Jeff Calton shared a bunch of amazing photos of his garden in northeast Tennessee (Zone 6b/7a), but I particularly wanted to share his beautiful collection of Sarracenia (pitcher plants, Zones 5–9). These hardy carnivorous plants need boggy conditions to thrive, and he provides that by growing them in sunken containers with minimal drainage so the soil stays wet. By growing them in containers sunk into his regular soil, he can combine them visually with plants that require radically different conditions. I think you’ll agree the final result is pretty amazing.
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Comments
Hey Jeff - Great looking pitcher plants and great innovation in producing and showcasing them amongst your other garden gems. Cheers from Oz
Frank, I do love the pitcher plants and they are SO easy
Plantlust time. You grow the best pitchers that I've seen Jeff. I hope to give them a try this year. Planted one up for Sylvia last summer but didn't plant one for me. Duh...
Hey Cherry - The Aussie plant odyssey continues, and since you are the 'wreath queen' I thought you may be interested in the Wreath flower, which mother nature created in Oz. It is one of the unique wildflowers (flowering from August-October) of the south-west of the state of Western Australia. Hope it is of interest. Cheers from Oz
Wow, I'm speechless. Gotta visit!!!
You betcha!
Now that is one unique and cool looking plant.
Glad you liked it, Sonya - Cheers from the Wizard of Oz!!!!!
I find it interesting that Joseph has not yet figured out that it is not so much the 'pretty, colorful pictures' as the comradery that this delightful group shares and the teasing and bantering that goes on among the group. We love to see pretty gardens, but it seems that everyone just enjoys that everyone else loves to garden too. There are lots of garden blogs out there, but this is a very unique and wonderful group. Hats off to the Wizard of the group for continuing to post pictures of his unique and wonderful section of our world.
Spot on, Sonya. I'm conscious of the fact that some might be getting sick of the bonus pics. from Down Under, so don't be frightened to let me know when enough is enough, Cheers from the Wizard.
Don't you dare stop with your technicolor postings. Have you not noticed that you get more responses than most anyone else. Give us time and we may be able to bring Joseph into the 'hard scrabble' world where the rest of us reside. At your suggestion I submitted some before and after pictures of my landscape renovation this year which have so far not been posted. Not much colour, more green and white than anything else, but it is a work in progress and I don't mind.
Great - cannot wait, Sonya.
That is so cool, Frank. It looks like someone drove down the road, throwing the “wreaths” from their vehicle.
Kev. - Disturbance of soil/gravel stimulates germination and growth of the Wreath plant, and hence, I assume that a grader has gone along the drain next to the road and this disturbance has caused the observed effect (note that they are not in the wettest positions) - but let's not let the facts get in the way of your romantic image!
Amazing what Mother Nature can do all on her own without any help from us humans.
Australia is certainly a jewel! Thanks Frankie!
Great Mother Nature wreaths, Frank.
So cool and delightfully bizarre!
Another odd looking beauty Frank! Thanks for sharing!
Wow! Just soooo amazing!
Thanks Vel - yes the wildflower display in the countryside around Perth in Western Australia is spectacular - well worth seeing if you come to Oz. Cheers, Frank
Except for their pastel colours, Frank, they look like wreaths laid out at a Remembrance Day service (Veteran's Day in the US). I just love the diversity of plant life everywhere.
You definitely need a few !
Just so you know, I love your moniker!
So cool, Jeff! I didn't know your secret to growing them... thanks for sharing!
no sectet,,,,,,,,,sun, peat and a constantly saturated soil
Hi Jeff. Those are really lovely. I've always wanted to grow them, but don't have a good site with enough sun for them. I really like the verticality they bring to your garden.
Jay, these plants are the most commented on in the whole garden and they are the easiest plants I have. People always think they are some exotic jungle plant when they are tough as nails as long as they are saturated.
Wonderful to wake up to your wonderful Sarracennias Jeff. As always, I am amazed and delighted to see your gardens. Hopefully, will see them in person in the spring.
I'll save you a seat!
Jeff, so cool. I saw a great display at Mt. Cuba In a bog garden this fall. I decided then that I would attempt growing Sarracennia this year. Your post clinches it. Your plants look great.
I was planning to create the bog garden in a large container. I will definitely sink it after seeing you photos. Any tips? I assume you have closed off the drainage holes. What about soil mix?
I just very small drain holes so the water can very slowly drain and the rains usually keep it saturated. I use straight peat in the beds NEVER fertilize and the only thing I ever do is clean them up in spring, top dress with more peat and one mid summer clean up to remove spent flowers and leaves. easiest plants ever
p.s. everything I ever read about them says to never use "city water" for them but I have numerous times in rainless periods and have never suffered any ill effects
Thanks, Jeff, for the tips. I am excited to try it out this year.
Jeff, you inspired me with your photos a few years ago to try Sarracennias. This group re-inspires. I have been growing S. purpurea with mixed results. Is it a harder to grow species and I should look into some other species and hybrids (I might be able to grow zone 5 in Maine)? Mine are in a container perched on top of a tub filled with water. I overwinter them by digging their container into a vegetable garden. My losses (and I have killed many) do not seem to be winter related. How do you overwinter yours?
All my containers have been sunk into the ground and I do not do anything extra or special to protect them. The only one I ever lost was one of the small growing clumpy ones (how's that for technical language) and it died because squirrels pulled it out of the bog
They are the most other worldly plants I have and probably my favorites in the garden
Hi Jeff, great pi'tures of pitchers. Such cool plants, especially when they're standing so tall. Tub planting is great solution to growing them. Thanks for sharing.
Jeff, you pitcher plants are right up there in the other worldly sense with some of the plants that our Wizard of Oz has been sharing with us. Really interesting and colorful plants. After I eventually get past the point of planting the bones for my garden, I will have to look into adding some for interest and color. Thanks for sharing.
Sonya, the Sarracenia really make the garden look like I know what I am doing when in reality I don't do anything! They perform well with no work at all
Jeff, I am almost breaking a commandment with how much I love/adore/lust for your pitcher plants. Your photos of them are fabulous and, for some (strange) reason, the grouping in the first picture reminded me of birthday candles!
Very appropriate and timely thought, Michaele. Happy birthday!
I love finally being 70 and into my new decade.
Happy Birthday, Michaele. Spoil yourself with a special new plant:)
My January birthday is always filled with some homemade IOU gift certificates from my hubby where I can buy plants and/or garden froo froo guilt free.
Happy Birthday and welcome to the 70 club. It is as great an age as all the ones before it. I am going to have to copy and forward you comment about homemade IOU gift certificates to my hubby.
They just need to be a scrawl on a scrap of paper, Sonya...what matters is that they are "cashable" when the time comes!
It has been my finding that every year and century is 'cashable', some in money, some in beauty, some in love. And everyone well worth any expenditure, regardless of the return.
So well said, Sonya! Thanks!
And a belated happy birthday, Michaele! Your are just 2 years and a couple of months ahead of me - thanks for blazing the trail!
I love it when people even older than me post and share how they are continuing to actively garden...glad to be setting a good example for a "youngster".
They do look like birthday candles! And a very happy birthday to you, you don't look a day over fabulous, I hope you have a great one today
Ha, not a "day over fabulous"...that's a very fun phrase, Jeff. Even Billy Crystal's "Fernando" couldn't top it.
Happy birthday, Michaele!
Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Michaele, Happy Birthday to you! Aren't you SO relieved I'm not actually singing??? That's my gift to you, my very dear GPOD friend. Have the best day ever!
Well, Sheila, I know for a fact, that you have the heart and spirit of an angel so why not a voice, as well.
Trust me on this one Mike!!! Big hugs!
I echo with the others happy birthday Michaele!
Thanks, Lilian. Mother Nature decided to contribute some icing on the cake with snow coming down pretty heavily at the moment. It's nice to be indoors and warm.
Oh, Jeff, I just have to try them this year! I’m always afraid to try something that is expensive. The only place I’ve seen them is Plant Delights nursery. I get really stubborn on the shipping costs! Anybody know anywhere else? Thanks a lot for the beautiful photos.
I buy mine locally and have never paid more than $10.00 (that was for Scarlet Belle) for them
where are you located? message me on FB as Jeff Goodearth, I might have a solution for you
Hello, Jeff, and again you have us all drooling. I have a great cast iron kettle, and was wondering if a pitcher plant might handle that? The only problem I can think of is that the water gets quite warm in our hot summers - warm as bath water! Can you recommend one that seems more hardy or more tolerant of the heat? I could move it to a cellar during the winter. The rest of our soil here isn't really deep enough to sink much of a container. Thanks for your pictures - they are always fabulous!
I have never grown them above ground but see them in bowls all the time. I can't imagine moving an iron kettle to the basement though. i'm lazy
HAH! You're right - I don't even try to move the kettle - I keep the equisetum hyemale in a container in the kettle, and have enough room to spare to put a little solar fountain in, to discourage mosquitoes. I'd put the pitcher plant in a container (full of peat, it sounds like) and sink it into the kettle.... would that work?
sounds like a plan!
Jeff, your gardens are always inspiring. Great pitcher plants and great combos with other plants. I've grown our Wisconsin native Sarracenia purpurea with mixed success. One lived for years and another dropped dead in a season. I'll have to try straight peat, always used a 50/50 peat/sand mix. I didn't think any of the other species would survive zone 5. Now I'll have to give them a try.
Chris, they have been foolproof for me . I literally do nothing other than a spring cleaning
Good morning Jeff, Thank you for your terrific post this morning . Who but you would have thought of combing those plants as you have. It seems there is no end to the innovative creativity shown on this site & yours this morning is a sterling example .
Good luck, Joe
Thanks! I need to try growing everything I can so with a shovel and a shoehorn I keep cramming things in
Absolutely spectacular! Thanks for making this zero degree morning in NW Arkansas a bit brighter. And, I love the "shovel and a shoehorn" comment! :-)
Good morning Jeff. Your sarracenias are getting that plant lust fever thing going way to early in the season. All that I can think of while looking at them, is where can I put some of these with our arid summer conditions. Thanks for some great photos.
Just sink a drainless pot and you're good to go!
Linda, I once had a pot of it and it last about 5 years and did not survive the last winter. I think Jeff's idea to sink it into the ground would keep it warmer in winter - a better way to go!
Thanks, Lilian. I may try to sink a pot. We stay a little warmer in winter than Vancouver but last winter was brutal for us, too.
Good morning Jeff. Your garden is always so stunning and your pitch plant collection is a cut above. Thanks for sharing.
everything is frozen solid and looking really shabby right now but photos of seasons past give me hope that it will eventually thaw
Always like your post on facebook.
I am a shameless over poster on FB and Instagram :(
Keep it this way!
wow! what an amazing collection, beautifully placed! Thank you for sharing!
When I saw 'Colorful Carnivores' I knew the post was one of yours Jeff! Serious question, do you ever place any little skulls in and around the bog? Just wondering... You really need to, you know! These Sarracenia's are incredible, they are definitely in their happy place!
While looking at these photos I was reminded of your true design strength, it is your eye for placement. You have the vision to position unexpected elements next to one another and more often than not, it works and it's fun! You've got the gift, Mr. Calton!
Hey Joseph, could you show us more of Jeff's submissions please? We sure would enjoy the smile they always bring to our faces. Thanks.
Sheila you are too kind but I have been having visions since the seventies! I have never placed any skulls at ground level as I am afraid dogs, raccoons or coyotes will carry them off and i'm very protective of my boneyard! Waiting for snow to arrive here so I am sorting through succulent photos and deleting A LOT. Pitcher plants are the easiest things in the garden and yet get the most comments and questions.
Haha... have fun going thru your photos today. It's kinda like strolling down memory lane and occasionally wondering, 'what was I thinking?' Have a good one!
funny how things can look spectacular in your head but in reality not so much
But when the finished product is actually better than the picture in your head, now that's a good day in the garden!
Wonderful - the shape of the pitcher plants calls to mind the Chihuly glass installations in gardens - could have been an inspiration!
The pitcher plants are as close to having Chihuly I will ever be
HAHAHA!!! Me, too. When we saw his installation at the NY Botanical gardens years ago, they had pieces for sale in the gift shop - way over my pay grade.
even the knock offs are over my pay grade
Oh how wonderful, Jeff! They are so healthy and well fed! I love your idea of sinking their containers into the ground. Thanks for sharing!
Had to do something since I had no naturally occurring boggy area
Jeff!
I have a similar situation here as we have alluvial/gravely/sandy soils next to this River. (Incredibly fast draining!) Like others here, I'm tempted to try these beauties and the Lord knows we have PLENTY of winged protein for them! (We're hopin' these single digits will decrease our misery next warm season!) I'll freely admit, I know next to nothing about today's topic genus, but would so love to learn!
My Question: Do you have an "ideal" container size to suggest for this learning curve?
Thanx for the inspiration!
Hey Jesse... how the heck are you? Happy 2018!
Sheila!!!!!!!!!
I'm even more Ornery than before, but slightly better lookin'!!!
Hummmmm....I could've sworn my nose just lengthened a smidgen...
Like everyone else, just tickled to still be here! Although I could do with a leeeeeeelte more "balmy-ness" outside!! How are your environs? Brisk as ours? Hope not.
Usually, I enjoy riding out the seasons and getting my money's worth out of each...Autumn being my favourite. But, for some reason, I'm ready for Winter to be over, and for Spring to hurry up and get here. I'm not usually impatient, but my toes are tappin' an increasingly more rapid rhythm and I remember and chant the words of my youth: "Are we There yet???"
Had to have a curt talk with my neighbour across the river yesterday. Her cattle are "browsing" my gardens.....and I thought the grasshoppers here were bad..and they are. (In a "Silver Lining" kind of thinking: At least I get free fertilizer!!) Worse yet, her bull decided to take extreme offense to something my young conifers said either in jest or in earnest, and he showed a couple (or three) what he thought of them... Wouldn't be so bad if'n this was the first time this has happened...but it ain't. Wouldn't be so bad if'n he'ld chosen the pines in my young windbreaks...but he picked upon the expensive, and special and singular ones in my perennial gardens.... Anyway, reckon I've just had about enough and had to say something. The other herd owners all around us keep their flocks at home, so she's just gonna HAVE to step up to the plate and challenge. The word "sheriff" showed up somewhere in the conversation, and the term of "Court" added a bit of somberness to an otherwise un-warm tone. Hopefully, she and her family will reinforce their barbed wire and this is as far as it goes....Ah... life in the country!!
Was I venting??? Let me check......................nope, less than 4 pages, so I'm good!
But, reckon I'ld better reel in my tongue and temper afore it heats up any further...sorry to bend your ear but was hopin' that you as a grower and nurturer of living things would understand my hurt feelin's. The owner of the traveling herd only speaks berr-mooda grass...
Well, told ja I was a bit more Ornery. Wow, did you see that? It looked my nose just SHRUNK a smidgen!!
Changing direction and looking up, figuratively, and all joking aside,
Yes Dear One, Happy 2018!!! It's only gonna get better from here even if the ride is bumpy sometimes!!
(Are we There yet?)
Now, like I told Jeff: I gotta go Plant Somepin!!!
So, I'm now expanding my thoughts. Not every owner of an animal or a herd of animals has common sense or courtesy. Our Mama's apparently taught us better! No one else should be expected to love our beasts as we do and we must be respectful of their thoughts and property.
Fast forward... Jim and I now live in Mexico! We were ready to downsize from our big house, my body was having issues dealing with due diligence to my rock gardens and then our daughter and her family asked if we would consider moving to Mexico along with them for a year or more so our grandkids could have the challenge of living in a different culture and also have the opportunity of becoming bilingual. (To make sense of the question, our son has lived in Mexico City for 12 years and has an art gallery as well as an annual art fair.) Both Jim and I said YES without a second thought. We sold our house and 60% of our belongings, then stored what was precious to us.
We moved just N of Puerto Vallarta last June and now live next door to our grandkids and their parents. We're renting casitas in a botanical reserve. Life is very different these days and more than special... we all took a leap of faith for this adventure, and so far we haven't looked back! We're all pretty sure we'll sign on for a 2nd year since the kids are doing well in school.
I do miss my gardens but I get my fix from friends. I am getting a bit itchy though.
BTW... I've been called ornery more times than I can count! You take good care now.
I have some growing in a sunken bathtub, others in regular nursery pots lined with rubber sheeting to almost almost eliminate drainage. I have clients who grow them in bowls, I think they will grow anywhere as long as they are saturated constantly
Thanx!
I am unfamiliar with how large they can become nor do I feel for how much elbow-room their roots would like. I'm guessing from your response that I would be ok going with a 10" pot (3 gallon) or even a bit larger. Unfortunately, I don't have a bathtub to bury!! (That's a really clever idea, tho!!)
I'll be on the lookout for a victim to experiment with, as will so many others on this post! The competition may get thick!! I'll have to let ya know how it goes later this summer! (Read: "I may need to pick your brain a bit more!!")
We kissed 0° this morning, and it may have even been a French Kiss...as in a little more intense. Bright sunshine with dead calm breezes right now as I enjoy my afternoon coffee, and even tho it's climbing steadily out of the teens into the balmy 20's, I'ld swear it's damn near Springtime out there! Wife warns NOT to get my hopes up Just yet......
Still, I gotta go plant somethin'!!!!
Stay Warm! and again, thanx!
You know I love those guys. These are some great images. I really love looking at them through the 'dead' sedge: marvelous. I've got three in a kettle now and I think they're getting established instead of waning, so maybe I'll have some nice ones next year.
there you go bad mouthing my dead sedge :) they really are cool plants and the flowers are jut bizarre
Now, now. I've gone from having 'dead' dread to being a deadhead.
:)
there are worse things than a deadhead!
What a great plant to add to your garden, Jeff. And such a creative way to keep them alive and healthy. You clearly have a wonderful gift for placing the right plants together- love the 'Scarlet Belle' with the reddish Heuchera behind it. Thanks so much for sharing your photos. We have a boggy back garden that might be perfect for some pitcher plants.
You won't regret planting a few!
Oh Jeff, what can I say - you have the coolest 'stuff '! Thanks :)
LOL Thanks! I do like stuff
Very interesting and thanks for sharing. Reading the caption on the first photo, the stocks are leaves and not flowers? How do they propagate?
They are modified leaves that form tubes that trap insects, they propagate by seed and the clumps get progressively larger each season
Thank you Jeff, how do they create seeds? Is there a separate flower?
yes, 2 are visible on the right side of the second photo
Fabulous photos! Right up my alley! Thanks for sharing!
After a second look at your photos I realized that not only do we like the same type of plants but I think that we have the same rock on our houses! These are darlingtonia.I took this photo just now, hence the brown foliage .
I think you are right!
I think these are the coolest photos you have ever submitted, and you have submitted a lot. Mazel!
Your plants look so beautifully healthy, Jeff! Somehow I had thought that Sarracenia were terribly fussy, but you make it sound easy, so maybe I'll give them a go this year. Thanks for sharing!
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