s ready for the next size.
Planting with lavender
Give it its own spot
Both love full sun, but pitcher plants need constantly wet, acidic peat and mineral-free water. Grow them in pots on trays or a lined bog garden away from the dry lavender bed.
Same bedNearbyIts own area
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